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Fire Terry

Kuglers boring and terribly ineffective offense and losing year after year had much more of a negative effect on attendance than the tailgating rules. Had Kugler enjoyed success similar to Price’s early years, most fans would have continued to support the football program and attend games.

The slide started in 2006 and continues to this day. At the end of the Price era we were hemorrhaging fans. Alot of fans left after it became apparent Stull wouldn't hold Price accountable. Letting Price have seven straight losing seasons caused alot of fans to leave. Kugler burnt the house down rebuilt it and in year two went to a bowl. There was excitement and of we would have kept winning attendance would have been OK stabilized around 28k a game. That 2014 season is the last time I had good memories about UTEP athletics. I remember after the UTSA game, the 10,000 Miner fans in the Alamodome stayed and the team took a victory lap. It was one of those goose bump moments and I thought we had turned the corner. In the end that was the only winning season we've had in the last 15 years. Then we hired a mental midget as AD and he hired the worst coach in the the FBS and we all know the rest.

I think if we make the commitment and win in football fans will come back.

I think attendance in basketball will be way harder to build back. Most of the season ticket base is older than 60. Many of the loyal fans have died off. Last year we were down to 4,500/ game. This year it probably would have been 3,500. It's hard to get people excited playing in a one bid league where the regular season it irrelevant. Years of over inflating our basketball tradition certainly hasn't helped things.
 
So how many fans were attending games before Price? I know we had a decent team in 2000, but thats about all I remember.
 
We averaged 44,000 fans a game in 2000. Price didn't add new fans he just brought them back on board.
What was our attendance in 2003 though? I believe it was about 2000. Just goes to show that fans will come if we win. You HAVE TO WIN consistently to build a big loyal fan base (like we used to have in basketball).

Bottom line is our AD got lazy and didn't build off of Price's success. By the time Kugler was hired it was too late.
 
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What was our attendance in 2003 though? I believe it was about 2000. Just goes to show that fans will come if we win. You HAVE TO WIN consistently to build a big loyal fan base (like we used to have in basketball).

Bottom line is our AD got lazy and didn't build off of Price's success. By the time Kugler was hired it was too late.

We had three straight 2 win seasons 01-03
Attendance stayed above 30,000 per game in 01 and 02 before falling to 20,000 in 2003.
 
The season that Kugler took UTEP to the NM Bowl, the UTEP basketball team also had a home game against Arizona shortly before. I started my Christmas vacation early so that I could travel to El Paso, watch the Arizona game, and then go watch the football team in the NM Bowl.

While I was at the Arizona game, I started talking with some of the other UTEP basketball (my emphasis) fans near me, mentioning how I was also excited to go to the bowl game. They gave me some quizzical stares. I said, "You know, the football team. They're playing in the bowl game." Blank stares. "You know, in Albuquerque."

I doubt these fans ever heard a single thing Kugler ever said about fair-weather fans or anything else. El Paso just has a culture of apathy about the football team. For a time, people were excited when Price was coach, then the stupid new tailgate rules came in (I really think that was the turning point, for the fans at least) and any gameday culture that was developing for the football team was squashed.
Apathy does exist, but not since EP Mayor Caballero have I seen El Pasoans passionate about a public figure like Floyd. Kugler offense was erosion post AJ days.
 
No. NMSU, UNM, and FCS teams are like 90% of UTEPs non conference wins over the last 20 years. Beating those teams won’t get most fans excited.
Exactly. The quality and familiarity of conference teams doesn’t move the needle anymore. If we can’t get excited about a team down the freeway then how are we supposed to be excited about a team 2000 miles away. It’s my firm opinion that an 8-4 season will not produce the same crowds from the last times we won 8 games.
 
Exactly. The quality and familiarity of conference teams doesn’t move the needle anymore. If we can’t get excited about a team down the freeway then how are we supposed to be excited about a team 2000 miles away. It’s my firm opinion that an 8-4 season will not produce the same crowds from the last times we won 8 games.

I agree mostly with your sentiment, but I don’t think it’s entirely out of the question. A lot depends on when and who the losses were to and time/date/name of opponent.

Say the Miners start 0-4 and 3 were road games, and not NMSU or FCS. Then they rip off 7 straight wins and they’re playing for the division title or opponent is Top 25ish. I believe they would get a really solid (40,000) crowd for a 6pm Saturday kickoff.
 
What was our attendance in 2003 though? I believe it was about 2000. Just goes to show that fans will come if we win. You HAVE TO WIN consistently to build a big loyal fan base (like we used to have in basketball).

Bottom line is our AD got lazy and didn't build off of Price's success. By the time Kugler was hired it was too late.


Big problem is Stull hired Kugler instead of Wlillie Fritz who was eventually hired at Tulane and has completely turned that program around.
It seems like the UTEP ADs hire the worst candidate 90% of the time.
 
Big problem is Stull hired Kugler instead of Wlillie Fritz who was eventually hired at
Big problem is Stull hired Kugler instead of Wlillie Fritz who was eventually hired at Tulane and has completely turned that program around.
It seems like the UTEP ADs hire the worst candidate 90% of the time.
No the problem was not hiring a new coach 3 years earlier when the program had some momentum. If it was Fritz at the time then maybe.
 
Apathy does exist, but not since EP Mayor Caballero have I seen El Pasoans passionate about a public figure like Floyd. Kugler offense was erosion post AJ days.
It's just that in my experience, based on my anecdote, by Kugler's 2nd year, which was actually a bowl year, apathy had already well set in.
 
We might shoot 50% from 3 tomorrow and win, but where does that leave us in the long run? With Terry's poor gameplans and usage of players the Miners will always be consistently inconsistent. We aren't going anywhere with this guy.
 
We might shoot 50% from 3 tomorrow and win, but where does that leave us in the long run? With Terry's poor gameplans and usage of players the Miners will always be consistently inconsistent. We aren't going anywhere with this guy.
Exactly. We can go shoot lights out one night and then not be able to hit the ocean from a ship. And RARELY do we put consecutive games together where we’re making shots.

That is not a recipe for success come tourney time, which is why I agree that this team isn’t going anywhere. We could beat a team we’re not supposed to beat, and maybe by some wild fortune we might even put two wins together, but as inconsistent as this team shoots, we won’t be winning a third game. If we make the conference tourney, I think we win a game and then we’re done.

Just not a consistent team. We live and die by the three, and we suck at them about 60-70% of the time.

Sigh...
 
The slide started in 2006 and continues to this day. At the end of the Price era we were hemorrhaging fans. Alot of fans left after it became apparent Stull wouldn't hold Price accountable. Letting Price have seven straight losing seasons caused alot of fans to leave. Kugler burnt the house down rebuilt it and in year two went to a bowl. There was excitement and of we would have kept winning attendance would have been OK stabilized around 28k a game. That 2014 season is the last time I had good memories about UTEP athletics. I remember after the UTSA game, the 10,000 Miner fans in the Alamodome stayed and the team took a victory lap. It was one of those goose bump moments and I thought we had turned the corner. In the end that was the only winning season we've had in the last 15 years. Then we hired a mental midget as AD and he hired the worst coach in the the FBS and we all know the rest.

I think if we make the commitment and win in football fans will come back.

I think attendance in basketball will be way harder to build back. Most of the season ticket base is older than 60. Many of the loyal fans have died off. Last year we were down to 4,500/ game. This year it probably would have been 3,500. It's hard to get people excited playing in a one bid league where the regular season it irrelevant. Years of over inflating our basketball tradition certainly hasn't helped things.

Don’t forget Covid, which gave the olds a graceful exit.
 
We might shoot 50% from 3 tomorrow and win, but where does that leave us in the long run? With Terry's poor gameplans and usage of players the Miners will always be consistently inconsistent. We aren't going anywhere with this guy.
Well so much for the 50% rule. We achieved it and still got waxed. What is Terry's plan now?
 
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Because UAB is shooting over 60% from 3 and over 54% overall.

We give up those kinds of numbers in way too many games for it to be coincidence. Why is our defense so bad?
Terry didn't account for that possibility. He just wants us to shoot better. Somebody please summarize his post-game comments and explanation for today's 2nd half implosion.
 
one day, one day, years from now, we'll look back at this thread and think "man, can't believe the day is finally here...."
 
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Terry didn't account for that possibility. He just wants us to shoot better. Somebody please summarize his post-game comments and explanation for today's 2nd half implosion.
He said the difference in the game was our inability to get stops in the second half. Offensively, he said we attacked their zone effectively. He mentioned that UAB is one of the few teams that have given Sjolund open looks, and he took advantage of them.
 
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He said the difference in the game was our inability to get stops in the second half. Offensively, he said we attacked their zone effectively. He mentioned that UAB is one of the few teams that have given Sjolund open looks, and he took advantage of them.
I swear, CRT sounds like a gawd damn YMCA coach. What ****ing game was he watching?
 
Haha! Gotta give him the nod in court side apparel. By far our best dressed coach...maybe ever. Barbee tried but he always wore those suits that looked like they were a couple sizes too big. Lol.
True on Barbee. He looked like the guys from Miami Vice in the 80's.
 
Basketball 101....attack the paint, use trailers to attack the rim, draw the opposing defense in and get better looks from deep. It's called an inside out approach. There are many offenses that utilize thus approach.

Sjolund is our best shooter on the team and would be a good trailer as well. He is well suited for SF/3 in any other offense besides Terry's 'offense' where opposing team's have to "give him open looks".
 
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When I look at the job Dana Dimel is doing, I say that he's conservative, his system isnt conducive to alot of points, he doesn't have the personnel to run the ball 40 times a game...blah blah blah.

But at least I know what he's trying to do and you may argue with me and say he sucks and he's a loser, but I always argue back, hey, we are inching slowly towards improvement.

With Terry, It doesn't look like they even watch film or practice. We can't even argue if his strategy sucks or not.


We can't argue if the program is going in the right direction cause we never see the bench play. At least with Dimel you can see Cowing and Hankins and be like, 'maybe.'

With Dimel and Football, the argument is, I know what this guy is trying to do and its never going to be successful.

With Terry, we look like the Washington Generals playing with guys from the And1 tour. I dont get it.
 
Haha! Gotta give him the nod in court side apparel. By far our best dressed coach...maybe ever. Barbee tried but he always wore those suits that looked like they were a couple sizes too big. Lol.

It’s sad but Barber was at UTEP so long ago that was the style.
 
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