RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros women's basketball trip to Puerto Rico didn't come together over night. 
 
It took time and a lot of different people to help put the trip together. 
 
The Vaqueros hadn't taken a trip like this before, and Coach Lord and his staff felt like it was a good time to plan one. There had been plans in the past, but nothing worked out. When deciding on where to go, there were a couple of different factors that went in to deciding on going to Puerto Rico.
 
"Once every four years the NCAA allows each institution to take an international trip and with that comes 10 extra practices," UTRGV Head Coach Lane Lord said. "We have taken advantage of that. In the day of transfer portal, it was important for us to go to a place where we didn't need a passport. We have been planning it for nine months now and there has been a lot of buildup and we are ready to get there and have some fun."
 
A trip of this magnitude requires the permission from administration and fortunately for the Vaqueros Vice President and Director of Athletics Chasse Conque and Deputy Director of Athletics/Senior Woman Administrator supported the idea. 
 
Once the plan had the green light then it was up to Director of Basketball Operations Victoria Pena to get everything lined up and in order.
 
"Chasse was very instrumental in helping us put this all together, as well as Molly," Lord said. "Victoria Pena, our Director of Operations, has done a great job. It's been a team effort. Chasse and the administration are all on board. We are really grateful for their support."
 
Coming up with an itinerary for a place you don't know very much about can be tough, but it helps to know someone who has planned a trip like this for other teams before. 
 
Coach Lord enlisted the help of longtime friend and colleague Robert Corn who spent many years coaching in Puerto Rico and has experience planning trips for other teams. Coach Lord has even been on trips with Corn so he was happy to have his help.
 
"We have a tour guide, who is a former coach," Lord said. "His name is Robert Corn. He used to be the men's coach at Missouri Southern and I have been to Puerto Rico with him as well as to Brazil and Hawaii playing basketball so when he retired, he started taking teams to different venues. We have had that connection with Coach Corn for 15 years and he actually coached in the pro league there for 20 years, so he is very familiar with the culture, the people, where to go, where to eat and all those things. He has been a big help for us and has set everything up for us."
 
Thanks to Corn, the Vaqueros will get to experience kayaking, ziplining, visit Old San Juan and El Morro, and get to take in the culture from the area. 
 
A trip like this can add up financially pretty quick but the Vaqueros were able to plan for it well in advance. 
 
The Vaqueros were able to make it happen through different ways like saving up money from guaranteed games and getting some help from their donors.
 
"We had some donors that helped us out," Lord said. "We had some nice gifts from them, and we can't thank them enough. Without their help this trip may have been different. Our administration also helped us out and we are lucky to have their support in everything we do. When we played guaranteed games like Texas, Texas, Texas A&M, and Kansas we us some of that money to help make this trip happen as well."
 
Coach Lord knows these trips are special and would like to make trips like this happen more often. 
 
He was hoping to start these trips a few years ago but everything fell into place for this year.
 
"It's a once in a lifetime opportunity for these girls," Lord said. "If they are here for four years, we like to take a trip like this so they can have this experience. COVID-19 derailed those plans for a couple of years. We had some plans to go to Spain but with COVID-19 and the transfer portal and the way everything has changed over the last two or three years, it has taken us a little longer to go than we wanted to but now it's here. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity. We even have some parents and family members that are going to meet us there. It's going to be a neat experience."
 
It took a village to make the trip to Puerto Rico happen and with departure just a few days away the Vaqueros are excited to head out to La Isla del Encanto.
 
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