Dr. Victor Rodriguez

Dr. Victor Rodriguez is a pioneering educator, athlete and administrator who helped shape the San Antonio Independent School District and opened doors for generations of Hispanic students and athletes.

As a track star at Edna High School, Rodriguez set a new UIL district mile record and was a state champion in 1947. He earned a track scholarship to Victoria Junior College where he became a multi-time national champion. In 1953, he became the first Hispanic to receive an athletic scholarship from North Texas State College (now the University of North Texas), earning multiple titles at national competitions.

Rodriguez developed his athletic endurance as the bell ringer for the church in Edna, when his teacher assigned him the task in the third grade as his “personal civic responsibility.” For nine years he rose early and jogged two miles to town, dodging dogs along the way, to ring the bell before Mass at 5:30 a.m.

Earning a master’s degree in education and a Ph.D., Rodriguez coached cross country, track and football at Cooper Junior High School and at Lanier and Highlands High Schools. At Lanier from 1962-67, his teams were city cross country and track championships four out of five years. In 1968, his Highlands track team was runner-up at the UIL state track meet.

In 1982, he was named the first Hispanic superintendent of San Antonio ISD. Rodriguez was also the first Hispanic chairman of the Texas University Interscholastic League. He is in both the UNT Athletic Hall of Fame (2006) and the SAISD Athletic Hall of Fame (2015) and is a member of the Hispanic Sports Hall of Fame.