Who is Rodney Terry's girlfriend Vielka Rivers? Taking a closer look at personal life of Texas head coach

Many fans are wondering about Rodney Terry's girlfriend, Vielka Rivers, in the wake of the Texas Longhorns' exit from the NCAA tournament. The couple have been together since 2021, when Terry shared his first picture of them together on Instagram.

According to Rivers' Instagram biography, she's a salon owner and a "stylish designer, model, and teacher." Although she's dating a prominent coach, Rivers' connection to college basketball doesn't end there.

In addition to her relationship with Rodney Terry, her son Eden Ewing also played college basketball. He played power forward for Purdue during the 2017-18 NCAA campaign and transferred to Texas Southern University for his final two college seasons. He currently plays for Brazilian basketball club Minas Belo Horizonte.

Rodney Terry was announced this week as the head coach of Texas men's basketball. Terry handled interim coaching duties after Chris Beard was suspended and fired for assaulting a family member in December.

Rodney Terry's contract with Texas and his experience with the team

According to reports, Terry will earn an average annual value of $3 million over the next five seasons. Based on his coaching this season, the contract is well deserved. Terry led the Longhorns to 29 wins during the regular season. It was their third-best season in school history.

He also coached the team to their first Elite Eight appearance in over 15 years. The last time they made it this far in the NCAA tournament was in 2008. At his introductory press conference, Terry received a lot of support from current and former players.

Rodney Terry's girlfriend with a front-row seat to his head coaching position with the Texas Longhorns

After being met with a tremendous show of support upon his arrival, Terry addressed those in attendance.

“It’s a great day to be a Longhorn! God puts you right where you’re supposed to be. Today marks a journey, a new and exciting chapter in a 20-plus-year relationship I’ve had on the Forty Acres. I came here as an assistant with Rick Barnes and we had an incredible run. We won at a very high level."

"But, I was one of those guys who aspired to be an elite high-major coach, and I’m getting a chance to live that out at the University of Texas. I bought a home not even knowing I’d have an opportunity to be part of the university again I wanted to be around it, but I didn’t know that I’d have a chance to be part of it again."

Terry has a storied relationship with Texas. He was previously an assistant coach with the program from 2002-2011. After spending the next decade coaching at Fresno and UTEP, Terry returned to his assistant coaching duties at Texas for the 2021-22 season.

When Chris Beard was suspended earlier this season, he quickly emerged as the natural successor. You can see his comments in the video below beginning around the 7:30 mark:

(Suggested Reading: Can Chris Beard make a comeback as a coach next year?)