Texas Rio Grande Valley Athletics

Welcome to the UTRGV Athletics Media Information Center. This site is intended to be a resource for professional and student media to help them in their coverage of The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. If there is any information not located here that would be helpful to you, or if you have any questions, contact Senior Associate Athletic Director for Communications & Championships Jonah Goldberg. While it is our aim to fulfill all reasonable requests in a timely fashion, we reserve the right to deny interview or credential requests at any time. Media Relations Contacts
Jonah Goldberg
Administration, Baseball, Football
(956) 665-2240
jonah.goldberg@utrgv.edu
 
Danny Elizondo
Men’s Basketball, Men’s and Women’s Golf, Men's and Women's Soccer
(956) 665-2599
daniel.elizondo@utrgv.edu

Claire Cruz
Women’s Basketball, No. 2 Football, Men's and Women's Tennis, Track & Field/Cross Country, Volleyball
clarisa.cruz@utrgv.edu

Matthew Cavazos
Swimming & Diving, No. 2 Men's and Women's Tennis
matthew.cavazos02@utrgv.edu
 

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Media Procedures

Interview and Information Requests
All requests for interviews with or information from UTRGV student-athletes, coaches and administrators should be made directly through the athletic communication office and should be made at least 24 hours in advance. For interview requests, please include the subject of the interview, the desired interviewees, the mode of interview, and approximately how long each interview will last. For information requests, please be specific as to what you need to allow us to best assist you.
 
Interviews may be conducted in-person, over the phone or through a video chat program such as Zoom or Teams with a member of the UTRGV Athletics media relations staff present.

Competition Day Interviews
Interviews will generally not be granted prior to competition, except for pregame head coach interviews with radio and television broadcasts. In the case of multiple requests, priority will be given to television broadcasts, followed by the professional UTRGV broadcast, the opposing professional broadcast, UTRGV student radio, and then the opposing student broadcast. All requests should be made at least 36 hours in advance. All competition day interviews should be regarding that day’s competition.
 
Post Competition Interviews
Following home competitions, the UTRGV head coach and up to two UTRGV student-athletes are usually made available. Requests for opposing team coaches and student-athletes should be made in advance through the opposing team’s athletic media relations office. Each team can elect to have a cooling down period of approximately 10 minutes following each game.

Post Competition Interview Locations
•Robert & Janet Vackar Stadium – Media room
•Sams Stadium – On field in area close to UTRGV locker room
•UTRGV Fieldhouse – Media room
•UTRGV Soccer and Track & Field Complex – On the field near the scorer's table for soccer, on the infield for track & field
•UTRGV Baseball Stadium – On the field near the UTRGV dugout
•Orville I. Cox Tennis Center – On court 1
•Golf – In the clubhouse

All post competition interviews should be regarding that day’s competition, the next competition, and the time in-between.
  UTRGV Media Credential Policies
Credentialing by the UTRGV Department of Intercollegiate Athletics for event coverage is based on several factors which together are intended to provide a working atmosphere conducive to professional media coverage and practices.
 
Credentialing priority for all sports is given to professional media outlets that cover UTRGV Athletics on an active, consistent, and comprehensive basis. Authorized outlets are established, active, legitimate journalistic endeavors with a proven history of comprehensive coverage.
 
Football Credential Requests
Credential requests for local media for Saturday home football games must be made by Tuesday at 5 p.m.

Credential requests for out of town media for Saturday home football games must be made by Monday at 2 p.m. to allow time to mail credentials in advance.

All Other Sports Credential Requests
Credential requests for all other sports must be made by 5 p.m. two days prior to the competition. For example, a credential for a Thursday competition must be requested by Tuesday at 5 p.m.

Professional Newspapers: Preference will be given to those newspapers which cover all games of UTRGV or the opposing team. Newspapers which cover all home games receive the next priority.
 
Professional Television: Preference will be given to those stations which cover all games of UTRGV or the opposing team. Stations which cover all home games receive the next priority. All stations should have regular nightly sports segments with a full-time sports director/anchor.
 
Professional Radio Stations: Credentials will be limited to national networks, the two originating team broadcasts, Rio Grande Valley area stations, stations that produce original news features, and the opposing team's hometown stations, if these stations have a sports director and regular daily sports shows or consistent sports coverage. Considerations will also be made for alternate language broadcasts which cover all UTRGV or visiting team games. Credentials will be granted on a space-available basis. These stations must cover the athletic program on a regular, year-round basis as determined by the athletic communications office of the respective institutions.
 
Professional Photographers: Only staff photographers who represent national wire services, accredited national and regional magazines and websites, and accredited newspapers will be considered for credentials. Photos are for editorial use by the credentialed organization only. Photographs used for any other purpose must receive prior written permission from the UTRGV Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. There is not always space for photographers available in the press box or on press row. No cutline writers, grips, or messengers will be allowed in this area due to congestion.
 
Professional Magazines: Only national and regional circulation sport-specific magazines which cover college athletics will be considered for credentials. Local magazines with a proven history of coverage of UTRGV Athletics may also be considered for credentials.
 
Student Newspapers and Magazines: Credentials for student outlets are limited to each participating institution. A maximum of two press and two photo credentials will be considered for each of the institutions' designated school newspapers.
 
Student Television: A maximum of two reporter and two photo credentials will be considered for each student TV channel.
 
Student Radio: A maximum of four credentials will be considered for student radio, including two for announcers and two for reporters, per school.
 
Yearbooks: A maximum of one photo credential will be considered for a school yearbook.
 
Internet Sites: Credentials will be granted to the official website of each participating institution, the conference of the home and visiting teams, and contractual rights-fee paying media and/or the official online service of the national network televising the game. Also receiving consideration will be websites that are part of a national network and those that are affiliated with a national media entity of another form and/or those organizations whose primary purpose is gathering news and disseminating it and for which other commercial activities are ancillary (e.g. ESPN.com, CBSSports.com, SI.com, etc.)
 
Online media with an emphasis on the recruitment of prospective student-athletes (that meet the above qualification) can request a credential(s) for the purpose of writing a game/event recap. These requests will be reviewed on an individual basis by the UTRGV Athletic Communications Office. Contact with prospective student-athletes while on the UTRGV campus is strictly prohibited.
 
Due to the multitude and wide-ranging requests from outlets that fall under this category, all requests are subject to review by the UTRGV Athletic Communications Office with emphasis on the following areas:
 
1) Must show intent to be viable news organization, not a fan-centric site
 
2) Overwhelming majority of content must be original-news stories, not satirical/fan-related posts or re-posts of non-original news from other media outlets
 
3) Cannot be inflammatory toward others schools, media outlets
 
4) Must have established record of meeting the above criteria, either by individual or organization
 
Credentials will not be granted to any online agency operating sites that are in any way affiliated with gambling. Nor will credentials be granted to "fan-submitted" or unedited sites that are not affiliated with an established news-gathering organization and/or sites whose sole entity is fan-generated message boards that allow the posting of anonymous comments.
 
Blogs: The UTRGV Department of Intercollegiate Athletics does not credential bloggers. Media representatives already covering the game for an approved media outlet may participate in blogging in accordance with blogging policies of the NCAA and the Southland Conference or Western Athletic Conference as applicable.

Social Media: The UTRGV Department of Intercollegiate Athletics does not credential individuals who only provide coverage via social media. Media representatives already covering the game for an approved media outlet may participate in social media use in accordance with the social media policies of the NCAA and the Southland Conference or Mountain Pacific Sports Federation as applicable.

Podcasts: The UTRGV Department of Intercollegiate Athletics does not credential podcasters. Media representatives already covering the game for an approved media outlet may also have a podcast.
 
NCAA Compliance: Credentialed media members must adhere to NCAA rules and any NCAA violations are grounds for the revoking of a credential. Specifically, contact with prospective student-athletes is strictly prohibited on the UTRGV campus.
 
Autographs: Credentialed media members are strictly prohibited from requesting autographs, personal photographs, paraphernalia, or anything that is not related to the job at hand. Failure to follow this guideline could result in forfeiture of credentials.

Promotional Item Giveaways: Credentialed media members are strictly prohibited from taking promotional items that UTRGV Athletics is giving to ticketed fans. Failure to follow this guideline could result in forfeiture of credentials.
 
Parking Passes: Parking for media is free at all home athletic events. Media can park in the fan parking lots for most events. A designated parking area will be provided for football games. If coming during a non-competition day, please acquire a visitor’s parking pass here. UTRGV Athletics Photographer Policy
•Only credentialed media members in a working capacity are permitted at court/field level during the game.
•Photographers must adhere to all regulations and are asked to be considerate of other photographers.
•Photographers are asked to take care to never block the view of fans.
•Flash photography and lights for cameras facing the field or court are strictly prohibited.
•No assistants are permitted at field/court level unless previously granted permission from the UTRGV Athletic Communications Office.
•Credentialed personnel are prohibited from selling any photos or video taken at UTRGV athletic events, including, but not limited to, photos and video of the opposing team and photos of fans and promotions.

Football
•Photographers are required to wear both credentials and special media vests when shooting video and/or photos on the field. Vests will be provided when entering the field and must be returned when exiting the field.
•Media may enter and exit the field at Robert & Janet Vackar Stadium from the south ramps and at Sams Stadium from the southwest corner.
•Media is restricted to staying within the designated dotted line areas near the corners and end zones on each side. Media may walk behind benches on the gray walkway to reach other side of field. Media may also walk behind end zones.
•Media is not allowed to enter the bench area or shoot from directly behind the benches.

Volleyball and Basketball
•Photographers are prohibited from sitting in premium and reserved seating including, but not limited to, courtside seating.
•Photographers are limited to shooting from the baseline and corners at basketball and volleyball games.
•If designated photographer boxes are marked on the court, they should be utilized for basketball but not volleyball. Shooting from the top of the stands is permitted as long as the view of fans is not being obstructed.
•During volleyball matches, photographers are asked to be ready to move and not to interfere with student-athletes or on any ball as all balls are in play until they touch the ground or the play is whistled to come to an end.
•Photographers cannot shoot from in front of press row, the stats tables, or next to the benches.
•Media is not allowed to enter the bench area or shoot from directly behind the benches.

Soccer
•Photographers can stand as close as six feet from the field.
•Photographers may not stand directly behind the goals or in front of the benches or scorer’s tables.
•Media is not allowed to enter the bench area.

Baseball
•Photographers are prohibited from sitting in premium and reserved seating including, but not limited to, the home plate club.
•Photographers may not enter the field at baseball unless accessing the camera wells, and only if the wells are not otherwise in use.
•Media is not allowed to enter the dugouts.

Other Sports
Photographers at all other sports should consult with the on-site athletic communications staff. Photo and Video Requests
Accredited and professional broadcast outlets should contact the UTRGV Athletic Communications Office regarding interest in high-resolution photos, video clips or highlights. Not all requests will be able to be honored. Press Row/Press Box/Media Table/Media Room Use
Space in working media areas is limited and should be requested at least 48 hours in advance of a competition. We will do our best to providing seating, internet and electricity when requested. Ethernet is available at the UTRGV Fieldhouse, UTRGV Baseball Stadium and UTRGV Soccer and Track & Field Complex. POTS lines are not available.
 
Media using areas including, but not limited to, the press box and media room at football, press box at soccer, press row and media room at volleyball and basketball, and press box at baseball, are expected to maintain professionalism at all times and be respectful of other working media. Cheering for either team in any of these areas is strictly prohibited. Quick Facts
Institution Name: The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Shortened Name: UT Rio Grande Valley
Abbreviation: UTRGV
Nickname: Vaqueros
School Colors: Orange and Gray
Founded: 2015
Fall 2024 Enrollment: 34,343
National Affiliation: NCAA Division I
Conferences: Southland Conference, Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (women's swimming & diving), Ohio Valley Conference (men's soccer starting 2026)
President: Dr. Guy Bailey
Vice President and Director of Athletics: Chasse Conque
Mailing Address: 1201 W. University Dr. Edinburg, TX 78539
Athletics Facility Locations (Approximate addresses in Edinburg, Texas unless otherwise noted)
UTRGV Fieldhouse (N. 5^th Ave.)
UTRGV Baseball Stadium (920 N. Sugar Rd.)
UTRGV Soccer and Track & Field Complex (547 N. Jackson Rd.)
Orville I. Cox Tennis Center (101-173 N 4^th Ave.)
Vaqueros Performance Center (8R7G+C3)
Robert & Janet Vackar Stadium (1616 S. Longoria Rd.)
City of Pharr-PSJA Natatorium (3001 N. Cage Blvd., Pharr, TX 78577)
Vaqueros Golf Center (2701 S. Ware Rd., McAllen, TX 78503)