Joe on utepia

We'll bid on Conference USA Tourney

Word is, via a joint effort, El Paso/UTEP will bid on being host for the 2010 Conference USA men's and women's basketball tournaments.

It's good news. It's a good joint effort in this city.

Here are the players who would join UTEP: Sports Commission, County, City and Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The general thinking is that the tourney host (UTEP) would probably break even. But, just in case, the other entities would agree to foot any expenses. Word is the other entities seem favorable to such an arrangement.

Having the tournament, of course, means some 2,000 out-of-towners in our hotels over a five-day period That guarantees a tourist-dollar boost.

The finals are shown nationally on CBS.

Spring football podcast

With the UTEP Miners having played their spring football game, it's time to start talking about the coming season.

To listen to or download a UTEP football podcast featuring Beau Bagley of KTSM, and Joe Muench and Pablo Villa of the El Paso Times, click here.

Stefon's agent

Could it be that UTEP basketball star Stefon Jackson will hire his landlord to be his agent for the NBA draft this June?

Jackson has been living at a place in the gated community of Camelot Townhomes. His pad is owned by former UTEP and NBA player Greg Foster, who's now a successful investments man in El Paso. The two have been seen together often of late.

And word is Foster taking the necessary steps to become a sports agent.

If Jackson changes his mind and pulls out of the NBA draft, he can return to UTEP for his senior season — if he has not signed with a professional agent.

Stull and Washington job

Bob Stull's name has resurfaced as a candidate for athletic director at the University of Washington, where he was once a football offensive coordinator and later an athletic department fund raiser — a raiser of millions of dollars.

Long shot for UTEP's AD? I don't think so.

Last week UW Interim AD Scott Woodward, a favorite for the full-time position, said he was not interested. And UW President Mark Emmert said the qualifications for the job have changed since the last time it was open, and given to the now-departed Todd Turner.

The job description seems to have changed to favor Stull, if he's interested.

According to Bob Condotta at the Seattle Times:

The job had been to reunite an athletic department wracked by scandals and inside confusion. Now, Emmert is saying the job description calls for someone who can reunite the fan base and raise a lot of money, especially for a needed renovation of the school's old football stadium. That will require many millions.

Condotta's list of possible choices would be the last list of possible choices when the job had been open:

Mike Cragg, an assistant AD at Duke, who's a Washington grad.

Chris Hill, the Utah AD who reportedly turned down UW the last time.

Jim Phillips, the Northern Illinois AD.

And Stull.

Note: Stull was the final engineer of the Larry Durham Center, turning it  from talk to a reality. Under Stull there's the new softball complex and now the construction of a new basketeball practice facility.

I'd say if Stull still wants that one more big challenge before he retires, he'd be going after the Washington job big time. It would be a chance for a big feather in his cap and a whole lot more money than he's making at UTEP in his pocket.

Stefon Jackson suspension lifted?

Apparently UTEP has lifted its "indefinite" suspension of junior basketball player Stefon Jackson. Must have ...

... Otherwise why would UTEP have honored Jackson Thursday as its' Male Athlete of the Year during its annual sports banquet?

Surely they wouldn't bestow the  highest honor — save Hall of Fame — on a guy who's suspended from the team?

If he's still actually suspended, UTEP sent a bad message to kids.

Jackson is/was suspended pending an investigation that he may have lied to authorities about a man they wanted to arrest on several charges in Pennsylvania. Jackson, himself, was arrested and is now out on bond.

 

Time Warner/Comcast & UTEP on TV

Perhaps the new partnership between Comcast and Texas Time Warner Cable could be the link to getting more UTEP football and basketball games on TV?

Comcast-Charter Sports Southeast will televise three Marshall football games this fall. That was announced today (Thursday).

Both Marshall and UTEP are in Conference USA, which has that TV deal with CSTV, which is owned by CBS ...

Just thinking now:

The Brut Sun Bowl on CBS could be the Brut Sun Bowl on CSTV after the contract with CBS Sports runs out after the 2009 game.

When the Sunnies signed their present deal with CBS some felt it would be the last. (We'd figured ESPN would pick up the game).

CBS takes a hit when it interrupts its soap operas to televise the Sun Bowl at noon on Dec. 31, often a weekday. This year it's a Wednesday.

We've seen ABC use it's myriad of ESPN channels to do some of its sports ventures. And it has worked out well. Most homes get at least ESPN and ESPN2 on their basic cable package.

This could be the wave of the future — networks using their sports arms for games that have been on the main network all these years.

The problem with Time Warner/CSTV is that CSTV is not offered on TWC's basic package.

Maybe the Time Warner/Comcast technology can overcome that?