 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(February 2012) |
| Paydirt Pete | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Team | Miners |
| University | University of Texas at El Paso |
| Conference | CUSA |
| Description | Caricature of a prospector |
| Origin of name | Student vote |
| First seen | 1974 |
Paydirt Pete is the current mascot of the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). [1] He is a student dressed as a prospector, reflecting UTEP's nickname of "Miners". [2]
The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public research university in El Paso, Texas. It is a member of the University of Texas System. UTEP is the second-largest university in the United States to have a majority Mexican American student population after the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity." The university's School of Engineering is the nation's top producer of Hispanic engineers with M.S. and Ph.D. degrees.
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 Don Haskins Center, formerly known as the Special Events Center, is the home of UTEP Miners men's and women's basketball. The venue is located in the heart of El Paso, Texas. In addition to hosting sporting events, the Don Haskins Center is also used by many area schools, such as El Paso Community College, for graduation and commencement ceremonies. Due to its large seating capacity, the center is also the city's premier entertainment venue and has hosted big-name acts such as pop star Shakira's Tour of the Mongoose, Oral Fixation Tour and The Sun Comes Out World Tour, Britney Spears during her Circus Tour, comedian George Lopez and rock band KISS.
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 UTEP Miners football program represents University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) in the sport of American football. The Miners compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the West Division of Conference USA (CUSA). They are coached by Dana Dimel. UTEP has produced a Border Conference championship team in 1956 and a Western Athletic Conference championship team in 2000, along with 14 postseason bowl appearances. The Miners play their home games at the Sun Bowl which has a seating capacity of 51,500.
The UTEP Miners basketball team plays for University of Texas at El Paso in El Paso, Texas. The team is an NCAA Division I men's college basketball team competing in the Conference USA. Home games are played at Don Haskins Center.
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 2009–10 UTEP Miners men's basketball team represented the University of Texas at El Paso in the 2009–10 college basketball season. This was head coach Tony Barbee's fourth season at UTEP. The Miners competed in Conference USA and played their home games at the Don Haskins Center. They finished the season 26–7, 15–1 in CUSA play to win the regular season championship. They advanced to the championship game of the 2010 Conference USA men's basketball tournament before losing to Houston. They received and at–large bid to the 2010 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, earning a 12 seed in the west region, where they would lose to 5 seed and AP #11 Butler in the first round. UTEP averaged 8,697 fans per game, ranking 58th nationally.
Texas vs The Nation was an American college football all-star bowl game played from 2007 to 2013. Originally played at the Sun Bowl Stadium, the format of the game pitted 50 top-rated college seniors who played college or high school football in Texas against a squad of 50 top-rated seniors from the other 49 states. In its first year, 73% of players who participated in the game were signed by National Football League (NFL) teams. In 2011, the game moved from El Paso to San Antonio, and the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) became the named sponsor of the game. In 2012, the NFLPA began its own all-star game, the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, and the Texas vs The Nation game was not held. The game was revived in 2013 at Eagle Stadium in Allen, but did not return in 2014.
The 2000 UTEP Miners football team represented the University of Texas at El Paso in the 2000 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team's head coach was Gary Nord. The Miners played their home games at the Sun Bowl Stadium in El Paso, Texas.
The 2014–15 UTEP Miners basketball team represented the University of Texas at El Paso during the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Miners, led by fifth year head coach Tim Floyd, played their home games at the Don Haskins Center and were members of Conference USA. They finished the season 22–11, 13–5 in C-USA play to finish in a tie for the second place. They advanced to the semifinals of the C-USA tournament where they lost to Middle Tennessee. They were invited to the National Invitation Tournament where they lost in the first round to Murray State. UTEP averaged 8,458 fans per game, ranking 53rd nationally.
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 1937 Sun Bowl was a college football postseason bowl game between the Texas Mines Miners and the Hardin–Simmons Cowboys.
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.
Keitha Rachelle Adams is an American college basketball coach who is currently the head women's basketball coach at UTEP.
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 0–12, 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 2017–18 UTEP Miners basketball team represented the University of Texas at El Paso during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Miners, led by interim head coach Phil Johnson, played their home games at the Don Haskins Center as members of Conference USA. They finished the season 11–20, 6–12 in C-USA play to finish in a tie for 11th place. They lost in the first round of the C-USA tournament to UTSA. UTEP averaged 6,155 fans per game.
The 2018–19 UTEP Miners basketball team represented the University of Texas at El Paso during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Miners, led by first year head coach Rodney Terry, played their home games at the Don Haskins Center as members of Conference USA. UTEP finished the season 8–21, 3–15 in C-USA play to finish in last place. They failed to qualify for the C-USA Tournament. UTEP averaged 4,677 fans per game.
The 2020–21 UTEP Miners men's basketball team represented the University of Texas at El Paso during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by third-year head coach Rodney Terry, and played their home games at Don Haskins Center in El Paso, Texas as members of Conference USA.