UTEP ideal in facilities

Now that the Miners' Foster-Stevens Basketeball Center is open, UTEP has the facilities of virtually any big-name school in basketball and football.

I can't think of what else athletes need. Can you?

Here's what I see as overall top-notch:

1. Sun Bowl/Durham Center

2. Don Haskins Center/Foster-Stevens

3. New dorms for athletes wishing to live on campus.

4. Many new eateries on Mesa near the campus.

5. The quick-bus between campus and Downtown ...

And this may be the most important of all. For a few years now UTEP has offered a general studies major. That's big because the NCAA mandates athletes pass an x number of courses in their declared major.

It can be tough on a student who finds out his chosen major isn't really for him/her. But they can't change, otherwise they fall behind on "major" credits and lose their eligibility.

OK, it's also easier to keep a bad student eligible.

What else does UTEP need, other than the previously mentioned new Sun Bowl turf and decent TV lighting in the Sun Bowl and Haskins Center?

It's time to chip in. What do you think?

Comments

[Toasted Whitebred]

Better marketing deal. I believe they had outsourced their marketing to some company affiliated with CSTV. Not sure. There are some gaps that the deal doesn't cover. Local TV for one. Local advertising doen't seem to be very wide spread. Also a recruiting fund and higher salaries for assistant coaches. Most everything is a revenue issue - chicken and egg kinda thing. So...

1. Facilities - B+ average
2. Coaches - B average
3. On Field Results - C+
4. Recruits - C average
5. Conference affiliation - C-
6. Marketing - C-
7. Funding - D
8. TV - D

[UTEPfan4life]

what else do they need? well, not being in el paso would be a major start.

Seriously though, El Paso is a tough sell to a young kid. It might as well be on the moon when compared to the places most of these kids grew up in.

[CLEOFITZWITZ]

Agree with Toasted about tv.

1. We could also use a nicer practice football field.

2. A 4000 seat baseball facility to accompany our Div. 1 baseball team.

3. 65,000 seating capacity by adding a second level above the extended press box (extended across westside) and seats in the south end zone because the Sun Bowl couldn't satisfy fan demand (dreaming).

4. Permanent seating for soccer.

5. Indoor track facility.

6. Tennis stadium.

[Jon]

I wouldn't mind seeing a state of the art, luxury box laden, end zone to end zone, 5-story, Press box!

You know, for all those high rollers in El Paso.

Anyway, I think it would make the Sun Bowl look extremely nice.

A bigger "megatron" in the south end-zone would be nicer too. Ours is kind of small compared to others. (Texas) Ha Kidding.

[just a thought]

Since the rest of the crew went with facilities and equipment I decided to focus more on the intangibles:

1) Recapture the confidence and swagger MP brought in 04-05. What happened to that?

2) Start building a knack for beating "big boys" on our schedule. This year it's Kansas. Want to get noticed? Beat a larger market team and get on SportsCenter every year.

3) Momentum. Beat a team early on (see #2) and this play can carry throughout the season. Happens to a no name team every season.

4) Something to play for. Whether it's another C-USA coach that says "UTEP stinks" or Vittatoe says "UTEP wins 8 games" -- play for a cause. A sense of urgency and UTEP football have never been one and the same. Too often it's like: "ho hum, who do we play next week?". Yes, fans too.

5) Something to play for Part II. We need a tragedy. No, nothing serious like a car accident or mass shooting but something worthy of a uniform patch. Maybe UTEPs library burns down or something. Yeah, that would get the players riled up.

[CLEOFITZWITZ]

The confidence and swagger could be triggered by an outside force. I do think that we would be better served if it came from within.

A few years back, Fresno St. and Pat Hill decided that they were going to pick on some big schools. They had the gall to sucker punch some of these high level programs and in turn, got some much deserved respect for it.

Mike Price is a nice guy. Maybe too nice.

[Toasted Whitebred]

Good call Cleo. Baseball would be a great addition. More television exposure and baseball could help us land a better conference affiliation. Big 13 maybe???

[alvinyork]

Baseball? UTEP's never done squat in baseball. The Miners usually got their hats handed to them by the Arizonas and Arizona States on their schedule. Most of the other teams cleaned UTEP's clock as well.

The baseball field was located where the library is now.

"For a few years now UTEP has offered a general studies major."

Huh?

I went through my first year at UTEP (1972-1973) as a general studies major, getting all the freshman-level required courses (English, history, political science, foreign language, etc.) out of the way before settling on a major for a BA degree.

[rayman]

We need for the Golddiggers to show more skin! (except the occasional stray Golddigger dude).

[DUH]

I think Joe meant Multi-Disciplinary studies not General Studies. I think the biggest problem is the Marketing Department. Better Marketing = More Money = everything on everyones wish list.
Reasons:
1. They can't relate to the community. This happens when you bring a goofy young lady from the beaches of Cali to the West Texas Mountains. If you can understand your target market how can you sell to them.
2. The majority of people who work in that department do have a degree relative to marketing, promotions or advertising.
3. When your the biggest show in town in a city this size there is no reason it shouldn't be sold out.

Fix the marketing and everything else will fall in place.

[Ivan Pierre Aguirre]

FINALLY said it!! Yes I agree, Joe!!1 Better lighting in the Sun Bowl and Haskins Center!!! The light in the Sun Bowl, especially in the end zones, is horrible for video/photography!! The Sun Bowl has OK lighting. NMSU has amazing light in their football stadium! Maybe thats why they get "a lot" of games on espn/2. I love shooting there! Good call Joe.

[Ivan Pierre Aguirre]

whoops meant the Don has OK lighting. Could be better. But I guess that is why there are strobes around.