A sobering thought

[jdubb66]

Old Dominion University fielded their first modern era football team in 2009 and are already more successful than the Miners. They won their first bowl game in 2016 with a record of 10-3. UTEP has not won a bowl game in...

Bobby Wilder: 67–30 27–13
Total: 67–30 (.691)

UTSA began their program in 2010 and made their first bowl game last year losing to UNM in the New Mexico Bowl. They are on the same level as the Miners in only their 4th year in the fbs compiling a record of 15 - 17 against CUSA opponents.

The UAB Blazers have not fielded a team in 2 years but are predicted to be the Miners this year when they meet in the last game of the year. I don't think that will happen but it just goes to show how much respect our program gets.

Given all those circumstances, we should just expect to have crappy football teams that every once in a while break through and have good seasons.

 

[axingfools1]

UTEP and EP have everything it needs to have a successful football program except for the lack of interest from the president, a stagnant AD and misallocation of pay to the coaching staff (or potential staff). The other excuses are lame. Until the president cares about football and the AD gives a shit, it aint gonna happen. NO chance.

 

[Minerforlife]

Old Dominion University fielded their first modern era football team in 2009 and are already more successful than the Miners. They won their first bowl game in 2016 with a record of 10-3. UTEP has not won a bowl game in...

Bobby Wilder: 67–30 27–13
Total: 67–30 (.691)

UTSA began their program in 2010 and made their first bowl game last year losing to UNM in the New Mexico Bowl. They are on the same level as the Miners in only their 4th year in the fbs compiling a record of 15 - 17 against CUSA opponents.

The UAB Blazers have not fielded a team in 2 years but are predicted to be the Miners this year when they meet in the last game of the year. I don't think that will happen but it just goes to show how much respect our program gets.

Given all those circumstances, we should just expect to have crappy football teams that every once in a while break through and have good seasons.

Great post. There are a few key problems. The biggest is the over inflation of our basketball tradition. The fan base has fallen into the lie/trap that we're a basketball school. The fact is we're not. The 66 team was a great social achievement and we should be forever proud. However, that has no bearing on modern basketball. We are viwed in the same category as Loyola and San Francisco. Schools who won the national championship and done little since. In the five decades after the national championship we've made the ncaa tournament an average of twice a decade. Except for the 80's when we made six tourneys. The only time we'vs been nationally relevant was in 92 with the upset of Kansas. The last quarter a century has been especially rough. When the MWC was formed our basketball tradition wasnt seen as a strength and we were passed by. Last year the president of San Diego State was the one president to come out against UTEP because our basketball program would weaken the MWC rpi. They werent worried about our football.

We have never went all in on football. We spend and insane amount on basketball. It's absurd to spend more money on a basketball coach than a football coach.If football was the priority things would be different. ODU and UTSA are passing us because football is the priority.

On a positive note. Bob Stull did bring football funding up to fbs standards. The dark ages of UTEP football was a result of not adequately funding the football program.Under Stull the last three football coaches have had winning seasons and went to bowl games. It's not nearly enough but it proves we can win. If we finally got our priorities in order we could do more.

Finally and this is true across all of our athletic programs we must demand results. UTSA fired Coker after he was the first coach to ever have a winning season in the programs first year in fbs. The program was on a downward trajectory as was attendance so UTSA pulled the trigger. We can't let coaches have seven straight losing seasons or go 4-8 in their fourth year with a seven game home slate. It's amazing what happens when you raise the bar and demand excellence. It's time UTEP raises expectations.

 

[shyminer81]

ODU is committed as is UTSA... Is UTEP? Is the President? It starts at the top...

 

[Cube Jack]

Dr. Natalicio is one of the longest tenured presidents in the country. Her legacy will be defined by things other than football. Really a great woman. If you ever get the chance to sit and speak with her I recommend it.

 

[MinerInWisconsin]

UTEP's spending and revenue for FB and MBB are close to the top in C-USA. Same for salaries for coaches. The only low point is head football coach. We go cheap on that one but do well for all other coaching positions. I believe the hiring of a solid head football coach is what has been lacking.

https://ope.ed.gov/athletics/#/compare/details

 

[MineroFanatico]

ODU is committed as is UTSA... Is UTEP? Is the President? It starts at the top...

She is committed. Just not to athletics.

 

[pay4dirt]

I think there is a correlation between UTEP affording to pay coaches well and a previous topic about low pay in El Paso in general. Maybe if Dr. Natalicio can improve things educationally to the point that higher paying jobs move into El Paso instead of graduates moving elsewhere, the money will stay in town enough that local fans can push for better quality coaching through donations. Just a thought. On a side note, local fans need to show up for UTEP football and basketball games for a reason other than just revenue generation. Recruits making their visit to UTEP are going to be more impressed with a full stadium than an empty one. Didn't one of our recent basketball recruits mention going to a UTEP vs. UTSA game in San Antonio and UTEP having a good turnout. Sometimes ego boosting is as important as financial boosting for college sports.

 

[homeskillet75]

Natalicio isn't the reason good jobs aren't in El Paso. El Paso's city council is the reason high paying jobs aren't there. They offer 0 incentives such as tax breaks to get the big companies to build in El Paso. When I was in college, Intel was going to build a site in town which was right up my alley as far as my degree. Then I found out they asked for tax breaks and City Council denied them. So they built that site in Arizona. Unless there is something in it for them directly, they aren't interested.

It's like some guy trying to cross your property with a wheelbarrow full of money that's so full the money is falling off the sides and he can't be bothered to pick it up. Then you sit at your property line and try to charge him a toll for crossing it. So instead he uses your neighbors property to cross and drops all that overflowing money onto your neighbors property.

 

[unihorn]

Natalicio isn't the reason good jobs aren't in El Paso. El Paso's city council is the reason high paying jobs aren't there. They offer 0 incentives such as tax breaks to get the big companies to build in El Paso. When I was in college, Intel was going to build a site in town which was right up my alley as far as my degree. Then I found out they asked for tax breaks and City Council denied them. So they built that site in Arizona. Unless there is something in it for them directly, they aren't interested.

It's like some guy trying to cross your property with a wheelbarrow full of money that's so full the money is falling off the sides and he can't be bothered to pick it up. Then you sit at your property line and try to charge him a toll for crossing it. So instead he uses your neighbors property to cross and drops all that overflowing money onto your neighbors property.

Also geographic location and a relative lack of skilled workers.

 

[FeralFelidae]

Maybe if Dr. Natalicio can improve things educationally to the point that higher paying jobs move into El Paso instead of graduates moving elsewhere,

That's the private sector; Natalicio has nothing to do with that. If the graduates are moving elsewhere as you say, then the talent pool is already in place; El Paso just doesn't have the private sector jobs to retain them.

I'm an engineer and there just aren't as many opportunities near El Paso as elsewhere. I worked at WSMR for a few years after my undergrad, but the commute gets old pretty quickly and since it's New Mexico I still had to pay the damned state income tax. Ultimately I moved on to better opportunities elsewhere.

It would seem to be a golden opportunity for companies to take advantage of the relatively cheap El Paso job market, but it takes time to build that up; hiring companies would need to invest in facilities/campuses in El Paso when they already have facilities elsewhere. What can El Paso do to lure tech companies to build some infrastructure here?

 

[develman]

Natalicio isn't the reason good jobs aren't in El Paso. El Paso's city council is the reason high paying jobs aren't there. They offer 0 incentives such as tax breaks to get the big companies to build in El Paso. When I was in college, Intel was going to build a site in town which was right up my alley as far as my degree. Then I found out they asked for tax breaks and City Council denied them. So they built that site in Arizona. Unless there is something in it for them directly, they aren't interested.

It's like some guy trying to cross your property with a wheelbarrow full of money that's so full the money is falling off the sides and he can't be bothered to pick it up. Then you sit at your property line and try to charge him a toll for crossing it. So instead he uses your neighbors property to cross and drops all that overflowing money onto your neighbors property.

You mean trickle down economics, works great for the top 2 %. Although I agree that El Paso, in general, seems to be short-sighted when it comes to progress.

 

[FeralFelidae]

You mean trickle down economics, works great for the top 2 %. Although I agree that El Paso, in general, seems to be short-sighted when it comes to progress.

If what you mean by trickle-down economics is giving a tax break to the wealthy which would supposedly percolate down through the economy, I don't think anybody in this thread has been advocating that.

However, El Paso could certainly do more to lure CORPORATIONS, tech companies, etc., on a case-by-case basis with favorable tax treatment so that they will invest in facilities in El Paso (good for construction industry) and hire local talent for their good-paying tech jobs instead of having all these UTEP engineering graduates fleeing the city for greener pastures. Think of all that sales and property tax revenue El Paso would collect from these engineers, if they could only concede a bit on the front end to lure these companies to El Paso in the first place.

 

[FeralFelidae]

It comes down to people not wanting to live here and them not thinking they can get good talent. Even if they save $ on the wages you could tell some owners/decision makers at the end of the day would rather live in another city.

Oh nonsense. I took a job in the middle of frickin' Iowa, and I've met other UTEP grads working at that employer in Iowa, and we all hated the location but it was a good-paying starter job right out of school. We all hated the long-term prospects of living in Iowa so we all eventually moved on. We played on a league softball team named GOI (Get Out of Iowa) and the weather sucks and there's not much to do besides shovel snow in the winter, mow grass every other day in the summer, and play on softball teams called GOI. El Paso weather is GREAT and there is actually more to in El Paso, although Iowa does have a better amusement park than Western Playland if you're into that sort of thing.

Iowa doesn't really have any one big city that serves as a cultural hub; the state just has a bunch of medium-sized cities spaced 75 miles or so apart, none really more interesting than the other. I guess Des Moines is first among equals, but that's not where my job was. Iowa's an agricultural state so there are lots of farms with farmer mentalities.

So we have UTEP grads who are willing to go to the middle of frickin' Iowa because that company was hiring. They would have been perfectly content staying in El Paso if a similar job could be found there. How many engineering graduates does UTEP produce each year? Along with nearby NMSU? No talent to be found, or are they all just going where the jobs are?

 

[shyminer81]

Dr. Natalicio is one of the longest tenured presidents in the country. Her legacy will be defined by things other than football. Really a great woman. If you ever get the chance to sit and speak with her I recommend it.

I agree, she has done wonders at UTEP on that end... Athletics, not so much. The only time i've met her, I was amazed at her intelligence.

 

[kappasigmaminer]

Oh nonsense. I took a job in the middle of frickin' Iowa, and I've met other UTEP grads working at that employer in Iowa, and we all hated the location but it was a good-paying starter job right out of school. We all hated the long-term prospects of living in Iowa so we all eventually moved on. We played on a league softball team named GOI (Get Out of Iowa) and the weather sucks and there's not much to do besides shovel snow in the winter, mow grass every other day in the summer, and play on softball teams called GOI. El Paso weather is GREAT and there is actually more to in El Paso, although Iowa does have a better amusement park than Western Playland if you're into that sort of thing.

Iowa doesn't really have any one big city that serves as a cultural hub; the state just has a bunch of medium-sized cities spaced 75 miles or so apart, none really more interesting than the other. I guess Des Moines is first among equals, but that's not where my job was. Iowa's an agricultural state so there are lots of farms with farmer mentalities.

So we have UTEP grads who are willing to go to the middle of frickin' Iowa because that company was hiring. They would have been perfectly content staying in El Paso if a similar job could be found there. How many engineering graduates does UTEP produce each year? Along with nearby NMSU? No talent to be found, or are they all just going where the jobs are?

I love El Paso but believe it or not some business owners come and visit during site selection/incentive package presentations and dont like the city. I used to hear that it was dirty, dusty, not green and even that we have no deer hunting haha. We even had to stop booking them DT because they would walk around and our downtown was/is ugly especially at night. Granted DT has improved a lot just saying what I went through at that time. Sometimes not all decision are financial driven especially if the wife says she doesn't want to live there. I love EP, some people just dont, their loss.

 

[FarWestTexas]

RobertoStull

 

[axingfools1]

I love El Paso but believe it or not some business owners come and visit during site selection/incentive package presentations and dont like the city. I used to hear that it was dirty, dusty, not green and even that we have no deer hunting haha. We even had to stop booking them DT because they would walk around and our downtown was/is ugly especially at night. Granted DT has improved a lot just saying what I went through at that time. Sometimes not all decision are financial driven especially if the wife says she doesn't want to live there. I love EP, some people just dont, their loss.

I agree. EP has a huge problem with trash, weeds and (on the neighborhood level) people simply not taking care of their houses and lawns/yard. Unless you're in an upscale area or have an HOA, forget about it. I know it's not just EP, and lack of water doesn't help, but the laziness and lack of pride here is ridiculous. The city does nothing about. There should be crews cleaning all over the city all the time and enforcing neighborhood clean up. Just my 2 cents cause its a pet peave of mine.

 

[shyminer81]

I agree. EP has a huge problem with trash, weeds and (on the neighborhood level) people simply not taking care of their houses and lawns/yard. Unless you're in an upscale area or have an HOA, forget about it. I know it's not just EP, and lack of water doesn't help, but the laziness and lack of pride here is ridiculous. The city does nothing about. There should be crews cleaning all over the city all the time and enforcing neighborhood clean up. Just my 2 cents cause its a pet peave of mine.

There are crews that enforce the local codes and statues... Keeping your yard clean is one of them.