The Sun Bowl is an outdoor football stadium in the southwestern United States, on the campus of the University of Texas at El Paso. It is home to the UTEP Miners of Conference USA, and the late December college football bowl game, the Sun Bowl. The stadium opened in 1963 and has a nominal seating capacity of 51,500, although UTEP currently lists the capacity as 46,670.
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. The UTEP Miners are best known as the first team in Texas to win an NCAA Men's Basketball Championship. UTEP's colors are orange and blue and the mascot is a miner named Paydirt Pete.
The Battle of I-10 is the name given to the New Mexico State–UTEP football rivalry. It is a college rivalry game between New Mexico State University (NMSU) and the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). It is called the Battle of I-10 because the two universities are located along Interstate 10 connecting Las Cruces and El Paso. The teams compete for the Silver Spade Trophy and the Mayor's Cup.
The 2007 UTEP Miners football team represented the University of Texas at El Paso in the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team's head coach was Mike Price. The Miners played their home games at the Sun Bowl Stadium in El Paso. UTEP averaged 36,569 fans per game, ranking 64th nationally.
The 2010 UTEP Miners football team represented the University of Texas at El Paso in the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team's head coach was Mike Price, who served his seventh season at the post. The Miners played their home games at the Sun Bowl Stadium in El Paso, Texas and were members of Conference USA in the West Division. The Miners finished the regular season 6–6, 3–5 in C-USA play, and were invited to the New Mexico Bowl versus BYU. While UTEP lost the matchup, 52–24, the Miners improved upon their 4–8 record from the previous season. UTEP averaged 29,350 fans per game.
The 2011 Rice Owls football team represented Rice University in the 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Owls were led by fifth-year head coach David Bailiff and played their home games at Rice Stadium. They are a member of the West Division of Conference USA. They finished the season 4–8, 3–5 in C-USA play to finish in fourth place in the West Division.
The 2012 UTEP Miners football team represented the University of Texas at El Paso in the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by ninth year head coach Mike Price and played their home games at Sun Bowl Stadium. They were a member of the West Division of Conference USA. They finished the season 3–9, 2–6 in C-USA play to finish in a tie for fifth place in the West Division. Head coach Mike Price retired at the end of the season. UTEP averaged 29,374 fans per game.
The 2005 UTEP Miners football team represented the University of Texas at El Paso in the 2005 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team's head coach was Mike Price. The Miners played their home games at the Sun Bowl Stadium in El Paso, Texas. This was the team's first season participating in Conference USA. UTEP averaged 47,899 fans per game, ranking 44th nationally.
The 2013 UTEP Miners football team represented the University of Texas at El Paso in the 2013 NCAA Division I FBS football season. This was the first year for head coach Sean Kugler both with UTEP and overall. He replaced retiring Mike Price after 9 years with UTEP (2004–2012) and 43 years as a head coach overall. They were a member of the West Division of Conference USA. The Miners played their home games in El Paso, Texas at the Sun Bowl Stadium. UTEP averaged 28,375 fans per game.
The 2014 UTEP Miners football team represented the University of Texas at El Paso in the 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season. This was the second year for head coach Sean Kugler both with UTEP and overall. They were a member of the West Division of Conference USA. The Miners played their home games in El Paso, Texas at the Sun Bowl Stadium. They finished the season 7–6, 5–3 in C-USA play to finish in a tie for second place in the West Division. They were invited to the New Mexico Bowl where they lost to Utah State. UTEP averaged 28,377 fans per game.
The 2015 UTEP Miners football team represented the University of Texas at El Paso in the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. This was the third year for head coach Sean Kugler both with UTEP and overall. They were members of the West Division of Conference USA. The Miners played their home games in El Paso, Texas at the Sun Bowl Stadium. They finished the season 5–7, 3–5 in C-USA play to finish in a three way tie for third place in the West Division. UTEP averaged 23,212 fans per game.
The 2016 UTEP Miners football team represented the University of Texas at El Paso in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Miners played their home games at the Sun Bowl Stadium in El Paso, Texas, and competed in the West Division of Conference USA (C–USA). They were led by fourth-year head coach Sean Kugler. They finished the season 4–8, 2–6 in C-USA play to finish in a tie for fifth place in the West Division. UTEP averaged 23,001 fans per game.
The 2017 UTEP Miners football team represented University of Texas at El Paso in the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Miners played their home games at the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas and competed in the West Division of Conference USA (C–USA). They were led by fifth-year head coach Sean Kugler until his resignation on October 2 and then by interim head coach Mike Price, who had previously served at UTEP's head coach from 2004 to 2012. The Miners finished the season with a record , 0–8 in conference play to finish in last place in the Conference USA and winless for the first time since the 1973 season. UTEP averaged 19,548 fans per game.
The 2018 UTEP Miners football team represented University of Texas at El Paso in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Miners played their home games at the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas and competed in the West Division of Conference USA (C–USA). They were led by first-year head coach Dana Dimel. They finished the season 1–11, 1–7 in C-USA play to finish in a tie for sixth place in the West Division. UTEP averaged 14,155 fans per game.
The 2019 UTEP Miners football team represented University of Texas at El Paso in the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Miners were led by second–year head coach Dana Dimel and played their home games at Sun Bowl. They were members of the West Division of Conference USA (C–USA). UTEP averaged 17,093 fans per game. That was 2,938 more fans per game than 2018; the 23rd best increase in FBS.
The 2020 UTEP Miners football team represented the University of Texas at El Paso in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Miners were led by third–year head coach Dana Dimel and played their home games at the Sun Bowl. They competed as members of the West Division of Conference USA (C–USA).
The 2021 UTEP Miners football team represented the University of Texas at El Paso in the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Miners were led by fourth–year head coach Dana Dimel and played their home games at the Sun Bowl. They competed as members of the West Division of Conference USA (C–USA). For the first time since 2014, the Miners became bowl eligible.
The 2021 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team represented the University of Southern Mississippi in the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Golden Eagles played their home games at the M. M. Roberts Stadium in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and competed in the West Division of Conference USA (CUSA). They were led by first-year head coach Will Hall.
The 2022 UTEP Miners football team represented the University of Texas at El Paso as a member of Conference USA (C-USA) during the 2022 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by head coach Dana Dimel, who coached his fifth season with the team. The Miners played their home games at the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas.
