(08-08-2018 11:35 AM)jdgaucho Wrote:  https://www.brownsvilleherald.com/premium/utrgv-football-feasibility-study-reveals-benefits-pitfalls/article_66307f29-b1f7-571d-bb39-8632add3ab8c.html?mode=jqm

The Monitor acquired the study, which was conducted by College Sports Solutions and has otherwise not been released publicly, from UTRGV through a public information request.

“Given the size of the university and its aspirational goals to be recognized as a Tier One research institution, CSS would recommend entry at the FBS level, which will require an invitation from an existing conference,” the report reads.

The study provided a timeline for UTRGV to begin playing football as early as 2021-22, though the proposed process is well behind schedule.

The report also noted potential pitfalls, specifically stating: “CSS does not recommend an attempt to play football independently at any level, as the operational difficulties, particularly with scheduling, present additional issues that can become problematic both as to management and resources.”

If UTRGV were to pursue a football program at any level, issues of funding and facilities would be at the forefront, according to the report. Projected yearly expenses ranged from $377,474 during the announcement year of an FCS program to $10,971,529 for the first year of FBS play.

Reads like football is indeed a possibility, but nothing definite in the near future. How does this affect the WAC FBS revival?

(08-10-2018 01:21 AM)Vaqueronation Wrote:  From what i'm reading it doesn't sound like the ut system told them to shut it down. We just had to wait for things to settle and still wait for the next legislative session in 2019.

(08-17-2018 08:40 PM)SeattleVandals Wrote:  Would a Southland invite be extended if UTRGV started football?

(08-17-2018 11:32 PM)Vaqueronation Wrote:  

(08-17-2018 08:40 PM)SeattleVandals Wrote:  Would a Southland invite be extended if UTRGV started football?

I don't think they would start football without some sort of an agreement from them.

Quote:Rio Grande Valley residents are like most Texans: We love football. Much of our population can be found at a local high-school football stadium on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights during fall to watch our teams battle it out on the gridiron.

So we are intrigued if not excited by University of Texas Rio Grande Valley officials’ dream of adding football to their athletic programs. But like many residents, we wonder if it’s plausible or merely a pipe dream.

University President Guy Bailey has included football on his long-term wish list since almost the beginning of the new school that merged the UT Brownsville and UT-Pan American campuses into a regional institution in 2013.

We appreciate Bailey’s big dreams, and his aggressive efforts to realize them. His guidance has brought a rapid expansion to facilities and programs. More conservative types might find such assertive moves a bit unnerving, especially when they involve the millions of dollars, both public and private, that go into running a major university.

UTRGV has taken a strong first step in commissioning a feasibility study. That study, launched last year by College Sports Solutions and released to The Monitor this month in response to a Public Information Act petition, confirms that a football program would be a major investment. Millions must be spent on facilities, coaches and staff, equipment and scholarships, and the endeavor is expected to lose money for at least the first few years.

Other related costs include the need to abide by the mandates of Title IX of the U.S. Code that require parity among men’s and women’s athletic programs. Adding football would require eliminating another men’s sport or adding another woman’s sport, and the additional expenses that would require.

The CSS review rightly addressed such concerns, as well as the need to be part of an athletic conference that supports football. University officials should start sending out feelers soon to gauge conferences’ interest in admitting UTRGV. Unfortunately, this area is a bit remote, and some universities might resist adding a campus that would require the kind of travel expenses — for other sports as well as football — to commit to coming here frequently.

An unwritten but obvious concern is the need for the football program, like its other sports teams, to be competitive. People will lose interest in a perennial loser, so the university will have to be willing to invest in coaching staffs that improve their chances of success.

(01-01-2021 01:15 PM)TexasTerror Wrote:  Hate to bump up an old post but it’s nice for those of keeping tabs on the WAC now due to our institutions likely moves to have access to some of the prior chatter

Additionally, did anyone read what CollegeAD put out yesterday? UTRGV football was a headline but alas, I do not subscribe. They had “sources” on the subject and certainly even this report would have not guessed the WAC having five football playing schools in Texas as we seem to be inching closer to