Beloved South Texas sports anchor announces departure from KRGV

A beloved face in South Texas sports will soon sign off the airwaves.

Gloria Morelia, sports reporter and sports anchor at ABC affiliate KRGV Channel 5 News, will be leaving the Rio Grande Valley's top-rated station, according to a post on LinkedIn.  

"My time at KRGV-TV in the Rio Grande Valley is coming to an end soon. I am incredibly grateful for the stories I've been able to tell, the athletes I've covered, and the community that welcomed me," Morelia said on her LinkedIn page.

The post was accompanied by a nearly 8-minute-long highlight reel of Morelia's sports reporting over the last three years, starting with her coverage of Valley fans embracing the 2026 World Cup at public watch parties in McAllen, and the station's coverage of the historic inaugural season of Division I college football in the Valley in 2025.  

"I am ready for my next challenge. I am actively looking for my next opportunity as a Sports Reporter with a television station or professional team in a larger market," Morelia said. 

"I'm bringing a strong work ethic, a deep passion for sports storytelling, and the ability to connect with diverse audiences," Morelia said, referring to her bilingual reporting chops.

Morelia first came to the Valley as a sports anchor for Noticias RGV, Channel 5's now-defunct Spanish-language news brand, in April 2023, according to her LinkedIn bio. Prior to coming to the Valley, Morelia worked as a sports presenter on a three-hour-long Spanish radio talk show called Hablemos Hoy with Colorado's former Univision and Telemundo bigwig, Rodolfo Jose Cardenas, that is broadcast on La Onda 1150 AM in Denver, Colorado.

Last July, KRGV abruptly shuttered the Noticias brand, which had included a full complement of news broadcasts, from a weekday morning show to primetime and weekend newscasts. Morelia was one of the few Noticias reporters who survived the resulting layoffs because she had recently transitioned to KRGV's traditional, English-language sports team under Sports Director KJ Doyle. Since then, viewers have been able to catch Morelia on the sidelines of high school football games, the Houston Texans training camp, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley's very first season of D-I college football, and more.

But Morelia isn't leaving just yet. She told MySA she'll be in the Valley - and on its airwaves - through at least December so that she can cover UTRGV Vaqueros football for one more season.

"I signed a two-year contract, which expires this month," Morelia said on Monday, July 20. "But I did decide to extend it at least through the football season, so I can get another year with the UTRGV Vaqueros and high school football, but I think the goal is always to jump to a bigger market after this. So, that's my next step."

While she'd love to work as a sports reporter at a larger market, Morelia said her ultimate dream job would be working as a sideline reporter for a Major League Baseball team.

"For the (Denver) Rockies would be great, but honestly, just any MLB (team)," Morelia said.

In the meantime, Morelia said she's grateful for the warm welcome she's received during her time in the Valley. From coaches and players to everyday people, "everybody has been so welcoming," she said.

"I've grown so much, and I know that whenever it is my time to leave the Rio Grande Valley, I'm going to take so much with me in my heart," Morelia said.

Morelia's exit announcement comes amid a wave of shakeups at newsrooms across deep South Texas and about a month after another KRGV sports reporter, Daniella Hernandez, left the ABC station after a 3.5-year-long stint on the sidelines.

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