Jessica Amaya 
UTRGV – UTRGV (University of Texas Rio Grande Valley) students have spoken, as 60.5% of those who cast the ballot voted to support the athletics fee referendum while 39.5% voted against it.
The university is expected to establish a women’s swimming and diving program along with the expansion for its spirit programs in 2024. UTRGV plans to establish a football team and marching bands in the Fall of 2025.
The next step will be to present the athletics fee increase to the UT System board of regents in 2022.
Chasse Conque, vice president and director of Athletics, said the referendum will provide more jobs for students.
“We employ a lot of student employees in our department currently,” Conque said. “I think we will see that expand pretty quickly over the next 12 months or so.”
UTRGV political science senior Zak Borja shared his perspective on why he voted yes on the referendum.
“Going to college, going to a university, it’s much more than going to class and studying and getting good grades,” Borja said. “It’s making long-life friendships and memories that last a lifetime at these events.”
Juan Antonio Almaguer, creator of the hashtag #V’sDownFistUpEnoughisEnough, shared that he feels UTRGV focuses more on athletics than other programs.
“It’s like Steven D. Block said, and I quote, ‘It’s a project,’” Almaguer said. “As far as I’m concerned, I am not a project. I am a student, I have invested my time, money, passion and dedication to this university. I do not feel like I am a project, but a lot of students also feel that way.
UTRGV President Guy Bailey said students should be on the lookout for more announcements in the following weeks, one of them regarding The Luminary Scholarship.
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