UTRGV football program sets up series against the University of Montana

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Athletics department showed a glimpse of their 2030 and 2031 football seasons as they scheduled two games as part of a “Home and Home” initiative with the University of Montana.

The first game against the Grizzlies will be over at their place on Aug. 31, 2030 in Montana at Washington-Grizzly Stadium. Then, in 2031, the Grizzlies will come down to the Rio Grande Valley and play against UTRGV onAug. 30.

Some of you might be thinking: “What’s the big deal about Montana?”

Well, with an established program like Montana, you’re bound to find loads of success. For this school, they have a lot of boxes checked that makes them a “pretty good” team in different avenues.

For example, the past few years they’ve finished with a winning record — more importantly, last year they finished the year, 13-2. In 2023, they made it to the national title game before losing to South Dakota State.

In addition, they have 29 playoff appearances, two national championships, and they average tons of fans at their games — about 25,364 per contest.

What about UTRGV?

Well, for the folks down here, most know this is the upcoming second season of the program. This past year, the Vaqueros finished 9-3 in their inaugural season.

As for attendance, everyone and their mother usually attended the games as UTRGV averaged about 12,539 fans in seven home contests.

Football down here is a big deal and college football is there with it.

Those who’ve gotten this far in the article probably have seen hundreds of photos on Facebook or Instagram from the college games because of the growing fan base that the region has for the local university.

In other words, you have an up-and-coming program like UTRGV competing against a solidified and established program like the University of Montana. On paper, it sounds like a good matchup for both parties.

“... As our program matures, this will give UTRGV football an opportunity to measure the progress we’ve made. Not only will our fans enjoy traveling to Missoula, but this series also gives our fans a marquee national FCS matchup at Vackar Stadium to open the 2031 season,” UTRGV Senior Vice President and Director of Athletics Chasse Conque said in a release. “Our aspiration is to build the same type of consistent national contender with incredible fan support as the University of Montana. “Our program experienced a strong start in our inaugural season, and we look forward to continuing to grow before going headto- head with the Griz in 2030 and 2031.”