The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley just had the most consequential year in its athletic department history. The Vaqueros generated $24.48 million in revenue for fiscal year 2024 — an 800% increase over the previous year — including a $20 million gift from Robert and Janet Vackar believed to be one of the 40 largest donations in college athletics history. They played their first-ever varsity football season in 2025. And they launched the Rally the Valley NIL Exchange to formalize how brands, donors, and fans connect with Vaqueros athletes.
This is what an FCS program in heavy growth mode looks like.
Here’s how UTRGV NIL works in 2026, the real deals already happening, and how Vaqueros fans can be part of what comes next.
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The $24.48 million year
UTRGV Athletics raised $24.48 million in fiscal year 2024 (Sept. 1, 2023 to Aug. 31, 2024) — an unprecedented 800%+ jump over the prior year. The breakdown:
- $23.08 million in philanthropic giving
- $931,500 in corporate partnerships
- $475,709 in ticket sales (plus 5,828 football season ticket deposits, separately)
The headline gift: $20 million from Robert and Janet Vackar, longtime UTRGV donors. The gift is believed to be among the 40 largest donations in the history of college athletics. The football team’s home stadium — H-E-B Park, purchased by UTRGV in 2024 — was renamed Robert and Janet Vackar Stadium in March 2024 in their honor.
“The support and momentum of our fans has put us on a path of exponential growth,” UTRGV Vice President and Director of Athletics Chasse Conque said. “The Valley has rallied behind UTRGV Athletics. The impact of this support will be realized by student-athletes for years to come.”
The fundraising fuels $160+ million in facilities investments across 13 capital projects — including the Vaqueros Performance Center (45,000+ square feet, completed for the 2025 football debut), upgrades to the UTRGV Fieldhouse, baseball stadium renovations, a new Vaqueros Golf Center, and a tennis operations center scheduled for 2026.
Records also fell on the attendance side: 120,508 total fans across all sports in 2023-24 (program record), 62,132 for baseball alone (ranked 39th nationally), 17,128 for women’s basketball (program record), and a 6,591 crowd at Bert Ogden Arena for a women’s basketball game vs. Texas on Dec. 20 — the largest crowd to ever witness a women’s basketball game in the Rio Grande Valley.
Rally the Valley NIL Exchange: the university’s platform
In September 2024, UTRGV Athletics launched the Rally the Valley NIL Exchange in partnership with Teamworks Influencer. It’s a free platform where authorized businesses, alumni, donors, and fans can connect directly with UTRGV student-athletes to negotiate and complete NIL deals.
What the exchange enables:
- Direct negotiation between brands and student-athletes for autograph sessions, personal appearances, camps, clinics, charitable work, social media campaigns, and other NIL activities
- Built-in payment processing to compensate student-athletes
- Compliance reporting — once a deal is reached, a customized form compliant with Texas law and NCAA rules is forwarded to the UTRGV Athletics compliance office
- Brand-building education on financial literacy, market research, and social media growth
“We’re excited to be able to provide easier access to NIL opportunities for our student-athletes,” Conque said at the launch.
Rally the Valley is a school-administered exchange rather than a traditional third-party donor collective. Several peer Power Four programs use pooled donor collectives (One Pack at NC State, Texas Aggies United at Texas A&M). UTRGV’s model is closer to an open marketplace, which gives individual brand deals more direct visibility than at collective-dominated programs.
The 2025 inaugural football season
The biggest UTRGV story of 2025 was football arriving for the first time in program history.
Travis Bush, hired December 11, 2022, became the first head football coach in UTRGV history. The Vaqueros played an exhibition schedule in 2024 and launched varsity competition in 2025. They closed the inaugural season with a 33-14 home win over East Texas A&M at Robert and Janet Vackar Stadium.
Sams Memorial Stadium in Brownsville hosts one home game per year as the secondary venue.
The conference path was complicated. UTRGV was originally announced in 2021 to play in the WAC‘s reinstated football league, then was merged into the United Athletic Conference when the WAC and ASUN combined football operations. In March 2025, UTRGV moved to the Southland Conference without ever playing a game in the UAC. The Vaqueros now compete across all 18 sport programs in the Southland.
For NIL, the football arrival creates the most rostered athletes the program has ever had. More potential brand partners. More game-day visibility. More national exposure during away games.
Real UTRGV football NIL deals so far
The Rally the Valley platform has facilitated real deals. A few of the most notable:
Eddie Lee Marburger — Texas Regional Bank. UTRGV’s inaugural-season quarterback, a Rio Grande Valley native, completed an NIL partnership with Texas Regional Bank (TRB) in December 2025. The deal produced three short-form commercials filmed at TRB locations across the Valley. Throughout UTRGV Football’s inaugural season, TRB executives were also invited to present the official game ball at each home game. The Marburger-TRB deal is a model for what local Vaquero NIL can look like: hometown athlete, regional brand, Valley-rooted creative.
Sergio “Ale” Aparicio and Joe Derek Vecchio — Law Office of Daniel Gonzalez PLLC. The first UTRGV Football NIL deal, signed October 2024 ahead of the inaugural season. Slot receiver Aparicio and offensive lineman Vecchio — both Pharr-San Juan-Alamo (PSJA) North High School alumni — signed with attorney Daniel Gonzalez, himself a PSJA North alum. The deal includes social media content, on-air commercials, and a sponsored podcast taking listeners inside the team. Built-in bonuses kick in for semester GPAs above 3.5.
“Signing the NIL deal is a big thing for me, especially,” Aparicio said. “It allows me to pick up on big responsibilities and teach myself how to be a businessman.”
Nathaniel Wallace-Dilling — UTRGV punter — announced his first NIL deal in early 2026.
Other Vaqueros have signed individual deals across apparel, merchandise, and local Valley partnerships, with several athletes building licensed jersey lines through national platforms.
What the House Settlement changed for UTRGV
The NCAA House Settlement, finalized in summer 2025, reshaped athlete compensation across all of Division I — including the Vaqueros.
Direct revenue sharing. Schools can now pay athletes directly from athletic revenue, capped at roughly $20.5 million per school in year one. As a smaller FCS program, UTRGV operates well below that cap, but the framework opens new pathways for the school to compensate athletes directly.
NIL Go review. A clearinghouse called NIL Go reviews every third-party NIL deal over $600 to confirm it falls within fair-market value. Vaqueros athletes go through the same review process as athletes at any other Division I program.
For Rally the Valley deals, the platform’s built-in compliance reporting routes agreements through the UTRGV compliance office — adding another verification layer on top of the NIL Go review.
Where UTRGV NIL stands by sport
Football is the new revenue-track variable. Marburger, Aparicio, Vecchio, and Wallace-Dilling are the early NIL examples; more rostered athletes will follow as the program grows in its second varsity season.
Men’s basketball under head coach Kahil Fennell continues to navigate the portal in both directions. Forward Dane Christensen transferred in from Gillette College ahead of the 2025-26 season. Fennell described the broader NIL landscape as “the Wild West” but acknowledged: “Everybody’s in the same boat. So, we have to win it just like anyone else.”
Baseball is having a strong 2026 season. Junior Armani Raygoza became the program’s all-time RBI king in May 2026 during a sweep of UIW. Senior Thomas Williams has multiple career-high four-hit performances. Graduate student Rudy Gonzalez (Edinburg Vela alum) and senior Kike Cienfuegos (Sharyland High alum) carry strong regional NIL stories through hometown ties. The 2024 attendance numbers — 62,132 fans, 39th nationally — show why Vaqueros baseball commands real Valley brand attention.
Women’s basketball drew a program-record 17,128 fans in 2023-24, including a 6,591 crowd vs. Texas at Bert Ogden Arena. That kind of attendance growth creates real NIL pull for the program.
Volleyball under coach Todd Lowery averaged a program-record 1,234 fans per match. The program’s profile keeps rising.
Men’s golf made its first-ever NCAA Regional appearance in May 2026 at the Bryan Regional in College Station. Junior Esteban Gonzalez and the rest of the squad got the advantage of playing on a Texas course. First Regional appearances are exactly the kind of milestone that generates regional NIL attention.
Other Olympic-track programs — softball, women’s golf, men’s tennis, women’s tennis, men’s cross country, women’s cross country, men’s track and field, women’s track and field, swimming and diving, and soccer — all field athletes with NIL potential, particularly in the deeply localized Rio Grande Valley market.
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How UTRGV athletes earn through NIL
UTRGV’s NIL revenue streams are more direct and more localized than at major SEC or Big Ten programs. Typical paths:
- Local Valley brand partnerships — McAllen, Edinburg, Brownsville, Harlingen, and PSJA-area restaurants, banks, dealerships, healthcare clinics, retailers, and law firms (Texas Regional Bank, Law Office of Daniel Gonzalez PLLC, 1 Mi AD Agency, and others)
- Regional Texas partners — businesses that serve the Valley with operations elsewhere in the state
- Social media campaigns — Instagram and TikTok deliverables, often paid in cash, product, or a combination
- Public appearances and clinics — events, autograph signings, youth clinics at Valley high schools
- Custom apparel and merchandise — athlete-branded products through national licensing platforms
- Charitable and community-driven NIL — Rally the Valley facilitates charitable work alongside paid deals
- Direct revenue sharing — under the House Settlement framework, the university can pay athletes directly
- Fan-funded NIL — direct contributions from supporters through compliant platforms like RallyFuel
Every third-party deal over $600 routes through NIL Go for fair-market-value review, in addition to the UTRGV compliance office review through Rally the Valley.
The Rio Grande Valley is a major Hispanic-Serving market with strong regional brand affinity. UTRGV athletes with Valley high school roots — PSJA North alums, Edinburg Vela alums, Sharyland alums, McAllen-area and Brownsville-area natives — bring authentic local marketing reach that regional businesses and national brands both value.
Fuel a Vaquero: how RallyFuel works for UTRGV fans
Rally the Valley connects authorized businesses, donors, and authorized parties with UTRGV athletes. RallyFuel is the fan-side complement — letting every Vaqueros supporter, anywhere, back a specific athlete directly.
RallyFuel turns every UTRGV fan into a direct backer of Vaqueros athletes through verified, transparent NIL opportunities.
It’s direct. Browse UTRGV athletes on the platform. Pick one. Contribute the amount you want. The vast majority of every dollar goes to the athlete, with platform fees disclosed transparently at checkout. If the athlete transfers, the conditional period expires, the athlete becomes ineligible, or deal conditions aren’t met, refunds are processed automatically.
It’s competitive. RallyFuel Battleground turns fan support into a live, head-to-head display of school backing for individual athletes. When you fuel a Vaquero, your contribution rallies alongside every other UTRGV fan in real time — an outsized advantage for a Southland program that draws record crowds locally but works to compete with deeper donor infrastructure nationally. If the athlete voluntarily joins the designated program, the contribution converts to an NIL Agreement.
It’s rewarding. Every dollar you fuel, every game you predict, every comment you leave earns RallyFuel Points. Points unlock badges and climb tiers — Starter, Recruiter, Baller, Playmaker, General Manager — plus entries into giveaways.
It’s compliant. RallyFuel is built for the post-House Settlement era with documented, transparent transactions backed by Heitner Legal counsel. The platform aligns with the same fair-market-value framework that governs all NIL today.
You don’t need to live in the Valley to back a Vaquero. You need a card and 30 seconds.
RallyFuel is not affiliated with any university or school. Fuel purchases are Conditional NIL Engagement Rights that may convert to NIL Agreements if predefined conditions are met. Full terms at rallyfuel.com.
Texas NIL law and the compliance layer
Texas passed NIL-supporting legislation in 2021 and has continued updating its statutes to give universities flexibility to facilitate deals — including allowing athletic departments and booster organizations to take a more hands-on role. RallyFuel’s breakdown of Texas NIL laws covers the specifics.
That state-level framework directly enabled the Rally the Valley Exchange. UTRGV’s compliance structure routes every athlete agreement through review:
- Vice President and Director of Athletics Chasse Conque leads the department’s strategic direction on NIL, revenue sharing, and donor relationships.
- Senior Associate Athletic Director Derek Schramm oversees Advancement and Administration, including NIL.
- Chief of Staff / Associate AD for Revenue Generation Seth Jones coordinates corporate partnerships.
- Deputy Director of Athletics Molly Castner, with 15 years in college athletics and six at UTRGV, framed the program’s competitive context to The Rider: “It’s looking at our competition in the Southland Conference and trying to figure out where we fit in with that.”
Intellectual property protections cover the UTRGV logo, the Vaqueros wordmark, and official uniforms — paid commercial use of any of those requires licensing approval first.
NIL beyond football and basketball
UTRGV’s 18 sport programs span well beyond football and basketball. Olympic-sport athletes have their own paths to NIL income — particularly in baseball (the program’s most established competitive sport), women’s basketball (the attendance growth story), and volleyball.
RallyFuel’s look at Texas Olympic sports covers how athletes outside the revenue sports build their own NIL careers across the state.
For UTRGV specifically, the Valley’s regional brand affinity creates real opportunities for non-revenue athletes — particularly those with cultural ties to McAllen, Edinburg, Brownsville, and other Rio Grande communities. Rally the Valley’s open-marketplace model gives Olympic-sport athletes the same access to the platform as football and basketball players.
Your move, Vaqueros fans
The UTRGV NIL ecosystem in 2026 runs through a few main channels:
- Rally the Valley NIL Exchange is the university’s school-administered marketplace, launched September 2024.
- Direct corporate partnerships — Texas Regional Bank, Law Office of Daniel Gonzalez PLLC, 1 Mi AD Agency, and other Valley brands are already in active deals with Vaqueros athletes.
- Vaqueros Athletic Fund (VAF) continues to power the broader donor infrastructure, anchored by the $20M Vackar gift.
- Direct revenue sharing under the House Settlement framework lets the university pay athletes directly.
- Custom merchandise and licensing — athletes monetize their likeness through apparel partners and national platforms.
- RallyFuel lets you back individual Vaqueros directly through verified, transparent NIL opportunities with automatic refund protection.
UTRGV just finished its first football season. The men’s golf team made its first-ever NCAA Regional. Baseball’s Armani Raygoza became the program’s all-time RBI king. Eddie Lee Marburger signed a TRB deal. The athletic department raised $24.48 million in a single year. Whatever you think the Vaqueros are doing, they’re doing more of it. Valley fans get to build the next chapter.
Fuel your Vaquero now. Browse UTRGV athletes on RallyFuel →
Q&A
Q: What is the Rally the Valley NIL Exchange? The Rally the Valley NIL Exchange is UTRGV Athletics’ official NIL platform, launched in September 2024 in partnership with Teamworks Influencer. It’s a free school-administered marketplace where businesses, alumni, donors, and authorized parties can directly negotiate and complete NIL deals with Vaquero student-athletes. Built-in payment processing and compliance reporting route all agreements through the UTRGV Athletics compliance office.
Q: How much did UTRGV Athletics raise in 2023-24? UTRGV Athletics generated $24.48 million in fiscal year 2024 — an 800%+ increase over the prior year. The total included $23.08 million in philanthropic giving (anchored by a $20 million gift from Robert and Janet Vackar), $931,500 in corporate partnerships, and $475,709 in ticket sales. The Vackar gift is believed to be one of the 40 largest donations in the history of college athletics.
Q: When did UTRGV start football? UTRGV’s varsity football program played its inaugural season in 2025 under first head coach Travis Bush. The team plays at Robert and Janet Vackar Stadium (the former H-E-B Park) in Edinburg, with Sams Memorial Stadium in Brownsville hosting one home game per year. The Vaqueros closed the inaugural season with a 33-14 home win over East Texas A&M.
Q: What are some notable UTRGV NIL deals? Quarterback Eddie Lee Marburger signed an NIL deal with Texas Regional Bank in December 2025, producing three short-form commercials filmed at TRB locations across the Valley. The first UTRGV football NIL deal, signed October 2024, paired slot receiver Sergio “Ale” Aparicio and offensive lineman Joe Derek Vecchio with the Law Office of Daniel Gonzalez PLLC — all three are PSJA North alumni. Punter Nathaniel Wallace-Dilling signed his first NIL deal in early 2026.
Q: What conference does UTRGV play in? UTRGV competes in the Southland Conference. After being announced to play in the WAC‘s reinstated football league (later merged into the United Athletic Conference), UTRGV moved to the Southland Conference in March 2025 without ever playing a game in the UAC. All 18 UTRGV sports compete in the Southland.
Q: How can I support UTRGV athletes directly? Browse UTRGV athletes on RallyFuel and fuel the one you want to back. Platform fees are disclosed at checkout, with automatic refund protection if conditions aren’t met. Businesses can also work directly with athletes through the Rally the Valley NIL Exchange.
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