UTRGV to re-look at the feasibility of college football
Five Division I schools will be joining the Western Athletic Conference on June 30, 2022 according to WAC Commissioner Jeff Hurd at a news conference Thursday at NRG Center in Houston.
The five universities included are Southern Utah from the Big Sky Conference and Lamar, Stephen F. Austin, Abilene Christian and Sam Houston from the Southland Conference.
Chicago State, who has been with the WAC since 2013, also announced they will be voluntarily leaving the conference in June 2022.
The WAC would then be split into two divisions, the Southwest Division, which includes the four incoming Texas schools and current WAC members, Tarleton State and UTRGV, and the West Division that includes California Baptist, Dixie State, Grand Canyon, New Mexico State, Seattle U, Utah Valley and incoming Southern Utah.
In the wake of the historic announcement, UTRGV President Guy Bailey said in a Zoom interview the goal of expansion is to provide stability to the athletic programs around the WAC.
“What’s happened today creates the stability that we’ve waited for a long time and those of you [who] were involved with UTPA when it was not in a conference know you need to have a conference home to have a successful athletics program.”
UTRGV Vice President and Director of Athletics Chasse Conque also highlighted how the realignment impacts the financial side of UTRGV Athletics with reduced travel costs.
“Travel in the WAC has not been easy. They’re all trips that are taken by plane and so now the fact that we can now spread our resources, not reduce our resources, but take those cost savings and investment in other key parts of our program that’s what we get excited about, coaches are excited about, on top of everything else so far today.”
He also said today’s announcement answers a lot of questions regarding the conference’s stability and security and how it will benefit UTRGV in a big way.
UTRGV Baseball Head Coach Derek Matlock said that having a larger geographic footprint within the state of Texas will help UTRGV programs in the recruiting trail.
“We’ve done OK in Texas in baseball but talking to [UTRGV men’s and women’s] soccer and other programs in the school, they had a tough time with [recruiting] kids in Texas and we need to do a better job in Texas, and this is really going to help us.”
Football will also return to the WAC with all five incoming institutions playing at the FCS level along with current members Dixie State and Tarleton State.
Shehan Jeyarajah of Dave Campbell’s Texas Football reported earlier today that UTRGV submitted a letter of intent to begin a Division I college football program but both Conque and Bailey denied this report saying that no letter was submitted by the university.
Bailey did say that today’s announcement does re-open the conversation to creating a football program and the university is committed to looking into its feasibility.
“Now having said that, that’s a long process that has to go through that requires student approval, board approval and so there are a number of things in the process that have to be done, but we’re committed to exploring that process and that’s our commitment.”
For more updates and highlights visit GoUTRGV.com.
For Vaquero Radio, I’m Luis Rubio.
