History of the Miners
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 (and the only team in Texas to be national champions until Baylor’s victory in the 2021 tournament). UTEP's colors are orange and blue, and the mascot is a miner named Paydirt Pete.
College Sports Established
1914
Location
El Paso, Texas
College Name
University of Texas at El Paso
Collegiate History
1973 - Present / NCAA Division 1
1921 - 1973 / University Division of the NCAA
1914 - 1921 / Athletic Association of the United States
Conference History
2005 - Present / Conference USA
1968 - 2004 / Western Athletic Conference
1962 - 1967 / Independent
1935 - 1961 / Border Conference
1914 - 1934 / Independent
Nickname
Miners - James G. Brann, a sportswriter for the El Paso Herald, first used the Miners nickname to refer to the School of Mines football team on October 15, 1914. In the early twentieth century, schools did not choose their nicknames—the press usually did. When UTEP opened in 1914, there were already four other mining schools with football teams, and all of them were referred to by the press as Miners, just as teams fielded by agricultural schools were known as Aggies. Because the Herald was first to use Miners, rival papers, including the El Paso Times, declined to use the name during those early years, instead opting for “the School of Mines team” or “Mines.” It was not until 1981, at the onset of the athletic apparel merchandise boom, that the UT System trademarked the Miners nickname.
Other nicknames over history included Muckers and Ore Diggers for men’s team, and Minerettes and Lady Miners for women’s teams.
NCAA Championships
Baseball 0
Men's Basketball 1
1966
Women's Basketball 0
Football 0
Soccer 0
To qualify as the greatest player for this team, the player must have played one season for this team. If not, we will remove the player.
* verifies that player has played for this team as an added player by a fan.
