UTRGV Trusts FieldTurf for Practice and Play as Inaugural Football Season Nears

Vaqueros choose FieldTurf Vertex CORE for new state-of-the-art facilities in Edinburg, Texas

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros' inaugural football season, which kicks off on August 30th in a home opener against Sul Ross State, is less than six months away. Ahead of the momentous date, FieldTurf, a world leader in artificial turf surfacing with over 25,000 installations worldwide, has been trusted with installing state-of-the-art playing fields at both Robert & Janet Vackar Stadium and the Vaqueros Performance Center in Edinburg, Texas.

The last time what is now UTRGV participated in a college football season was in 1951 when the Edinburg Regional College Broncs played at the junior college level. The 2025 Vaqueros team, led by Head Coach Travis Bush, will compete in the Southland Conference at the NCAA Division I FCS level. To ensure the Vaqueros’ access to elite facilities befitting the high level of competition, UTRGV made significant investments to support the new program.

This included last February’s acquisition of the new Robert & Janet Vackar Stadium, named in honor of the pair and their longstanding generosity to the university. On the day of the stadium’s naming, the Vackars provided a $20 million gift to support facility renovations, which includes installing a FieldTurf Vertex CORE system with CoolPlay. CoolPlay is FieldTurf’s innovative top dressing, designed to reduce heat build-up in warm temperatures. The artificial turf will make the stadium a true multi-use venue that can accommodate a variety of events, such as student-driven experiences sponsored by the university.

FieldTurf Vertex CORE with CoolPlay was also installed last summer at the 45,000-plus-square-foot Vaqueros Performance Center (VPC). In addition to being the home of Vaqueros football, the brand-new facility will support the growth and well-being of UTRGV athletes across multiple programs.

The same FieldTurf system is trusted at Bank of America Stadium, home to the Carolina Panthers (NFL) and Charlotte FC (MLS). In addition, Texas State University, which plays in the Football Bowl Subdivision’s Sun Belt Conference, also replaced its old turf with this system ahead of the 2024 season.

UTRGV’s new Vertex CORE was designed to deliver the perfect combination of performance and beauty. Equipped with two legendary FieldTurf fibers, the Classic HD slit-film fiber and the CORE monofilament super fiber, the system delivers leading agility, durability, and aesthetics. Vertex CORE demonstrates FieldTurf’s unwavering dedication to quality and strive to Change The Game.

Vertex CORE is designed using FieldTurf’s heavyweight 3-layer infill technology, which has showcased a significantly lower incidence of injuries per research by Michael C. Meyers, a Professor in the Department of Sport Science and Physical Education at Idaho State University.

FieldTurf’s involvement with this exciting Texas-based project reflects how the company has prioritized its presence in the state, which its offices in Georgetown and Burleson further underscore. FieldTurf has contributed to many sports facilities across Texas as part of Tarkett Sports, which also encompasses Tarkett Sports Construction.

One such project is the new ExxonMobil Soccer Complex at Beal Park in Midland, which broke ground on February 12th. Tarkett Sports Construction is leading the construction of the massive 62-field facility, which will be highlighted by four FieldTurf surfaces.

The Leading Choice in College Football

FieldTurf is a long-recognized leader in delivering synthetic sports surfaces that provide an unmatched combination of performance, safety, and durability. Over 1,500 NCAA athletics programs trust FieldTurf.

This reputation has helped to make FieldTurf the leading choice among elite college football programs, including five of the teams that participated in the recent College Football Playoff (i.e., the University of Notre Dame, University of Oregon, University of Texas at Austin, Boise State University, and Indiana University).

For more information about FieldTurf artificial turf, visit www.fieldturf.com.

About FieldTurf
FieldTurf is part of Tarkett Sports, a world leader in sports construction and surfacing. Providing architectural design, full-scope construction services, and a comprehensive portfolio of industry-leading sports surfacing solutions, Tarkett Sports delivers a seamless turnkey experience for its clients.

Learn more about FieldTurf at fieldturf.com
Learn more about Tarkett Sports at tarkettsports.com