Texas Border Business
RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley bestowed the Distinguished Alumni Award, which is the highest honor alumni of UTRGV, or the legacy institutions can receive, on Don Russell and Noe Hinojosa Jr. on Tuesday.
The dinner and ceremony celebrating the honorees was held at the McAllen Country Club on Tuesday. Russell, a 1962 graduate of Pan American College, and Hinojosa, a 1984 graduate of Pan American University, both represented the university as student-athletes, and went on to uphold “the tradition of excellence at UTRGV and its legacy institutions” post-grad.
“If you wanted to define excellence, you could just repeat their names and you’d have the definition right there,” UTRGV President Dr. Guy Bailey said. “They’re great role models for our students. We have wonderful student-athletes, and we hope they become the kind of people you both became.”
Hinojosa was a four-year starter for the Broncs’ men’s soccer team from 1981-84. He lined up at fullback and was instrumental on defense. He was a team captain as a senior in the ’83 season – one former head coach Reggie Tredaway called “the best year ever for Pan American University soccer” at the time. He also served as the student body president.
After graduation, Hinojosa co-founded Estrada Hinojosa in 1992 and has managed the firm’s transactions and growth ever since, leading the firm to 30 consecutive years of profits, including $114 billion in 1,111 transactions just in the past three years.
Hinojosa was appointed by former President George W. Bush to serve on the Board of Directors of the Securities Industry Protection Corporation and confirmed by the US Senate in 2002. He served until 2006 and then was elected by industry peers to serve as founding board member on the global board of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association. In 2016, Hinojosa was elected to serve on the American Securities Association.
Hinojosa delivered his acceptance speech first, and the first-generation college graduate from Matamoros emphasized the importance of education and equal access to it for all.
“I’m flattered and humbled to receive such an award,” Hinojosa said. “My parents always believed that, given the opportunity, me and my sisters could achieve a better life. In their minds, a four-year university degree was fundamental to that. I thank the South Texas leaders before us who fought for and believed in the importance of having a four-year institution at our doorstep. I never would have done what I’ve done today without them.”
Russell is one of the most accomplished figures in the history of the university’s athletic department. He was inducted into the inaugural Athletics Hall of Fame class in 2007.
Russell is the first and only individual to win national championships as both a player and coach in university history. He won five national titles during his Broncs career, including four consecutive NAIA doubles national championships from 1959-1962. He won the NAIA singles championship in ’62.
After graduation, Russell became the head coach for the Broncs from 1964-67 and guided the program to a NAIA national championship in his first season (’64-65). The Broncs went 29-9-3 with Russell at the helm.
Russell is the president of Operon Group, a real estate development and property management company which, along with its principals, has developed over 10 million square feet of office, retail and industrial projects within the Southern California market. He also served as a trustee for Claremont McKenna College, and Dr. Bailey called him a man who understands higher education and is respected by the higher-ed community.
“I’ve been so blessed. I’m honored to be part of this. It’s beyond anything I could have ever hoped for,” Russell said. “It’s incredible to see what has become here. I was an 18-year-old kid who was recruited from Australia to come to this school. A man named Orville Cox had the idea to bring this school to statewide recognition through athletic endeavors. He chose tennis, thankfully for me, and basketball. We had a tennis team that did quite well. Suddenly, we were beating Texas and SMU and TCU and so on. And that program brought attention to this school in South Texas. That man’s dream to help this demographic area was achieved.”
