Elisa Mares

This week on The Saddle Up Podcast, G Garza and Matt Palmquist welcome Elisa Mares, UTRGV’s Director of External Relations, for a conversation about alumni engagement, university pride, and building lifelong connections between graduates and the institution they helped shape.UTRGV represents a growing global network of more than 100,000 alumni, including graduates of UTRGV and its legacy institutions, UTPA and UT Brownsville/Texas Southmost College. The university’s alumni mission focuses on strengthening relationships with graduates, students, families, and friends while encouraging involvement, loyalty, philanthropy, and continued support for student success.Elisa joins the show to discuss the importance of keeping alumni connected long after graduation, celebrating the history shared by UTPA, UTB, and UTRGV, and creating opportunities for former students to reconnect with the university. She also shares how alumni can become more involved, support future generations of Vaqueros, and help strengthen the university’s impact throughout the Rio Grande Valley and beyond.The conversation gives viewers a closer look at the people and relationships behind UTRGV’s continued growth, along with the responsibility of honoring the university’s legacy while helping build its future.Find The Saddle Up Podcast on:YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, and Apple Podcasts.------Follow G IG / @gghoops Follow Matt IG / @ptwist610 Welcome to **The Saddle Up Podcast**, the unscripted RGV show where real stories, sports, culture, community, and Vaquero pride all meet at the same table.Hosted by **G Garza and Matt Palmquist**, Saddle Up brings you conversations with former athletes, coaches, alumni, community leaders, entertainers, business owners, and difference-makers connected to **UTPA, UTB, UTRGV, and the Rio Grande Valley**. Every episode is built around honest conversation, good laughs, untold stories, and the people who continue to shape the Valley’s past, present, and future.Whether you are a UTPA alum, UTB alum, UTRGV supporter, Vaquero fan, RGV native, sports fan, or someone who loves authentic conversations, this episode is for you.Subscribe to **The Saddle Up Podcast** for more conversations with the people who represent the Rio Grande Valley with pride.**Find Saddle Up Podcast on:**YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, and Apple Podcasts.**Follow us:**Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/saddleuppodcast?mibextid=LQQJ4dInstagram: https://instagram.com/saddle_up_pod?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/79B4Gl7miBWwpD4kM1tKIVApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/saddle-up-podcast/id1666138276Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/04f3f96f-9dcb-4c42-a91c-a87dfc38655b/saddle-up-podcastiHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-saddle-up-podcast-107415364/**Keywords:**Saddle Up Podcast, G Garza, Matt Palmquist, UTRGV, UTPA, UTB, UTRGV Athletics, Vaquero Athletics, Rio Grande Valley, RGV podcast, best podcast in the RGV, funniest podcast in the RGV, UTRGV alumni, UTPA alumni, UTB alumni, RGV sports, South Texas podcast, college sports podcast, Valley stories, RGV community, UTRGV football, UTRGV basketball, UTRGV baseball, UTRGV athletics podcast#SaddleUpPodcast #UTRGV #UTPA #UTB #RGV #RioGrandeValley #VaqueroPride