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UTEP Miners

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UTEP Miners
Logo
UniversityUniversity of Texas at El Paso
ConferenceConference USA
NCAADivision I
Athletic directorBob Stull
LocationEl Paso, Texas
Varsity teams15
Football stadiumSun Bowl Stadium
Basketball arenaDon Haskins Center
MascotPaydirt Pete
NicknameMiners and Lady Miners
Fight songMiners Fight
ColorsDark blue, orange, and silver accent[1]
     
Websiteutepathletics.com

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

Main article: UTEP Miners 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]

Athlete Event Team
Mickael Hanany high jump  France
Blessing Okagbare long jump  Nigeria
Blessing Okagbare
Oludamola Osayomi
Halimat Ismaila		 women's 4×100 meter relay  Nigeria
Oludamola Osayom 100M women  Nigeria
Oludamola Osayom 200M women  Nigeria
Halimat Ismaila 100M women  Nigeria
Churandy Martina 100M men  Netherlands Antilles
Churandy Martina 200M men  Netherlands Antilles
Ronalds Arājs 200M men  Latvia
Caiman Douglas men 4×100 meter relay  Netherlands
Erma-Gene Evans javelin  Saint Lucia
Alexandros Papadimitriou hammer 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 August 8, 2019.
  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. ^ [1][dead link‍]
  6. ^ [2][dead link‍]
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