EDINBURG – The excitement for the first-ever UTRGV football game is growing not only within the team but in the Rio Grande Valley as opening day approaches.
“One of our program goals is to compete for championships every year and that will always be the mentality, but to win a conference championship, one: you [have to] win home,” Football head coach Travis Bush said during a news conference earlier today.
In a news release, UTRGV Athletics published its full list of 2025 games for its inaugural football season.
The UTRGV Vaqueros will compete in a total of 12 games in their first season.
On Aug. 30, the Vaqueros will play their first-ever game and home matchup against Sul Ross State at the Robert & Janet Vackar Stadium in Edinburg.
The first four games, including its Sul Ross State matchup, will be non-conference.
UTRGV faces Prairie View A&M at an away game on Sept. 6, which Bush mentioned would help the team gauge how well it fairs against other NCAA FCS programs.
He said the next few months of practices will show how relevant the team will be early on.
“We got a new roster this spring and they’re out there working in [the] off season and just seeing them in the weight room and watching the toughness, the mentality, the competitiveness that’s being built out there on a daily basis and you listen to them and they’re not talking about process, they’re talking about winning,” Bush said. “We have 270 days, but they’ll be ready.”
Conference games will begin Sept. 27 with an away game against Southeastern Louisiana University, followed by the first home conference game against Houston Christian Oct. 4.
The Vaqueros will finish their season against East Texas A&M Nov. 22 at home.
UTRGV will compete in a total of seven home games, an NCAA Division I FCS irregularity, according to the Athletics news release.
The complete 2025 UTRGV Inaugural Schedule is as follows:
- Aug. 30 vs. Sul Ross State
- Sept. 6 at Prairie View A&M
- Sept. 13 vs. North American
- Sept. 20 vs. Texas Wesleyan
- Sept. 27 at Southeastern*
- Oct. 4 vs. Houston Christian*
- Oct. 11 (Bye Week)
- Oct. 18 at Lamar*
- Oct. 25 vs. Incarnate Word*
- Nov. 1 at Stephen F. Austin*
- Nov. 8 vs. Nicholls*
- Nov. 15 at McNeese*
- Nov. 22 East Texas A&M*
*Southland Conference Games – Bold indicates home games