UTEP Miners football

History

Main article: History of UTEP Miners football

The University of Texas at El Paso (then known as the State College of Mines and Metallurgy) fielded its first intercollegiate football team during the 1914 season. Since its founding, the school has been known as the "Miners", a moniker used to reflect the original pedagogy of the university. First competing as an independent, UTEP joined the Border Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, also known as the Border Conference, in 1932. In 1956, the team won its first-conference championship and received an invite to the Sun Bowl, under then-head coach Mike Brumbelow. In 1962, the team left the Border Conference to become independent, before joining the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) in 1968. Up until that point, the team had made eight bowl appearances, all in the Sun Bowl, and accumulated a record of 5–3.

The team left the WAC in 2005 to join Conference USA, where it has played since. In October 2024, the university accepted an offer to join the Mountain West Conference, starting in the 2026–27 academic year.

Conference affiliations

UTEP has competed as a member of three different conferences since 1914. Following the 2025 season and the 2025–26 year, the team will move from Conference USA to the Mountain West Conference.

• Independent (1914–1934)
• Border Conference (1935–1961)
• Independent (1962–1967)
• Western Athletic Conference (1968–2004)
• Conference USA (2005–present)
• Mountain West Conference (Beginning in 2026)

Conference championships

UTEP has won two conference championships, one outright and one shared. In 1956 the UTEP Miners finished the year with a 9–2 overall record and a 5–0 in conference to win the Border Conference and its first conference champions title. The season included wins over Arizona, Arizona State, and Texas Tech. The Miners were defeated by North Texas that year. Forty-four years later in 2000, the Miners shared the Western Athletic Conference Champions title with TCU. UTEP finished 8–4 overall record and a 7–1 in conference. The season included wins over Fresno State, Rice, and SMU. The Miners were defeated by TCU, its only loss in conference play.

† Co-champions

Head coaches

Main article: List of UTEP Miners head football coaches

UTEP has had 26 head coaches, and one-interimn head coach. Two coaches have won conference championships with the Miners: Mike Brumbelow and Gary Nord. , Mack Saxon is the all-time leader in games and program wins, while Brumbelow has the highest winning percentage .651. Since the 2024 season, the team has been led by Scotty Walden, who previously served as head coach at Austin Peay State University.

Bowl games

UTEP has played in fifteen bowl games, compiling a record of 5–10. They have not won a bowl game since 1967, the longest drought among NCAA Division I FBS teams and a drought of 56 years.

Home stadium

Main article: Sun Bowl (stadium)

Since 1963, UTEP has played at the Sun Bowl. From 1938 to 1962, they played at Kidd Field.

Rivalries

New Mexico State

Main article: Battle of I-10

The Battle of I-10 Rivalry is named for the New Mexico State-UTEP rivalry. The 110–year–old series has had many exciting finishes in its storied history. UTEP holds the series lead at 60–39–2, largely due to dominance in the series from the 1920s to the 1960s. The rivalry is either played in El Paso or Las Cruces, New Mexico.

National award winners

Amos Alonzo Stagg Award :Jack Curtice (1972)

All-Americans

• Fred Carr, LB – 1967 (NEA-1; Time-1st; TSN-1st; CP-2nd)
• Charlie West, DB – 1967 (NEA-2nd; Time-1st; TSN-1st)
• Dennis Bramlett, C – 1969 (NEA-2nd)
• Kyran Duhon, DE – 2024 (CFN Freshman All-American)

Future non-conference opponents

Announced schedules as of January 14, 2026.

References

References

1. (2024-10-01). "Mountain West Officially Welcomes UTEP Into The Conference".
2. (2023-12-05). "Walden, 34, leaves Austin Peay to take UTEP job".
3. "UTEP Miners Bowls".
4. "I-10 Rivalry Resumes on Saturday".
5. "mcubed.net : NCAAF Football : Series records : UTEP vs. New Mexico St".
6. "UTEP Miners Football Future Schedules". FBSchedules.com.