The Rice Owls have added the UTRGV Vaqueros to their 2028 football schedule, FBSchedules.com has learned.
A copy of the football game agreement with Rice University was obtained from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) via a state of Texas Public Information Act request.
Rice will host UTRGV at Rice Stadium in Houston, Texas, on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2028. The Owls will pay the Vaqueros a $395,000 guarantee for the contest, and UTRGV is set to receive $20,000 of that amount prior to Dec. 31, 2024, according to the copy of the contract.
UTRGV will play its first official Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) season in 2025 as a member of the Southland Conference. The Vaqueros will play the majority of their home football games in Edinburg at Robert & Janet Vackar Stadium, formerly known as H-E-B Park, with one game per season played on their Brownsville campus.
Rice, who was a member of Conference USA from 2005 through 2022, began play in the American Athletic Conference last season. The Owls are in their seventh season under head coach Mike Bloomgren, who has a 23-50 overall record at the school (16-31 Conference USA).
UTRGV is the second known non-conference opponent for Rice in 2028. The Owls are also slated to visit the UConn Huskies on Oct. 7 that season.
Rice is the first non-conference opponent scheduled for UTRGV in 2028.
Last November, UTRGV scheduled its first-ever opponent from the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). UTRGV will travel to take on the Texas State Bobcats of the Sun Belt Conference at Bobcat Stadium in San Marcos, Texas, on Sept. 11, 2027 and then again three seasons later on Sept. 14, 2030.
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