UTEP Miners

UTEP Miners
University University of Texas at El Paso
Conference Conference USA
NCAA Division I
Athletic director Bob Stull
Location El Paso, Texas
Varsity teams 15
Football stadium Sun Bowl Stadium
Basketball arena Don Haskins Center
Mascot Paydirt Pete
Nickname Miners and Lady Miners
Fight song Miners Fight
Colors Dark Blue, Orange, and Silver Accent[1]
              
Website utepathletics.com
Conference USA logo in UTEP's colors

The UTEP Miners is the name given to the sports teams of the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). They are informally referred to as the Miners, UTEP, or Texas–El Paso. UTEP was a member of the Western Athletic Conference from 1967 to 2005, when they joined Rice, Tulsa, and SMU in leaving the WAC for Conference USA.[2] The UTEP Miners are best known as the only team in Texas to win a NCAA Men's Basketball Championship. UTEP's colors are orange and blue and the mascot is a miner named Paydirt Pete. The athletic director for the Miners is Bob Stull.

Athletics

A member of Conference USA, UTEP sponsors teams in six men's and ten women's NCAA sanctioned sports:[3]

Football

Sun Bowl Stadium

Playing their first game in 1914, the UTEP Miners football team currently competes in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. The team plays its games in the Sun Bowl Stadium, and head coach Mike Price recently retired from his 9th and final season at UTEP in 2012.

Traveling trophies

The winner of the UTEP vs. New Mexico State University football game receives a pair of traveling trophies: The Silver Spade and The Brass Spittoon. The first spade used for this purpose was an old prospector's shovel dug up from an abandoned mine in the Organ Mountains near Las Cruces, New Mexico in 1947. This was the symbol of victory, and the spade was given to the winner of the football game between the Miners and Aggies each year.

The idea of the present Silver Spade was from UTEP student Don Henderson, the student association president and now a very successful El Paso businessman and former mayor of the city. In 1955 Henderson secured the present spade and each year the score of the game is engraved on the blade.

Perhaps the idea behind the spade is the fact that at the time the prospector's spade was uncovered, both schools' major field of study had use for the tool, mining and metallurgy for the College of Mines and agriculture at then New Mexico A&M.

The Brass Spittoon, officially known as the Mayor's Cup, came into existence in 1982 when the mayors of the two cities; Jonathan Rogers of El Paso, and David Steinberg of Las Cruces decided to present another traveling trophy to the winner of the UTEP vs New Mexico State University game. This game is more commonly known as "The Battle of I-10".

UTEP was a member of the Border Intercollegiate Athletic Association, from 1941-1961. The football team won a conference championship in 1956.

Men's basketball

UTEP men's basketball at the Don Haskins Center

1966 Texas Western basketball team

As Texas Western, the Miners won the 1966 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. The 72–65 victory over Kentucky at The University of Maryland's Cole Field House in College Park, Maryland is considered one of the most important games in the history of college basketball. It marked the first time that a team started 5 African-American players in a title game.[4] Contrary to popular belief, this game was not an "upset" since Kentucky entered the tournament ranked #1 with only one loss, and Texas Western had only one loss and entered the tournament ranked second. At this time, Kentucky had no African-American players (though Adolph Rupp gave formal scholarship offers to black players as early as 1964, it was not until Tom Payne in 1971 that a black player finally joined the Wildcats). The impact of the game was pivotal primarily because it occurred during the height of the Civil Rights Movement.

The title team has been chronicled throughout the American media, including the books Basketball's Biggest Upset by Ray Sanchez and When the Walls Came Tumbling Down by Frank Fitzpatrick, and the 2006 Disney movie, Glory Road.

The team was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Rifle

In June, 2013, the Miners' rifle team became a charter member of the Patriot Rifle Conference.

NCAA Division I National Championships

UTEP's sports programs have won a total of 21 NCAA Division I national championships.[5] UTEP is currently tied for 10th overall among schools in Men's Sports Division I championships.

2008 Olympics

UTEP students and alumni participated in track and field events.[6]

AthleteEventTeam
Mickael Hananyhigh jump France
Blessing Okagbarelong jump Nigeria
Blessing Okagbare
Oludamola Osayomi
Halimat Ismaila		women's 4×100 meter relay Nigeria
Oludamola Osayom100M women Nigeria
Oludamola Osayom200M women Nigeria
Halimat Ismaila100M women Nigeria
Churandy Martina100M men Netherlands Antilles
Churandy Martina200M men Netherlands Antilles
Ronalds Arājs200M men Latvia
Caiman Douglasmen 4×100 meter relay Netherlands
Erma-Gene Evansjavelin Saint Lucia
Alexandros Papadimitriouhammer throw men Greece
Henderson Dottin  Barbados
Fatimoh Muhammed  Liberia

Venues

Aerial view of Kidd Field (upper left) and Sun Bowl Stadium (lower right).

UTEP owns the two largest stadiums in El Paso:

References

  1. ↑ The University of Texas at El Paso / Graphic Identity Guide (PDF). Retrieved May 21, 2017.
  2. ↑ http://newsok.com/article/1900987
  3. ↑ "UTEP Miners". CBS Interactive. Retrieved June 13, 2015.
  4. ↑ https://espn.go.com/classic/s/013101_texas_western_fitzpatrick.html
  5. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-04-19. Retrieved 2008-11-07.
  6. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-01-08. Retrieved 2008-08-25.
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