A Legacy of Dedication: From the Bell Ringer to Multiple Hall of Famer
Distinguished UNT alumnus Victor Rodriguez (’55, ’62 M.A.) has many accolades associated with his name, having lived a life fulfilled with distinction, meaning and purpose. This past fall, at age 93, he was inducted into the San Antonio Sports Hall of Fame — further recognizing his storied athletic career and his contributions to the larger community.
Rogriguez grew up in Edna, Texas, and attended a segregated school for Mexican-American children. It was in Edna that he got his unconventional start as a runner when in the third grade his teacher gave each student in the class a civic duty and selected Rodriguez to be the bell ringer for the local Catholic church. This required Rodriguez to wake up early in the morning and run two miles barefoot to the church — avoiding barking neighborhood dogs along the way — to ring the bell for the community. The experience served as the inspiration for the title of Rodriguez’s 2021 autobiography, “The Bell Ringer.”
Rodriguez later began competing as a runner, and after completing high school took his talents to Victoria Community College for track and field — a stint that saw the school win the 1952 national track and field title. Rodriguez transferred to what was then North Texas State College in 1953 and was the first Hispanic student to receive an athletic scholarship in the school’s history.
“When I came to North Texas, it opened my eyes to a new culture,” he says. “I was one of five Hispanic students on this campus when I came here in 1953, so this enlarged my whole perspective on life. It gave me a wider perspective on people.”
He went on to letter three years with the North Texas Track & Field team — his versatility in long-distance events helped North Texas win the Border Olympics and the Fort Worth Track Meets.
Rodriguez graduated with his bachelor’s degree in 1955 and earned a master’s degree in education in 1962. He went on to earn a Ph.D. from the University of Texas in 1982.
“I think the biggest thing that North Texas contributed to me during the time I spent here was that it represented a period of discovery,” Rodriguez says. “I think it helped to define my role as an individual.”
After graduating from North Texas, Rodriguez served two years in the Army, but was called to teaching and hired as instructor and coach for San Antonio I.S.D., where he worked for over 36 years and included a memorable stint coaching cross country and track in the 1960s and ended with a 12-year run as superintendent from 1982 until he retired from his distinguished career as an educator in 1994.
During his time as an educator, he earned numerous awards including the Superintendent of the Year Award by the American Association of School Administrators. For his athletic contributions, Rodriguez has been inducted into the North Texas Athletics Hall of Fame in 2006 and was inducted into the National Hispanic Sports Hall of Fame.
Rodriguez established the Victor and Flo Rodriguez Future Coaches Scholarship at UNT. In 2022, he received a UNT Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award and is also a past recipient of the President’s Citation Award. More recently, the UNT Latinx Alumni Network’s endowed scholarship was named in his honor and is awarded to outstanding students who are empowering underserved communities.