UTRGV Edinburg Campus Tour

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley opened in 2015 by merging UT-Pan American and UT-Brownsville, but its Edinburg roots go back to 1927, when a small junior college started classes in town. That school became Pan American College in 1952, a full university in 1971, and joined the UT System in 1989 before growing into one of the state's largest universities. This walk begins at the Gothic auditorium built for the original junior college and then crosses into the modern campus to visit its library archives, student union, arts building and athletic venues. Plan on roughly two miles in the Valley sun, so bring water.

UTRGV is one of the newest universities in Texas. It opened in 2015 by combining UT-Pan American and UT-Brownsville, yet its Edinburg story goes back to 1927, when a small junior college began holding classes in town. This walk ties the two eras together.

The oldest landmark is the Edinburg Junior College Auditorium, a Gothic Revival hall the city put up in 1926 for its new college. The Austin firm Giesecke and Harris designed it with pointed ogee arches and carved stone trim. It has served as a civic stage for generations and became a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1989. From that modest start the school became Pan American College in 1952, a full university by 1971 and part of the UT System in 1989.

On the modern campus, the library's Special Collections holds books, maps, oral histories and papers on South Texas, the border, northeastern Mexico and Mexican American culture, and its reading room welcomes the public on weekdays. You'll also hear how the Vaqueros name, picked in 2014, set off a petition of more than 11,000 signatures from fans loyal to the old Broncs. And you'll see the athletic venues where Vaquero teams compete today, including a 1969 fieldhouse that has carried every one of the school's names.

It's a revealing look at how a Valley junior college grew into a major university while keeping its border identity front and center.