RIO GRANDE VALLEY – For 39 years, Ford Sasser III has made a lasting impact across the Rio Grande Valley influencing lives as both a dedicated banker and a familiar face on the gridiron.
 
Sasser's legacy on the gridiron began long before his professional career in the Valley. The San Antonio native continued his football career at Texas A&M. However, he quickly realized that his football career was coming to an end.
 
"I was playing football at A&M my freshman year and really didn't get much playing time," Sasser said. "I could tell I wasn't as good an athlete as my teammates were, and I probably wasn't ever going to play much."
 
After the annual spring game, Sasser informed the coaches of his decision to leave the football team, but he did not stay away from the gridiron for long. His roommate, James Gomez, also played football at A&M and followed a similar path as Sasser.
 
Jesse Gomez, James' father and an official in the Rio Grande Valley, saw an opportunity to fill a much-needed role for middle school and high school football in Texas.
 
Sasser was introduced to the world of officiating and was plugged in to the Bryan-College Station chapter of high school officials.
 
"We started officiating with older men from that chapter at local high schools," Sasser said. "When I say local, I mean, we'd go to Hearne, LaGrange, and Caldwell. I did work a game at A&M Consolidated and Bryan High School, but mostly we would go out of town."
 
For three years, Sasser traveled and officiated games for the chapter until he graduated from Texas A&M in 1976. From there, Sasser started working as a bank examiner for the State of Texas.
 
Travel was a necessary part of the job for Sasser. He was forced to give up his career as an official after only three years due to these demands.


Then, in 1986, Sasser found an opportunity at a bank that he previously examined in McAllen. Little did he know, this would be the final location in his career.
 
He settled in the Rio Grande Valley and hadn't really considered officiating again until he was approached by one of his customers, a fellow official, who was trying to fill a need.
 
"He told me, 'Well, we're always looking for officials,' Sasser said. "He said that they were going to do a game in Matamoros and asked if I wanted to officiate in that game."
 
Sasser leaped at the opportunity, resuming his officiating career after a near 13-year hiatus. In the fall of 1989, he began officiating high school football games again.
 
Meanwhile, Sasser was reintroduced to college football on the football field. He was able to officiate NCAA Division II and III games. Although many memories flooded Sasser's mind when asked what his favorite memory was, he spoke, still in awe, of his first game at Cowboy Stadium.
 
"Going down into the bowels of that facility, the dressing facilities were first class," Sasser said. "I can remember coming out onto the field before the game and the clock operators, media, security, medical staff, those were the kind of people that I look for, and they found me."
 
"Everything was so first class, and I was just impressed with the facilities, the game itself, the quality of the teams, so it was a very memorable afternoon for me."
 
This is one of many moments that Sasser glowed about during his 39-year officiating career. Of those years, 36 were spent officiating games across the Rio Grande Valley. Sasser has witnessed significant growth during his time in the Valley, from the individual communities to the entire region.
 
"When I started officiating again," Sasser said, "there was just one high school in Harlingen, Pharr, Edinburg, and La Joya, and now look how many high schools we have."
 
As a banker, Sasser has been able to witness the economic trends that have helped grow the entire region.
 
"We used to be centered more on agriculture, and now we've gotten into so much other areas," Sasser said. "The medical industry has become big and now we have a medical school with the university. Manufacturing and tourism have grown; we're even sending rocket ships into space now at SpaceX."
 
"Of course, we're a major port of entry for produce coming out of Mexico, and all the jobs that creates along our border. Our economy is much more diversified and all that brings dollars into our local economy and as dollars come in, everybody prospers from that."
 
Alongside this massive growth in the Rio Grande Valley, Sasser began to take notice of the athletic department at legacy institution University of Texas-Pan American in 1996.
 
Since then, Sasser, a football man at heart, has advocated for a football team to begin at the university.
 
Now, he will be able to see his vision come to reality on Aug. 30 when UTRGV hosts its first-ever football game against Sul Ross State at Robert & Janet Vackar Stadium.
 
"The dream of having a college football team down in the Rio Grande Valley is finally coming true," Sasser said. "I really think it's going to change the whole atmosphere of the campus. I suspect that students are going to start creating new traditions and new ways of showing their spirit."
 
Recently, Sasser was honored for his time as an official in the Rio Grande Valley by being named a Rio Grande Valley Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2025 inductee.

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