EDINBURG — Chasse Conque spent the past weekend at South Padre Island with his wife, Lisa, and three children. Saturday, he woke up at 6:15 a.m. and took an early morning walk on the beach. Lisa made chorizo breakfast tacos, then he took in a baseball game and spent the rest of the day on the beach and concluded it with a shrimp boil.
Sounds like a rare relaxing day for the UTRGV vice president and director of athletics, who enjoyed his 1,000th day in that position Saturday.
“It has been a wonderful first 1,000 days,” Conque said. “It’s hard to pinpoint a specific highlight but there have been certain moments and some thing that stand out. We’ve been through a lot, and so has everyone, and the pandemic took its toll.”
Conque was in his position for six months when the pandemic hit.
“Nobody knew what was ahead of us and what we were about to experience together,” he said. “We had some highs and some tough things thrown our way.”
Still, Conque and UTRGV pushed forward. Perhaps the biggest accomplishment (and most talked about across the RGV) during the first 1,000 days included a referendum to bring Division I football and a women’s swimming and diving program to UTRGV. A partnership with the city of Pharr and PSJA ISD delivered a state of the art natatorium that will be used by the city, the school district the UTRGV swim team.
The university is close to finalizing a deal with the WAC to have the conference’s swimming and diving championships at the natatorium as soon as 2023, before UTRGV kicks off its program.
“The Pharr Natatorium is one of the best in the country,” Conque said. “It’s top notch, top tier and will be wonderful for not only us and the Valley, but it will attract state and national attention to host a variety of meets and events.
“We’re working on our bid with the WAC and hopefully we’ll receive the green light and bring a WAC championship to that natatorium and the city of Pharr.”
Another huge accomplishment was the announcement of the university’s $30 million investment into its facilities for the current 16 sports. The campus will look very different when everything is completed.
“This was an early priority of ours. (University President) Dr. (Guy) Bailey and I set that vision. In order to do football the right way, we had to take care of our current sports.”
Those accomplishments, however, are not just stand-alone. They are all part of a bigger picture.
“We knew that football was something to pursue but we had to wait for the right time,” Conque said. “The capital projects would be a big need but we had to make sure we had some really good growth in our revenue streams to be able to take on that kind of investment. To have those come together over the past three years I think is a pleasant surprise, to have that much community support.
“And that’s the other piece that’s made it all possible. We talk about rallying the Valley and to make that true and the community is embracing that and see what we’re trying to do for the entire Rio Grande Valley.”
The university has also made it a priority to expand its programs Valley wide. It hosts a basketball tournament at South Padre Island and soccer matches in Cameron County, as well as youth clinics and camps.
“We’re not just focusing on the upper Valley but bringing our programs to Cameron County,” Conque said. “Sometimes you know what ingredients it’s going to take, but may not know the exactly amount you may need. And sometimes you may not know how it’s going to turn up at the end, but we knew when we got here there were some core things we needed to do.”
Conque said there won’t be any slowing down over the next 1,000 days. The goals, however, are in place.
“What’s the goal for the next 1000 days?” Conque said. “I’d say be ready to be competitive across the board. All of those things for our programs that we’ve done will hopefully lead us to sustainable and competitive success for all 16 sports. Engaging with the community and the community engaging with us will continue to be a major factor. There are many communities that want us to have a presence in their own backyard.
“It’s wonderful to be wanted.”