RIO GRANDE VALLEY – On a sunny Friday morning at 9:00, you could find orange and gray shirts donning the Vaqueros logo scattered throughout campus picking up trash.
 
Over 200 UTRGV student-athletes and coaches representing baseball, men's and women's basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, tennis, and track & field participated in the annual UTRGV athletics campus clean-up.
 
UTRGV student-athletes, coaches and staff met at the UTRGV Student Union to receive gloves and trash bags for their undertaking. Julia Perez, UTRGV Athletics' coordinator for student development, organized the event and shares why this annual tradition started.
 
"We started doing campus cleanup as a community service initiative that directly aligns with national cleanup day," Perez said. "UTRGV has beautiful campuses, and our student-athletes, coaches, and staff take pride in keeping our home beautiful."
 
"It's important for us to clean up campus because it's our home," junior women's golfer Madi Ozuna said. "We always want campus to look nice and UTRGV does so much for us, doing this means a lot to everybody."
 
Student-athletes split up into groups as they dispersed throughout campus. The volunteers picked up trash, palm fronds, and other items that needed to be disposed.
 
"I feel like UTRGV does a lot for us, so as student-athletes, we should give back," junior men's track & field sprinter Jermarrion Stewart said. "We went to the math and science academy and picked up a lot of trash in that area."
 
Last year, UTRGV athletics ranked seventh in community service among all NCAA Division I (DI) programs. UTRGV student-athletes accumulated 3,706 hours of community service.
 
"Coach [Derek Matlock] is always telling us that it's important to give back to our community because they give so much to us," UTRGV baseball newcomer Ryan McCauley said. "Community service is a main focus of our team."
 
In 2022-23, men's basketball and men's track & field ranked first and third, respectively, in community service among all DI men's programs. Women's golf ranked fourth in community service among all DI women's golf programs and men's soccer and men's golf ranked sixth in community service for their respective sports.
 
"Together, we #RISEup to show our love and appreciation for our UTRGV community," Perez said.

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