Chasse Conque

During his first seven years as at UTRGV, senior vice president and director of athletics Chasse Conque has led the department through a period of exponential growth – nearly tripling attendance across all sports, generating over $47 million in external revenue, including an unprecedented $24.5 million during fiscal year 2024, and nearly tripling the department’s budget.
 
Since 2022, Conque, a 2026 NACDA Athletic Director of the Year, has presided over nearly $200 million in facilities enhancements across 13 capital projects touching all 18 athletic programs at UTRGV, 12 of which are complete.
 
The remarkable support during Conque’s tenure allowed UTRGV to move forward with starting football in 2025 and women’s swimming & diving in 2024-25 while making a move to the Southland Conference as full-time members in 2024-25.
 
The football team went 9-3 during its inaugural season this past fall, the best-ever by a first-year program at the FCS level. The Vaqueros went 7-0 at Robert & Janet Vackar Stadium while playing in front of crowds that ranked 11th in the FCS in total attendance and 16th in average attendance.

Across all sports, the Valley rallied behind the Vaqueros in a significant way, with a department record 228,069 fans attending home contests across all sports in 2025-26, an increase of over 500% over the last seven years.

Conque’s emphasis on rallying the Valley isn’t just about attendance, though, as he has prioritized community engagement, with UTRGV ranking 10th in NCAA Division I in community service hours this past year.
 
UTRGV won a department record four team Southland Conference championships this year, including volleyball, women’s indoor track & field, and men’s and women’s golf while sending student-athletes to nationals in both women’s indoor track & field and men’s golf.
 
As a department, UTRGV currently sports a cumulative department grade point average of 3.37, its best in six years, with every sport program recording a spring GPA above 3.0.