University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Getting to Know Our Opponents -- UTEP
8/18/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- The countdown is on as your Golden Eagles prepare for the 2015 Football season! The Golden Eagles and Miners take the field at The Rock on Halloween on Saturday, Oct. 31.
Getting to know... UTEP
General Information:
Location: El Paso, Texas
Founded: 1914
Enrollment: 23,003
Nickname: Miners
President: Dr. Diana Natalicio
Athletics Director: Bob Stull
Colors: Dark Blue, Orange and Silver Accent
Athletics Website: www.utepathletics.com
Institution Website: www.utep.edu
Twitter: @UTEPAthletics
Football Information:
Primary offense: Pro Style
Primary defense: 4-2-5
Lettermen Returning / Lost: 49 / 19
Offense: 23 / 10
Defense: 23 / 8
Specialist: 3 / 1
Starters Returning / Lost: 12 / 11
Offense: 6 / 5
Defense: 5 / 6
Specialist: 1 / 0
Head Coach:
Former UTEP player and assistant Sean Kugler was named the 25th head coach of the Miners on December 10, 2012. In his second season, Kugler engineered one of the greatest turnarounds in the country. The Miners, 2-10 in 2013, recorded a winning record overall (7-6) and in Conference USA play (5-3) for the first time since 2005. The hot finish propelled UTEP into the Gildan New Mexico Bowl, where it faced Utah State in its first postseason appearance in four years. Using a ball control offense -- the Miners were second nationally in time of possession.
Football Stadium:
The Sun Bowl Stadium, which opened on Sept. 21, 1963, was originally designed to hold 30,000 spectators. The second deck on the press box was completed in 1969, and in 1982 extra seating was added. The present seating capacity is 51,500. The stadium is not only home to the UTEP football team, but also houses the Sun Bowl game every December. Recent additions to the stadium have included a state-of-the-art video board and scoreboards and a FieldTurf Classic HD CoolPlay playing surface.
About El Paso:
El Paso is a city in Texas, with the Spanish meaning "the pass," it is the county seat of El Paso County. The city lies in far West Texas. El Paso stands on the Rio Grande, across the bored from Júarez, Chihuahua, Mexico. The El Paso region has had human settlement for thousands of years, as evidence by Folsom points from hunter-gathers found at Hueco Tanks. El Paso is closer to the capital cities of four other states, Phoenix, Arizona, Santa Fe, New Mexico, Ciudad Chihuahua, Chihuahua and Hermosillo, Sonora. Fun fact: El Paso is closer to Los Angeles, California, than Orange, Texas.
Notable Alumni:
F. Murray Abraham -- Academy Award Best Actor winner, Amadeus
Fred Carr -- Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame
Greg Foster -- former NBA player and one time NBA champion with the Los Angeles Lakers
John D. Olivas -- first UTEP alumnus to be selected as an astronaut by NASA, member of Space Shuttle Mission STS-117 crew aboard the Atlantis
