University of Texas at El Paso
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The historical 1966 Texas Western College win over The University of Kentucky for the NCAA basketball championship was depicted in the Disney/Jerry Bruckheimer movie “Glory Road,” which was released on January 13, 2006. Glory Road lies between the two basketball arenas on the campus, stretching from Mesa Avenue to Sun Bowl Road.
Today, the institution is devoted to educating the diverse population at a sprawling campus in the westernmost part of the State of Texas along the borders with Mexico and the State of New Mexico.
History
- In 1913, Texas Governor Oscar Branch Colquitt signed Senate Bill 183, creating the Texas State School of Mines and Metallurgy in El Paso.
- The school officially opened its doors on September 23, 1914 with an initial enrollment of 27 students.
- By 1916, the school's enrollment had grown to 39 students and for the first time women were allowed to enroll.
- In 1919, the school's name was changed to U.T. Department of Mines and Metallurgy.
- In 1920, the school's name changed again to the Texas College of Mines and Metallurgy, or TCM.
- In 1923, the school's students painted a large "M" for Miners on the Franklin Mountains; the "M" is still there today.
- In 1949, the school's name was changed again to Texas Western College of the University of Texas (TWC).
- The nation’s first Peace Corps class was trained at Texas Western College in 1961.
- In 1963, Sun Bowl Stadium was constructed.
- On March 19, 1966, coach Don Haskins made history when his Texas Western College men's basketball team that included five African-American starters stunned and defeated the heavily favored, and all-White, Wildcats of the University of Kentucky, coached by basketball legend Adolph Rupp, for the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship at College Park, Maryland. This became the subject of the 2006 movie Glory Road.
- In 1967, TWC changed its name to The University of Texas at El Paso.
- In 1968, UTEP student-athlete Bob Beamon set a new world long jump record at the Olympic Games in Mexico City; the record would stand for decades.
- In 1969, UTEP won its first of seven NCAA Men's Cross Country Championships.
- UTEP's first doctorate degree program in Geological Sciences was approved in 1974, and in that same year, UTEP went on to win its first of seven NCAA Men's Indoor Track and Field Championships.
- In 1975, the UTEP men's Track and Field team struck gold again and won both the NCAA Men's Outdoor and Indoor National Championships.
- In 1977, UTEP's Special Events Center (now the Don Haskins Center) with 12,000 seats was completed.
- In 1982, an expansion to the Sun Bowl Stadium was completed and the seating capacity was increased to 52,000.
- In 1984, the six-story University Library opened its doors to the public.
- Diana Natalicio became the first woman president at UTEP in 1988.
- In 1989, UTEP's second doctorate degree program was approved for Electrical Engineering.
- The 1990's and into the 2000's brought a lot of positive changes to UTEP academics. In 1991, the Computer Engineering doctorate program, in 1993 the Psychology doctorate program, in 1995 the Environmental science and engineering doctorate program, in 1996 the Pharmacy cooperative doctorate program, in 1997 the Biological sciences doctorate program, in 1999 the History doctorate program, and in 2000 the Nursing cooperative doctorate program, all began enrolling students to further expand the higher educational goals of UTEP.
- In 1997, Don Haskins was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame and the Special Events Center was renamed the Don Haskins Center and is also known as "The Bear's Den" as Haskins is affectionately known as "The Bear".
- In 1999, the legendary Don Haskins retired from coaching. Also in 1999, UTEP's MBA online degree program was launched.
- In 2000, UTEP's Miner Village was completed and UTEP was designated as a Doctoral/Research-Intensive University by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.
- In 2002, the $11 million Larry K. Durham Sports Center opens for the first time and the Sam Donaldson Center for Communication Studies is established.
- 2003 was a busy year for UTEP, the school hired former Washington State University head coach Mike Price to bring new life to the UTEP football team, $44 million in construction projects began for Academic Services and Biosciences buildings and an addition to the Engineering-Science Complex, construction also began on the $1.8 million Helen of Troy Softball Complex, and the International business doctorate, the Civil engineering doctorate, and the Composition and Rhetoric doctorate programs were approved.
- In 2004, UTEP celebrated its 90th anniversary and in the 2004-2005 athletic year, UTEP enjoyed great success in both football and men's basketball, the Miner football team, under Price, went on to play the Buffaloes of the University of Colorado in the EV1.net Houston Bowl, and the Men's basketball team under new coach Doc Sadler went on to play in the school's 15th NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament appearance.
- On July 1, 2005, UTEP was formally introduced to Conference USA from the Western Athletic Conference. UTEP was a member of the Western Athletic Conference for 37 years. They recently progressed to the GMAC Bowl to face the Toledo Rockets, where they would suffer a disappointing loss.
Academics
The University of Texas at El Paso is subdivided into several colleges, each of which offers a variety of degree programs including undergraduate, graduate and some post-graduate:
- [College of Health Sciences]
- * [School of Nursing]
- * School of Allied Health
As of September 2005, Hispanic Business Magazine ranked UTEP as the number one engineering school for hispanics. The National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering has called the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) "a model for other engineering institutions who say that today's minority young people from low-income families can't succeed in a rigorous math- or science-based discipline."
The National Science Foundation has designated UTEP as a Model Institution for excellence, one of only six in the country. UTEP is one of only 11 universities nationwide to receive a $5 million Teachers for a New Era (TNE) research grant from the Carnegie Corporation.
School Colors and Logo
The school's colors were originally made orange and white, to be in par with UT Austin Longhorns colors however in the early 1980s, blue was added so now the official colors are orange, white, and blue. When the new UTEP athletic department logo was introduced in the fall of 1999, a darker hue of blue was incorporated into the logo, as well as a silver accent to go with the customary orange.
School Songs
UTEP's fight song, in the late 1980s with Marty Robbins' blessing, the UTEP Music Department rewrote El Paso with the melody "El Paso."
Lyrics
"UTEP Fight Song"
Down in the west Texas town of El Paso,
Home of the River they call Rio Grande.
Down on the border the town of El Paso,
Home of the Miners the best in the land.
Fighting to win, the Miners of UTEP,
Long live the College of Mines, GO COLLEGE OF MINES!
Loyal forever, we're standing together,
Onward to victory Orange and Blue, WE WILL BE TRUE!
(Repeat)
"Miners Fight"
Miners Fight! Miners Fight!
And it's goodbye to(opponent).
Miners Fight! Miners Fight!
For we'll put over one more win.
Miners Fight! Miners Fight!
For it's Miners that we love best.
Hail! Hail! the gangs all here,
And it's goodbye to all the rest!
(repeat)
"The Shadows on the Mountains" (UTEP's Official Alma Mater)
The shadows on the mountains fall,
across the desert sands.
We lift our voices to our home along the Rio Grande
With brothers standing ever near
And sisters by our side
Oh Alma Mater always true
Our hearts with thee abide
Nickname
It is presumed that the nickname "Miners" came from the fact that the school was founded as the "State School of Mines and Metallurgy." In doing research on this project, early mention of "Ore Diggers" and "Muckers" for the nickname was found, but nothing to determine if the name "Miners" was voted upon by the student body, or if a faculty member, John W. (Cap) Kidd, chose the name. Kidd was a big booster of athletics, especially football, and in 1915, when funds were rather lean at the school, Kidd donated $800 to equip the football team. He also assisted with coaching, although he was not the head coach. The present track facility on campus bears Cap Kidd's name.Notable Athletic Achievments
UTEP's sports programs have won a total of 21 NCAA Division I national championships. UTEP is currently tied for 10th overall among schools in Men's Sports Division I championships.- Men's basketball: 1
- Men's cross country: 7
- Men's indoor track & field: 7
- Men's outdoor track & field: 6
Mascot - Paydirt Pete
The Miners have had nearly as many mascots for its athletic teams as the school has had names.
Probably the first so-called mascot was a student dressed as a prospector leading a burro, named Clyde. Some years after Clyde began making appearances at football games, then-president Dr. Joseph Ray became disenchanted with the animal's appearance.
In a letter to the dean of students, Dr. Ray demanded that something be done about that "sorry-looking, pot-bellied creature, not fit to represent the Miners." Clyde was surveyed out in 1966 and replaced by Henry, another burro. The name Paydirt Pete originated from a 1974 contest to give a name to the mascot. The name Paydirt Pete was selected from over 500 entries. The first animated Paydirt Pete was given a face in 1974. It was recreated in 1980. This was a lovable little ol' Miner which probably led to his being dubbed "Sweet Pete." At any rate, ol' Sweet Pete was not a very popular mascot and, like Clyde, he made a quick exit in order for the present Paydirt Pete to arrive on the scene.
This Paydirt Pete is meaner looking, has a major-league swagger and has become something of a goodwill ambassador for the school, as well as appearing at UTEP sporting events. This Pete stuck until the late 1990s and was built and designed by El Pasoan Richard Glass. Sometime after Pete made his appearance, he decided to kick the smoking habit and the cigar, which jutted to one side of his mouth, was removed. The next rendition of Paydirt Pete was introduced in the fall of 1999, along with a brand-new UTEP athletic department logo, when again complaints surfaced similar to "Sweet Pete". In the spring of 2005, the current rendition of Paydirt Pete was unveiled at a home basketball game.
Traveling Trophies
The winner of the UTEP vs New Mexico State University football game receives a pair of traveling trophies; The Silver Spade and The Brass Spittoon. The first spade used for this purpose was an old prospector's shovel dug up from an abandoned mine in the Organ Mountains near Las Cruces in 1947. This was the symbol of victory, and the spade was given to the winner of the football game between the Miners and Aggies each year.
The idea of the present Silver Spade was from UTEP student Don Henderson, the student association president and now a very successful El Paso businessman and former mayor of the city. In 1955 Henderson secured the present spade and each year the score of the game is engraved on the blade.
Perhaps the idea behind the spade is the fact that at the time the prospector's spade was uncovered, both schools' major field of study had use for the tool, mining and metallurgy for the College of Mines and agriculture at then New Mexico A&M. The Brass Spittoon, officially known as the Mayor's Cup, came into existence in 1982 when the mayors of the two cities; Jonathan Rogers of El Paso, and David Steinberg of Las Cruces decided to present another traveling trophy to the winner of the UTEP vs New Mexico State University game.
Sports Venues
UTEP owns the two largest stadiums in El Paso:- Sun Bowl Stadium, seating capacity is 52,000, it opened its doors in 1963, it is currently the home to the UTEP football team and to the annual Vitalis Sun Bowl game.
- Don Haskins Center, seating capacity is 12,000, it was built in 1976 and it is primarily used by the men's and women's basketball teams.
Notable people
Faculty
- Urbici Soler y Manonelles, sculptor
- Steven Best, professor of philosophy and spokesperson for the Animal Liberation Front
Alumni
- Ana Alicia – Actress
- Nate Archibald – NBA Hall of Famer, chosen as one of the Top 50 Greatest NBA Players
- Bob Beamon – Olympic gold medalist, world record holder in track and field
- Hank Cohen – President of MGM Television Entertainment
- Antonio Davis – NBA All-Star, president of the National Basketball Players Association
- Sam Donaldson – ABC News veteran
- Daniel W. Foster, M.D. – Former chairman of the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas
- Hector Guerrero – Professional wrestler, performed on WWF and NWA
- Jack Handey – Best known for his "Deep Thoughts" on Saturday Night Live
- Tim Hardaway – NBA All-Star, 2000 Summer Olympics gold medalist
- J.P. Hayes – Professional golfer
- Ed Hochuli – National Football League referee
- Shoshana Johnson – U.S. Army Specialist, former Iraq POW
- Seth Joyner – 1991 NFL Defensive Player of the Year by Sports Illustrated, two-time Super Bowl champion
- Don Maynard – NFL Hall of Famer
- Bob O'Rear – One of the founders of Microsoft
- Nolan Richardson – Former NCAA champion collegiate men's basketball head coach at the University of Arkansas.
See also
- The Prospector (school newspaper)
External links
- [University of Texas El Paso]
- [Official UTEP Athletics site]
- [UTEP Marching Miners]
- [University of Texas at El Paso Film Studies Program]
- [Thematic Mapper infrared image of 3 states and two nations. The red region follows the Rio Grande]
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