RIO GRANDE VALLEY – There's an innate sense of family that radiates throughout the Rio Grande Valley. 
 
Regardless of the region's rapid growth and development, the Valley maintains its feeling of a small, tight knit, family centric community. That culture emulates within The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) and its Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. 
 
Matt Palmquist and Gonzalo "G" Garza experienced that culture first-hand as men's basketball teammates in the late 1990's. It's one reason they still feel, over two decades after graduating, an immense sense of pride in the university, and why they've taken the initiative to bridge the past to the present through their podcast, Saddle Up. 
 
"We can't appreciate where we are unless we look at where we started, and this journey, this run down memory lane, it's going to take us there," Garza said to open the first episode, which was released Feb. 3, 2023. 
 
The Saddle Up podcast celebrates the rich history of UTRGV Athletics. Season One featured guests and stories tied to the Broncs of UTRGV's legacy institutions and provided a look at what the UTRGV Vaqueros have done and hope to do. Palmquist and Garza want to recognize those who laid the foundation for UTRGV and strengthen the ties with alumni to help push the Vaqueros further. 
 
Season Two debuts Friday, and Palmquist and Garza – the creators, co-hosts and best friends at the heart of the podcast – can't wait for Broncs and Vaqueros alike to saddle up and enjoy the next leg of this ride. 
 
"Saddle Up felt like a pipe dream not long ago and now we've done 20 episodes," Palmquist said. "What's really cool is going back and hearing how the school played a significant role in people's lives. I wish we could do this every day." 
 
From Idea to Reality
It all started on a Zoom call. 
 
Palmquist, Garza and several of their closest friends – including fellow men's basketball alums Lalo Rios (1995-99) and Brian Molina (1995-97) and other major Valley sports figures and UTPA graduates like Mike Mancias and Bert Garcia – joined weekly Zoom calls during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. They wanted to enjoy each other's company even while they had to stay apart, so they'd talk and laugh for hours, and every conversation led them to reminiscing on their college days. 
 

 
Garza is a Brownsville native, a former three-sport star at St. Joseph Academy, where he earned All-State accolades in basketball and football and reached the state track & field meet. The 6-foot-0 guard was on the men's basketball roster from 1996-98, fulfilling his dream of playing for the Broncs which stemmed from frequent visits to the Fieldhouse to watch his hometown team and Valley hero, Gabe Valdez (1987-91). 

Palmquist, a 6-foot-10 center/forward, made his way to the Valley as a walk-on from Bastrop, Texas. He played from 1996-2000, earning a scholarship along the way. He played in all but one UTPA game during his four-year career, averaging 6.0 points and 3.9 rebounds per game while surpassing 70 career blocks. 
 

Palmquist recounts the first time he met Garza in Saddle Up's debut episode, a day he said he'll never forget. They've been best friends ever since. So, when a podcast started developing from idea to reality, it was a no-brainer for them to do it together. 
 
"Matt and I would take those calls to another level. We'd get back on Zoom until about two or three in the morning, just talking about everything. We came up with this idea that it'd be pretty cool to do a podcast one day," Garza said. "Then Matt, it's like a lightbulb came on. He said, 'I've been talking to a bunch of UTPA guys and ladies and we have to bridge the gap. We have to somehow bring that world that we lived in and all those people from that time and bridge them to what UTRGV is becoming.' And I said, 'Man you've got something right there. Let's do this.'" 
 
They started making a list of potential guests, from legendary student-athletes and athletic figures to people currently involved with UTRGV Athletics. They used their connections to start reaching out to folks, and as people agreed to chat, the excitement grew. 
 
Palmquist is the creative founder for 610 Marketing & PR, so he took the lead on logistics. They did some practice runs with family members as guests to sort out the technical side of the podcast. Starting Saddle Up didn't happen without obstacles, but their sense of pride pushed them to get it off the ground. 
 
"There were a lot of phone calls between G and I, a lot of questioning ourselves, wondering if we should really do it. Listen, there are episodes we'll never air from when we were first playing with it. It was really bad," Palmquist said with a laugh. "It's been really cool to see how it was in its infancy, when it was just an idea, to what it is now. It's great to see the engagement and the feedback that we've gotten. We're really happy with the product that's coming out on a weekly basis and to see people are connecting to it." 
 
Saddle Up releases one episode each week. There were 21 episodes in the first season, which wrapped up June 30. Guests join a Zoom call which Palmquist records so the episodes can be watched on YouTube or listened to on Spotify and iTunes. Once in the meeting room, Palmquist and Garza immediately ease any nerves their guests may have as their boisterous hellos and friendly demeanors create a casual environment. 
 
The duo jokes about having only four subscribers (two being themselves) during Saddle Up's first month of existence. "Our best friends didn't even believe in it and thought it was just Matt and G clowning around," teases Palmquist. But with Season Two drawing near, they're on the verge of 800 combined subscribers and followers across various channels. 
 
More important than how many people are being reached is what those people think of the podcast. Palmquist and Garza love the messages they've been getting from listeners enjoying the trips down memory lane and learning new things about the department's history. They appreciate when guests circle back after recording an episode to tell them how much fun they had. It means the world to hear people thank them for what they're doing. 
 
"For us to take an idea and put it into a concept and grow it and have it receive the attention and fanfare and appreciation that Saddle Up is gathering, it makes us feel really good. It's surreal. We love it," Palmquist said. 
 
Relationships are Everything 
A fair amount of work goes into producing Saddle Up, from scheduling guests to doing research and compiling talking points for each episode. It hardly feels like work for the pair, who appreciate the extra hour or two each week to hang out with each other and reconnect with people from another chapter in their lives. 
 
But the duo doesn't want the podcast to come off as two guys just talking about the good ol' days with their buddies. They want to be an asset to UTRGV Athletics and help push more former athletes to be involved. Palmquist and Garza are both lifetime members of the Varsity Club, UTRGV's official organization for all letterwinners which strives to keep alumni engaged, create connections between current and former student-athletes, and foster relationships that span all sports and generations in UTRGV's history. 
 
To establish validity early, Saddle Up's first guest of the season was UTRGV Vice President and Director of Athletics Chasse Conque. Having Conque's support was immensely important to Palmquist and Garza, and the podcast's future. "Honestly, we would've had some really serious conversations if Chasse had said, 'probably not a good idea, guys,'" Garza admitted.
 
Instead, Conque saw the podcast's potential to reengage letterwinners and ignite more excitement for the Vaqueros. The relationship the co-hosts have developed with Conque drives what they do. 
 
"What a great way to celebrate UTRGV, our legacy institutions, our history and really bridge the foundation that was built by guys like Matt and G to where we are today," Conque praised during his episode.
 
Saddle Up welcomed 18 other guests in its first season, ranging from legendary athletic trainer Jim Lancaster, who worked for the university from 1980-2017 and is a Hall of Honor member, to Nevil Shed, a member of the National Basketball Hall of Fame and Texas Western's 1966 men's basketball national championship team who battled regularly against the Broncs. Some of the most prominent names in UTRGV's men's and women's basketball histories have been on, including Hall of Fame members Mire Chatman (MBB 2000-02) and Bianca (Torre) Salinas (WBB 2009-13). Each episode leaves Palmquist struggling to decide which parts get left on the cutting room floor because the ease of the co-hosts results in lengthy, enjoyable conversations detailing how UTRGV and athletics plays a major role in people's lives. 
 
"G and I, we didn't win a lot of games when we played. But our experiences at Pan Am still made us the men we are today," Palmquist said. "Being a part of something you can see is growing, and for Chasse and his team to be so welcoming of what we're trying to accomplish and trusting that we can help in our own unique, creative way is exciting." 
 

Stories shared in Saddle Up showcase the strong bonds the co-hosts maintain with former Broncs and how they aim to turn those bonds into beneficial relationships. Take Dexter Shankle, for example. Shankle played men's basketball for UTPA from 2004-08 and remains a loyal supporter of the school. He lives and owns a restaurant franchise in Corpus Christi, home of UTRGV's rival, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Palmquist introduced Shankle to Conque, and now when the Vaqueros head to Corpus for South Texas Showdown competitions, which happens at least seven times a year, the teams eat at Shankle's restaurant. 
 
"It's all about relationships," Garza said. "Matt is a glue guy. He's a magnet. He's awesome at bringing people together. My contribution is that I live in the Valley. I show up and shout for Vaquero Nation. I take my family and bring friends to events, call up the old basketball players when UTRGV had the viewing party for basketball. We have relationships with people who went to Pan American and we're trying to bring those people back to be part of the relationship with UTRGV." 

The relationship at the center of Saddle Up is Palmquist and Garza's friendship. It resonates in every episode. Conversation flows with easy banter between the co-hosts. They razz each other often, playfully teasing Garza's 12 career points or pointing out how Palmquist led the nation in fouls, bringing up the infamous bottle dance and applauding each other on using big words. 
 
They're not trained podcasters. At times, they might stumble or talk over each other. But the natural chemistry between best friends keeps things steady. They've learned to read each other in terms of co-hosting, knowing when to sit back or take the lead based off body cues or facial reactions. 
 
They aim to keep things unscripted and comfortable for their guests, and it leads to organic conversations people like listening to. The feedback after the first season – and the messages, calls, even shouts while at the grocery store from people asking, 'When are you going to have me on the podcast?' – lets them know they've got a good thing going. 
 
The Future 
Palmquist and Garza understand any hesitancy felt by former athletes and alumni to jump on the UTRGV train. 
 
The UT Board of Regents approved the merging of legacy institutions UTPA and UT Brownsville to create UTRGV in 2013, and the first class of Vaqueros stepped on campus in 2015. It was an exciting new chapter in the school's history, which includes the days of Pan American University (1971-89) and Pan American College (1952-71), but there were some mixed feelings. 
 
"We felt kind of abandoned, and a lot of other athletes felt that as well. Pan Am is what we shed blood, sweat and tears for and then all of a sudden, it's something different," Palmquist said. "There's no turning back, so we can either cry and not get anything done, or we can work together and build UTRGV into something great that everybody can be proud of. That's what we hope to accomplish with this podcast, to help other former athletes accept it and move forward." 
 
With that mission at the forefront, Palmquist and Garza are preparing to take Saddle Up to the next level during Season Two. They're revamping the look of the show, bringing in new and exciting guests, creating merchandise. They want to "take this show on the road" with the goal of recording episodes from the basketball conference tournaments in Las Vegas. 
 
Their commitment to making Saddle Up a reputable podcast goes back to the culture of the Valley and UTRGV. When someone comes to the Valley, they get engulfed in that culture if they buy in, Garza said, the way Palmquist did. And no matter how big UTRGV gets with sport expansion, improved facilities and incredible academics bringing more people to the region, that culture will never go away. 
 
Saddle Up wants to grow alongside UTRGV while making sure the Broncs' athletic history is not forgotten. So, jump on the saddle with the engaging and relatable duo of Palmquist and Garza. Take in the humorous and motivational stories they and their guests share. Learn something new about the place we call home or get transported back in time as old haunts and figures are discussed. They'd love to have an hour of your time and #RallyTheValley. 
 
"I'd never done a podcast before. I used to laugh at people that would start one. I've fallen in love with it," Garza said. "Being a part of this, having the opportunity to grow with UTRGV, it's a blessing. There are so many people that we would love to have on. I hope we can do it for a long time." 

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