Texas Rio Grande Valley Athletics

UTRGV Athletics hired Vince Volpe, who has an extensive background in fundraising, most recently as the Associate Athletic Director for Development at the University of Connecticut (UConn), as Deputy Director of Athletics and Chief Operating Officer on June 26, 2015.
 
In his new position, Volpe will serve as the Chief Fundraiser for UTRGV Athletics. He will directly oversee, the development, business, and ticket operations departments and all facilities capital projects while serving as the sport administrator for the baseball, golf and tennis programs. 
 
While at UConn, Volpe, who started there in October 2012, directed capital fundraising, major giving, annual giving, the Varsity Club and other sources of revenue generation and strategic initiatives for the Huskies. Volpe served as a member of the Division of Athletics Leadership Team and worked directly with the men's and women's tennis programs as their sport supervisor. He also served as the liaison to The University of Connecticut Foundation, the UConn Alumni Association, and other units on the UConn campus.
 
Volpe came to UConn from Oral Roberts University (ORU), where he spent three and a half years as the Associate Athletic Director for External Operations. As a member of the executive staff, Volpe oversaw development, ticket operations and licensing while serving as the sport administrator for men's and women's tennis.
 
Prior to ORU, Volpe spent five and a half years with the University of Missouri Department of Athletics in various capacities, concluding as the Executive Director of Development & Tiger Scholarship Fund (TSF). Volpe was a member of the senior management team and oversaw all development operations within the TSF, including the $150 million Champions for Life capital campaign, the annual giving/ticket priority program, the coordination and sales of all suite lease agreements, and the gift-in-kind program. Volpe also oversaw Missouri’s 140 endowed scholarships, totaling more than $25 million, as well as estate and planned giving totaling more than $25 million. The TSF is responsible for annual revenue production in excess of $18 million.
 
In the community, Volpe was a member of the Big Brother's Big Sister's of Boone County Missouri Board of Directors and a member of the Central Missouri Food Bank Board of Directors.
 
Before joining Missouri, Volpe worked in the Department of Athletics at the University of Kentucky as an Associate to several Associate AD’s in the department of athletics. He assisted the department in several administrative units, including marketing, game operations, event management, and development.
 
Prior to his tenure at Kentucky, Volpe spent five years at Indiana University as a baseball student-athlete, graduate student, and intern in athletics administration, working directly with the executive management team.
 
A 2000 Academic All-Big Ten honoree, Volpe graduated from Indiana in 2002 with his bachelor's degree in sports management. He continued his education at Indiana and graduated with his master's degree in athletics administration one year later. While studying for his graduate degree, he was an associate instructor within the Department of Kinesiology.
 
Volpe comes to the Rio Grande Valley with his wife Laura, a former gymnastics student-athlete at the University of Missouri. They have one son, Geno.