Now Marshall Is Pushing UTEP!

[50's PONY]

April 22, 2004
UTEP in the right direction
Miners have plenty to offer if accepted into C-USA

By Doug Smock
Staff writer

If the University of Texas at El Paso does hook up with Conference USA, it will bring the league more than another time zone.

The Miners would carry a seven-figure metropolitan area, a sizable fan base and updated facilities, not to mention a basketball tradition and an accomplished football coach, Mike Price, looking to revive his career.

Conference USA athletic directors have recommended UTEP as the revamped league’s 12th member, according to published reports. Presidents from post-2005 league members are expected to vote on the matter April 30.

Jeff Darby, UTEP’s associate athletic director of media relations, said the school has not received an official invitation. Athletic director Bob Stull has remained mum, not returning phone calls.

But in the recent protocol of conference realignment, an official invitation usually means the conference and its prospective new member have long since come to terms. Nobody is eager to repeat the Atlantic Coast Conference’s 2003 snafu involving Syracuse and Boston College.

For instance, when Marshall’s Board of Governors voted unanimously to authorize president Dan Angel to pursue C-USA membership, an official invitation had not been extended. Yet Marshall’s move became a foregone conclusion.

UTEP would leave the hard-luck Western Athletic Conference, which has coped with several seismic upheavals since its founding in 1962. The Miners joined that league in 1967.

Rice, Tulsa and Southern Methodist are bolting from the WAC in 2005. Those schools, along with C-USA charter member Houston, are thought to form the base of support for UTEP.

Conversely, UTEP — with a current enrollment of 18,542 — could strengthen its recruiting in the talent-rich state of Texas, and appeal to large alumni pockets in Houston and Dallas.

UTEP has emerged as the leading candidate to replace Texas Christian University, which is moving to the Mountain West Conference. C-USA has the option to stand pat at 11 teams, but commissioner Britton Banowsky and others want the league to conduct a potentially lucrative football championship game.

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Louisiana Tech and North Texas are among the schools that would be passed over.

“Several of those places would be a good fit,” said Marshall athletic director Bob Marcum. “When you check the numbers, UTEP sort of comes to the top.”

If the Miners come aboard, they will offer:

Population: About 680,000 people live in the El Paso metro area, according to the 2000 census — and that’s on the American side of the Rio Grande. That alone ranks 69th in the country and fifth in Texas.
Across the border is Mexico’s fifth-largest city, Ciudad Juarez, which has about 1.3 million people. The U.S. Census Bureau puts the bi-national metro area at 1,988,026 residents.

A large number of Juarez residents commute to UTEP. Alumni chapters are listed in Juarez and Chihuahua.

Fan base: UTEP has the potential to draw 40,000 per game for football and 10,000 for basketball. It has done both.
Football attendance fell to 20,009 per game last year as the Miners struggled to their third two-win season in a row. But they averaged 44,000 in an 8-4 season in 2000.

Basketball averaged 10,282 last season as the Miners went 24-8. Eight home games were sellouts.

Basketball tradition: Then known as Texas Western, the Miners won the 1966 national championship with an all-black lineup, beating Adolph Rupp’s all-white Kentucky team. The 11,500-seat arena, built in 1977, bears the name of longtime coach Don Haskins.

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Facilities: UTEP backers are beaming over the new Larry K. Durham Sports Center, a 60,000 square-foot appendage to the Sun Bowl. Opened in 2002, it features a 10,000 square-foot conditioning center, a student-athlete lounge/computer center, a kinesiology laboratory, a multipurpose meeting room and a “Hall of Champions” building.
The center cost $11 million — a price tag not unlike that for Marshall’s wish of an enlarged Shewey Athletic Building and an indoor practice center. UTEP football alum Larry Durham ponied up $5 million himself.

The 41-year-old Sun Bowl, where UTEP plays its home football games, seats 51,500.

UTEP’s chief negative is geography. It will stretch C-USA’s footprint to about 1,900 miles — from El Paso to Greenville, N.C. El Paso is in the Mountain Time Zone. At about 1,637 miles from Huntington, Herd fans will find that a long hike for a league game.

“But you know, if someone is sitting in Dallas, they’re saying the same thing about Huntington,” Marcum said.

On the other hand, UTEP is relatively unfazed by C-USA’s travel demands. WAC schools must traverse long distances to play anybody — and nobody takes a bus to Hawaii.

“SMU, Houston, Rice, Tulane ... that’s a Southwest [Airlines] flight for us,” Darby said.

[Diehard Pony]

I hope this happens. With what I expect Mike Price to do for UTEP football, along with their already very good basketball program; their fan base, and their tie to the Sun Bowl would more than negate the departure of TCU in my view.

[Hoop Fan]

Its pretty ironic that Utep would play in CUSA and TCU in the MWC. All of Uteps traditional rivals play in the MWC and TCU's play in CUSA. When things settle out long term, and the BCS pipe dream fades, this would set up for a nice one for one trade of Utep for TCU with minimal disruption for either league.

[LA_Mustang]

Good point, HF.

[EastStang]

I think TCU burned some real bridges with this move. I suspect that Memphis, USM, UCF, Marshall, UH, Tulsa, Rice, and Tulane won't be forgiving. They can understand a move to the BE, it is a BCS conference with tons more money, but a lateral move to the MWC (and despite TCU's protestations it is a lateral move) is nothing more than showing contempt for your conference mates. Since a number of TCU sources have said that the main reason is because SMU was invited, I think we ought to be particularly loathe to ever consider letting them in. I think any such trade would have to be at the request of UTEP, not TCU.

[LA_Mustang]

TCU is kinda like one of those girls on that ridiculous Fox show The Swan. They might appear all pretty now and everybody may be talking about them but sooner or later they will look in the mirror and realize....they are what they are. A purple toad.

[Hoop Fan]

East, not to blow my own horn, but I predicted the TCU to the MWC thing on this board last May. Most people said I was crazy, if not stupid. I also said at the time that we would take them back any time they wanted to come back so its a low risk proposition for TCU. I still believe that. Part of it is that TCU has made the proper investments in its facilities and program. They are an asset to any mid major league. In the end, that will outweigh any venom - $$$. Once you have a turnover in Presidents and ADs, all the grudges subside anyway. TCU has made all the right moves and they know what they are doing on this, I hate it, but they do. They know that if it doesnt work out we'll take them back. We shouldnt but we will. LA is right though, in the end, they are purple toads with alot of ugly girls.

[EastStang]

There may be more hatred that you think. For one thing, last I heard, TCU is not being given the same deal given to LU and company which would let them out of the exit fee. TCU thought they could walk without paying an exit fee or forfeiting units. This will create a lot of hard feelings down the road however it turns out. The Frogs won't come in if they have to pay another entrance fee after paying an exit fee. The other schools won't let them in without paying an entrance fee. The MWC won't let UTEP in without an entrance fee. $$$$ talk and at this point the $$$$ don't look good for the Froggies waltzing back into CUSA.

[Hoop Fan]

I dont doubt there is some real resentment right now, both ways. All I am saying is that after a few years, say 5 or 6, and turnover at the AD and prez levels, if it makes sense for TCU to come back, they will. And everybody from Memphis to SMU will vote them back with open arms and with maybe a modest entrance fee.

[Charleston Pony]

the more time I've had to think about this the more I like UTEP for CUSA. They've got great potential, the best facilities of anyone being discussed and they will help our attendance figures.

With TCU, UNT and either Army or Navy and perhaps even Baylor rounding out the non-conference schedule in future years, I think interest in SMU football will return...at least to a level that Ford Stadium will be reasonably full on Saturdays.

[Water Pony]

Programs, enrollment, alumni in East Texas, Sun Bowl, potential, etc. do elevate UTEP. But, the MT zone is an issue. I worry about the eastern members. Despite our interest and expressed preference, no reasonable option has emerged in the ET to support ECU, Marhsall and UCF.

CUSA should be attentive to Army and Navy should they desire even a limited afilliation.