Mountain West finalizes addition of UTEP
The Mountain West Conference added UTEP as its seventh full-time member on Tuesday.
The Miners of El Paso, Texas, will begin competition in all sports in the 2026-27 academic year. They have been members of Conference USA since 2005.
“There’s no doubt this will be better for our student-athletes, our fans, and for El Paso,” UTEP president Heather Wilson said. “We look forward to rekindling former rivalries and welcoming teams and their fans to El Paso.”
The Mountain West is rebuilding following the recent departures of five schools to the Pac-12: Boise State, Fresno State, San Diego State, Colorado State and Utah State.
That left the MWC with six full-time members -- Air Force, Nevada, New Mexico, San Jose State, UNLV and Wyoming -- with Hawaii as a partial (non-football) member. To be recognized as a conference under NCAA rules, the league needed to add two more schools by 2028.
“We are excited to welcome The University of Texas at El Paso to the Mountain West as the next step in our strategic membership initiatives,” MWC commissioner Gloria Nevarez said. “The addition of UTEP restores historic rivalries with several of our member institutions within the geographic footprint and provides valuable exposure in the great state of Texas. We welcome and look forward to competing against the student-athletes of UTEP.”
Bringing aboard UTEP still leaves the Mountain West one member short. Earlier reports said the league has made a verbal offer to Texas State, which reportedly also has drawn interest from the Pac-12.
The Miners’ football program (0-4, 0-1 CUSA) has been to 15 bowl games, most recently the New Mexico Bowl in 2021. The men’s basketball program has been to the NCAA Tournament 17 times, including a national championship in 1966.
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This story was originally published October 1, 2024 at 1:00 PM