How students can get free tickets to UTRGV Football games

EDINBURG, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Vaqueros football is just days away from kickoff, and the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley has officially announced how students can get free tickets to every home game.

A video posted by the university online shows UTRGV students step-by-step how they can register for free tickets. UTRGV Spokesperson Patrick Gonzalez said there are 3,000 free tickets available for students at each home game.

The tickets will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.

Each game week, students will get an email from the university at 8 a.m. on Monday for a chance to claim one of the 3,000 student tickets. By 10 a.m. Wednesday, students must claim their tickets to the home game.

On game days students must be ready to show their student IDs and a copy of their ticket.

The first game day for the Vaqueros' inaugural season is August 30.

ValleyCentral asked Gonzales how he thinks students will react to the culture of collegiate football in the Rio Grande Valley. He replied by noting how students voted for this development back in 2021 when a referendum proposed more funding for Women's Swimming, Diving, Spirit Programs, and UTRGV Football.

"From what we can tell that the students are excited, and I can't wait till the emails go out the Monday of the first game to see how many students claim tickets right away," Gonzales said. "We have worked really hard to make sure that they get a great experience before the game and during the game. And if you don't make it, if you don't get one of the tickets, like the video says, you know, we also have the amphitheater area in our HEB tailgate zone, where they can watch the game live on the big screen with other fans."

Gonzales said the free tickets are up for grabs for undergrad and graduate students.

The tickets up for grabs are in the Wingstop student section, a dedicated spot just for UTRGV students. Gonzales said the student section is located at the south end zone. The university added bleachers to this section specifically for students to greet visiting teams. However, how they greet them, Gonzales says, is "up to them."

As for what the university has planned for students to enjoy during game day, Gonzales said UTRGV President Guy Bailey intends to hand out T-shirts to students during halftime, a tradition he started during his time at Texas Tech.

"We just can't wait," Gonzales said. "You know, we've worked really hard to make this a great experience, and we always put our students first, and can't wait to see what their reaction is going to be and the enhancement to campus life and school spirit that we think football will bring to the university."

For more on what the university has planned for its inaugural football season, check out our extensive coverage on Vaqueros Nation.