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RIO GRANDE VALLEY – One year ago today, Chasse Conque walked into his office next to the UTRGV Fieldhouse and took a deep breath.
It was his first official day as Vice President and Director of Athletics. Although Conque had been working to set plans in motion since accepting the job on Aug. 1, including a brief trip to the Valley for a litany of meetings with staff and stakeholders, this day was something different.
On Aug. 26, 2019, Conque, who previously served as Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics at Little Rock from 2015-19, walked into the office before anyone else to get a brief moment of calm before sitting down and getting to work.
There's a fair argument to be made that Conque became the Director of Athletics the next day. At his introductory press conference, Conque stated his intention to "Rally the Valley" behind UTRGV Athletics. That phrase has becoming a rallying cry not only for athletics, but the university and the region. It has grown in meaning to include UTRGV rallying behind the Valley both in the best and the most trying of times.
Conque
spent much of his first few months "drinking water out of a fire hose." He went back and forth between the Edinburg and Brownsville campuses, as well as points in-between, to meet as many people as possible. This included serving food at picnics with the President and energizing the crowds at UTRGV Day celebrations.
"The first few months were certainly intense," Conque said. "But that's a good thing. I wanted to get to know as many people as I could, from students to faculty to staff to the community. My family and I were and continue to be touched by how welcoming everyone is. We knew very quickly that we had made a good decision in coming here and that we were now home.
"I want to thank [UTRGV President] Dr. [Guy] Bailey and the entire leadership team for their guidance both during the transition and throughout this first year. Their advice and friendship have been, and will continue to be, invaluable."
FOCUS ON THE COMMUNITY
UTRGV Athletics rallied behind the Valley in a big way during Conque's first year, ranking 20th in the nation in community service hours (1,526) as a department, with five programs ranking among the top 10 in their sports. The men's soccer team led the nation among its peers by completing 120 hours of community service. The women's golf team ranked 57thin the nation among all sport programs by averaging 17 hours of service per student-athlete. UTRGV student-athletes spent 208 hours volunteering at the Food Bank RGV, preparing about 14,500 meals.
Conque placed an emphasis on bringing UTRGV Athletics to both campuses, spearheading a Brownsville initiative that saw athletics bring student-athletes, coaches and/or staff to the Brownsville campus on a bi-weekly basis. UTRGV Athletics also formed a partnership with the City of Brownsville to bring more events, including competitions, camps, clinics and fan days, to Brownsville. Starting in December 2020, UTRGV is scheduled to begin hosting an annual women's basketball tournament on South Padre Island with the potential for bringing high profile men's games to the Island as well.
Conque is focused on making sure that the UTRGV basketball teams get an opportunity to play in the premiere entertainment venue in the Valley, which is why the men's and women's teams are scheduled to play multiple games at Bert Ogden Arena in 2020-21 with the intention of making games there an annual occurrence.
When the COVID-19 pandemic shut down most on-campus operations and increased food insecurity among the general student population, UTRGV Athletics stepped up to donate more than $5,000 worth of food to the UTRGV Student Food Pantry. Additionally, UTRGV Athletics began offering content to help those in quarantine by posting a weekly TownePlace Suites Good Night Story and partnering with UT Health RGV to offer tips on #WorkoutWednesday.
"The Valley has done so much for us, which is why it's so important we do as much as we can for the Valley," Conque said. "The pandemic has caused significant adversity for our region, but we're all in this together. We want everyone to know that, whether there are sports actively competing or not, we're here for them, no matter what."
THE ROAR OF THE CROWD
Conque knew that, in order to get people to rally behind UTRGV Athletics, he needed to enhance the fan experience. By his second week in office, Conque had looked at the empty courtyard outside the UTRGV Fieldhouse and dreamed up Vaquero Village. He saw an opportunity for fans from all walks of life to rally together before games.
Over the course of the next few months, the courtyard's landscaping was transformed, lights were hung on strings, new picnic and cocktail tables as well as couches, lounge chairs and a custom inflatable had arrived.
The debut day was set as Dec. 3. This would allow time for $1.5 million in renovations to the fieldhouse to be completed. Additionally, men's basketball was set to host defending Southland Conference Champion Sam Houston State and Red Panda, declared by Sports Illustrated to be "the NBA's favorite halftime show," was set to perform. Coincidentally, Dec. 3 was also Conque's 100th day on the job.
In the corporate and political worlds, the first 100 days is often considered to be among the most crucial. This will be a test as to whether or not a leader can gain traction with his or her vision.
To say the least, Conque passed the test.
"We are grateful to Chasse for his leadership and for the strong community focus he has provided," UTRGV President Guy Bailey said. "He has brought renewed action, as well as vision, to our athletics department and helped Rally the Valley in the process."
Conque enjoyed his 100th day in office with a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the launch of Vaquero Village and renovations include new men's and women's basketball, volleyball, visiting team and officials' locker rooms and team rooms, new hallways leading to the locker room areas, a new athletic training room, a new media room, a new equipment room, a redesigned Sam Williams Court, new baskets, new scoreboards, new scorer's and media tables with LED boards, and new entry doors.
To cap it all off, the men's basketball team pulled off a heart-pumping double overtime victory.
The next morning, the UTRGV Athletics staff woke up to this email from Conque:
Congratulations and many thanks to each of you for making yesterday a special day for our department.
There are days that can't be taken away from us, and yesterday was certainly one of those days.
I appreciate everyone's hard work and buy-in as we pulled the VV concept off in a short amount of time. Our men's team did their part and provided us a near perfect day. I hope y'all felt and heard the kudos and positive energy throughout the night.
We WILL have more days like yesterday and I appreciate all you have done to help create even more energy around our program.
Now, sustaining this is our next task. Hopefully we can simplify setup, sell the corporate experiences and get our spirit flag program operating at full speed - all of these things play a role in our plan.
Thank you again and take a moment to enjoy what we pulled off.
If the UTRGV Athletics staff hadn't already fully coalesced behind Conque, that email clinched it. The external operations and facilities and events staffs went on to make sure the Vaquero Village was operating at peak efficiency over the next few months and the aforementioned spirit flag program was a success, as businesses in the surrounding area bought UTRGV flags to display on game day and help #RallyTheValley behind UTRGV Athletics.
Conque's emphasis on the fan experience extended to UTRGV Baseball Stadium with the addition of the corral, a section of party decks beyond the right field wall at which fans can bring their own food to grill while enjoying games. Other enhancements to the baseball facility include the addition of padding to the outfield walls with new, dynamic signage celebrating the history of the program and corporate partner support, the installation of a new batting cage, and the painting of the stairs to add an orange exclamation.
STRONG ATTENDANCE
The enhanced fan experiences led to strong attendance at home events. The baseball team averaged 1,087 fans per game, its highest mark in over a decade and an increase of 20 percent over 2019. Men's basketball saw an attendance increase of 13.5 percent over 2018-19, including a sellout crowd of 2,618 for the "Pack the House" game against New Mexico State. Women's basketball enjoyed a 16.2 percent increase in attendance. The volleyball team welcomed three of the 12 largest crowds while recording the third-best attended season in program history.
"I really want to thank our fans for making my first year so memorable," Conque said. "The energy that they brought to our games was something special. Even on the road, I'll never forget the support we saw when the baseball team visited Houston in February. Together, we're really making our mark."
STRONG ACADEMICS
UTRGV student-athletes had an incredible year scholastically, pushing the departmental cumulative grade point average (GPA) to 3.38, including a department record 3.48 GPA in the spring, and combining for 106 Academic All-WAC honors. 157 student-athletes recorded a 3.0 GPA in the fall, 34 of whom posted a perfect GPA of 4.0. An astounding 218 student-athletes recorded a 3.0 GPA in the spring, 68 of whom posted a perfect GPA of 4.0.
The commitment to academics extends beyond the student-athletes, as UTRGV Athletics is partnering with colleges on campus to create curriculum-based learning experiences for students. In 2019-20, the athletics marketing team began working with the Robert C. Vackar College of Business & Entrepreneurship, directly entering classrooms on both campuses on a monthly basis while working to create internships. UTRGV Athletics is also working to partner with the new Hospitality and Tourism Management program to help give students opportunities for real-world, hands-on experience by assisting with the implementation of UTRGV athletic events.
"Everyone is here to get a degree, and I am so proud of the tremendous work of our young people to excel whether in the classroom or through online classes," Conque said. "Part of the mission of UTRGV is to transform the Valley and the world by promoting student success. Our student-athletes have answered the call and we're excited to be working with colleges across campus to be able to further student success on a wider scale."
STRONG ATHLETICS
UTRGV athletic programs experienced significant competitive success in Conque's first year. The men's soccer team earned its first-ever national ranking, coming in at No. 24. The volleyball team posted its first-ever victory over a Big 10 opponent, upsetting Maryland. Abraham Chirchir advanced to the NCAA Cross Country Championships for the second-straight year. The women's cross country team pulled off a stunning fourth place finish at the NCAA South Central Regional. The men's basketball team earned the best WAC Tournament seed in program history, coming in at No. 2, by winning eight of its final 10 games. The indoor track & field team won nine WAC Championships. The men's golf team won two team titles and one individual medal. Although spring seasons were cut short by the pandemic, multiple teams were hitting their strides. The men's tennis team closed the season on a three-match winning streak while the baseball team, which opened the season with back-to-back home wins over Kansas State and earned a big win at Houston, closed the season on an eight-game winning streak.
"We had some great success this year, and in some sports, I thought we were just starting to hit our stride," Conque said. "While we're disappointed with the way it ended, we're confident that, when we resume, we'll be able to pick up where we left off."
IMPORTANT PARTNERS
Conque led UTRGV Athletics into multiple new and exciting partnerships, starting by partnering with UT Health RGV as the official and exclusive healthcare provider for UTRGV Athletics to keep the Vaqueros in the game. UTRGV student-athletes have access to UT Health RGV's sports medicine team physicians and orthopedic surgeons, as well as to specialists in primary care, mental health, women's health, psychiatry and neurology, ear, nose & throat, plastic surgery and nutrition.
"The partnership with UT Health RGV has proven to be crucial as we navigate the world during this pandemic," Conque said. "We are so thankful for the support and guidance of [UTRGV School of Medicine Dean and Executive Vice President for Health Affairs] Dr. [John] Krouse and his entire team."
UTRGV Athletics' most recent major partnership was a new five-year partnership agreement with BSN SPORTS to make Under Armour the official athletic footwear, apparel and accessory brand of the Vaqueros.
Under Armour, a leader in performance footwear, apparel, and equipment, will provide UTRGV's 16 sport programs with training gear for competition, practice and community appearances while also outfitting the coaches and athletic department staff.
"Under Armour has made a significant impact during the COVID-19 pandemic by supporting hunger relief efforts, making masks to support healthcare professionals, and inspiring us with their tagline, 'the only way is through,'" Conque said. "We are confident this partnership will serve our student-athletes well and we look forward to being part of the Under Armour family for many years to come."
STEPPING UP TO THE PLATE
While navigating life in the pandemic has taken up much of the summer, UTRGV Athletics also took the lead on social justice by declaring loudly from voices that included Conque, men's basketball head coach Lew Hill, track & field head coach Darren Flowers, and more than a dozen student-athletes, Black Lives Matter.
"I think as an athletic department with Chasse leading, we're going in the right direction of change," UTRGV Men's Basketball Head Coach Lew Hill said. "When George Floyd was killed, Chasse texted me immediately. I was going to seek him out, but he was already on it and that meant a lot to me. It showed me that he was on board. I've been telling people that I very much appreciate having someone that spearheads conversations like this running our department."
Not only did those in UTRGV Athletics make their voices known in statements, videos and media appearances, but UTRGV Athletics began hosting round-table sessions to discuss race in a safe environment.
"When we listen and celebrate what is both common and different, we become wiser, more inclusive, and better organizations," Conque said. "We have only begun to scratch the surface and I look forward to more discussions in which the conversation can continue."
"THIS IS OUR HOME"
The summer also saw the Valley get hit hard by Hurricane Hanna, marking the first Hurricane to hit the area in 10 years. The campus sustained some flooding and damage, but compared to some in the community, got through okay. Some members of the community were without power for extended periods of time, including Conque. Despite all of that, Conque maintained his positive attitude, tweeting:
As for the year ahead, everyone inside UTRGV Athletics is itching to get back out in the community and make an impact to the extent that it is possible. In its time of need, even without fall sports taking place, UTRGV Athletics intends to continue to find ways to rally behind the Valley.
"This is our home. The people here are our family, our friends and our neighbors," Conque said. "We're ready to roll up our sleeves and make a difference. Let's #RallyTheValley."
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