Ryela Rodriguez joined UTRGV Athletics as the Ticket Sales and Operations Coordinator on May 16, 2022, and was promoted to Assistant Director for Tickets Sales and Operations in Sept. 2023. On Oct. 1, 2024, Rodriguez was promoted to Assistant Athletic Director for Fan Engagement and Group Sales. Rodriguez was most recently promoted to Assistant Athletic Director for Corporate Partnerships in Nov. 2025.
In her new role, Rodriguez will oversee the curation, development, and management of all corporate partners for UTRGV Athletics. Among these responsibilities, Rodriguez will oversee all marketable inventory items, strengthen relationships with current partners, ensure that all obligations are met between partners and UTRGV Athletics, and develop and execute a comprehensive strategic plan.
Prior to her new role, Rodriguez was promoted to assistant athletic director for fan engagement and group sales in October 2024. In this role, Rodriguez helped UTRGV break the overall attendance record for the third-straight year, welcoming over 140,000 fans through the gates. Her efforts were instrumental in helping baseball welcome 82,258 fans during the 2025 season, ranking 34th in the NCAA in total attendance and 30th in average attendance. In addition, Rodriguez leads all school day efforts which generally welcome over 2,000 students from local primary and secondary schools to the UTRGV Fieldhouse for a once-a-season opportunity to receive a tour from student-athletes and attend a UTRGV game or match.
Rodriguez was promoted to assistant director for tickets sales and operations in September 2023. In this role, Rodriguez was responsible for selling and renewing season tickets and played a role in game day logistics and ticket pricing for all ticketed UTRGV events. Rodriguez also assisted the ticketing team in generating revenue through group sales as approximately 30,000 fans attended UTRGV Athletics events as part of a group.
As a member of the UTRGV ticket staff since May 2022, Rodriguez has helped the department reach record highs in overall attendance and group sales every year. Among the highlights, Rodriguez helped UTRGV gather the largest crowd to ever watch a women's basketball game in the Valley with 6,591 fans in attendance to see UTRGV take on Texas in 2023, volleyball set a new single game attendance record of 2,771 fans when they battled Texas Tech in 2024, and baseball break their single game attendance record when 6,537 fans to see UTRGV defeat Stephen F. Austin in 2025.
Prior to UTRGV, Rodriguez became familiar with the workings of collegiate athletics as an employee at the National Junior College Athletic Association’s (NJCAA) National Office and was involved with fan engagement and external operations while earning her bachelor’s degree at Baylor. Rodriguez has also earned an associate’s degree from Tyler Junior College and is currently pursuing a Master of Business Administration from UTRGV. She is a Rio Grande Valley native and graduate of McAllen Rowe High School.
