The UTRGV Vaqueros have scheduled their inaugural Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) game, FBSchedules.com has learned.
UTRGV, which has campuses in Brownsville and Edinburg, Texas, recently started their football program and will play an exhibition season in 2024. The Vaqueros’ first official FCS season will be in 2025 and they will compete in the Southland Conference after initially joining the United Athletic Conference (UAC).
UTRGV will play their first-ever FCS contest at home at Robert and Janet Vackar Stadium in Edinburg, Texas, on Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025 against the Sul Ross State Lobos. The Vaqueros will pay the Lobos a $50,000 guarantee for the game, according to the copy of the contract obtained from the University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley via a Texas Public Information Act request.
Sul Ross State University, located in Alpine, Texas, recently moved up to Division II and will compete in the Lone Star Conference.
Back in November, we reported that UTRGV had 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.
The Vaqueros also scheduled their first home-and-home series against the Houston Christian Huskies. However, that was before UTRGV opted to depart the United Athletic Conference for the Southland. Since Houston Christian is also in the Southland, that series will not be played, but the two schools could meet in conference action.
Future UTRGV Football Schedules
It says they will be an exhibition season in 2024—does anybody know who they will play?
No information on that, have been checking but they have no contracts.
You might think they would play other college practice squads. but UTRGV is a REALLY long bus trip from other football-playing schools. Maybe Trinity (San Antonio)? Maybe Texas Lutheran (Seguin)? Maybe they schedule a scrimmage against Schreiner (Kerrville, starting DIII football in 2025).
Also, several Mexican schools have squads that UTRGV could play. For instance, my high played UAT-Victoria last year. I was at the game – not a very pretty or competitive brand of football, but they do some different things.
Houston Christian Fan welcomes UTRGV to Southland Conference.