UTEP Miners
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The UTEP Miners is the name given to the sports teams of the
University of Texas at El Paso The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public university, public research university in El Paso, Texas, United States. Founded in 1913 as the State School of Mines and Metallurgy, it is the third oldest academic component of the Univers ...
(UTEP). They are informally referred to as the Miners, UTEP, or Texas–El Paso. UTEP was a member of the
Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the Western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, Texas, Utah and Washington (state), Washington. Due to ...
from 1967 to 2005, when they joined
Rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...
,
Tulsa Tulsa ( ) is the second-most-populous city in the state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tul ...
, and SMU in leaving the WAC for
Conference USA Conference USA (CUSA) is a collegiate athletic conference of member institutions in the Southern and Western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. CUSA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas. Mem ...
. The UTEP Miners are best known as the first team in Texas to win an
NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
Men's Basketball Championship (and only team in Texas to be national champions until Baylor's victory in the 2021 tournament). UTEP's colors are orange and
blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB color model, RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB color model, RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between Violet (color), violet and cyan on the optical spe ...
and the mascot is a miner named Paydirt Pete.


Sports sponsored


Football

Playing their first game in 1914, the UTEP Miners football team currently competes in the
NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
Division I
Football Bowl Subdivision The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As ...
. The team plays its games in the Sun Bowl Stadium, and head coach Mike Price retired from his 9th and final season at UTEP in 2012.


Traveling trophies

The winner of the UTEP vs.
New Mexico State University New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public, land-grant, research university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1888, it is the state's oldest public institution of higher education, and was the original land-g ...
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 The Organ Mountains (also known as La Sierra de los Órganos) are a rugged mountain range in southern New Mexico in the Southwestern United States. Organ Mountains–Desert Peaks National Monument was declared a national monument on May 21, 2014 ...
near
Las Cruces, New Mexico Las Cruces (; ; lit. 'the crosses') is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico and the county seat, seat of Doña Ana County, New Mexico, Doña Ana County. As of the 2020 United States ce ...
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 El Paso (; ; or ) is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the List of ...
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 El Paso (; ; or ) is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the List of ...
, and David Steinberg of Las Cruces decided to present another traveling trophy to the winner of the UTEP vs
New Mexico State University New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public, land-grant, research university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1888, it is the state's oldest public institution of higher education, and was the original land-g ...
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 to 1961. The football team won a conference championship in 1956.


Men's basketball


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 Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...
at The
University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...
's Cole Field House in
College Park, Maryland College Park is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, located approximately from the northeast border of Washington, D.C. Its population was 34,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the home of the University of Mary ...
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 African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...
players in a title game. Contrary to popular belief, this game was not an "upset" since Kentucky and Texas Western entered the game ranked #1 and #2 respectively, with each team having only one loss. At this time, Kentucky had no
African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...
players (though
Adolph Rupp Adolph Frederick Rupp (September 2, 1901 – December 10, 1977) was an American college basketball coach. Nicknamed the "Baron of the Bluegrass", he coached the University of Kentucky Wildcats to four NCAA Division I men's basketball tournam ...
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 The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
movie, '' Glory Road''. The team was inducted into the
Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...
.


Cross Country

The UTEP Miners' men's cross country team has won 7 national cross country championships, the most recent of which came in 1981 and including a four-year streak of national championships from 1978 to 1981. They have qualified for 18 national championships, finishing first 7 times, second twice, third twice, and fifth once. They were originally awarded the 1983 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championship title, but it was later revoked amid allegations of slush fund payments to runners. The Miners' men's and women's cross country teams have been coached since 2003 by former professional athlete and Olympic 800 meter gold medalist Paul Ereng. The men's team has had three individual national champions: Suleiman Nyambui in
1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...
, Matthews Motshwarateu in
1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...
, and Zakarie Barie in
1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...
. The Miners' women's cross country team earned a trip to the NCAA Division I Women's Cross Country Championships every year from 1987 to 2009, finishing as high as 5th in
1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...
. The women's team has not had an individual champion.


Rifle

In June 2013, the Miners' rifle team became a charter member of the
Patriot Rifle Conference The Patriot Rifle Conference (PRC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) rifle-only conference. The PRC was established in 2013 for schools that sponsor rifle teams, but do not have rifle as a sponsored sport in their primary confe ...
.


NCAA Division I national championships

UTEP's sports programs have won a total of 21 NCAA Division I national championships. UTEP is currently tied for 10th overall among schools in Men's Sports Division I championships. *
Men's basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
: 1 (1966) * Men's cross country: 7 (1969, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981) * Men's indoor track & field: 7 (1974, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1982) * Men's outdoor track & field: 6 (1975, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982)


Spirit


Fight song

UTEP's fight song was written by the school's music department in the late 1980s. It is based on
Marty Robbins Martin David Robinson (September 26, 1925 – December 8, 1982), known professionally as Marty Robbins, was an American country and western singer and songwriter. He was one of the most popular and successful singers of his genre for most o ...
's Grammy-winning song "
El Paso El Paso (; ; or ) is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the List of ...
" with slightly rewritten lyrics and tempo, and was used with the permission of Robbins's estate.


2008 Olympics

UTEP students and alumni participated in track and field events.


Venues

UTEP owns the two largest stadiums in El Paso: * Sun Bowl Stadium,
seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...
51,500, opened its doors in 1963 and is currently the home to the UTEP football team and to the annual
Sun Bowl The Sun Bowl is a college football bowl game that has been played since 1935 in the southwestern United States at El Paso, Texas. Along with the Sugar Bowl and Orange Bowl, it is the second-oldest bowl game in the country, behind the Rose Bowl. ...
game. * Don Haskins Center,
seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...
12,000, was built in 1976 and is primarily used by the men's and women's basketball teams. * University Field (UTEP),
seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...
500, was built in 1991 and hosts the women's soccer team. *
Kidd Field Kidd Field (complete name, "Larry K. Durham Track at Kidd Field") is an athletic facility used primarily by the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) in El Paso, Texas. Constructed for its then-primary use as an American football field in 1938, i ...
, former home to the Miners football team and current home of the track and field teams.


References


External links

* {{Navboxes , titlestyle = {{CollegePrimaryStyle, UTEP Miners, color=white , list = {{Conference USA navbox {{Patriot Rifle Conference navbox {{College sports in Texas {{Texas sports