I was here for the Charlie Bailey years through my two UTEP degrees.. they were every bit as bleak as his 19 wins in seven seasons sound. I give him credit for being a great sport and even cheering a UTEP basketball game with the cheer squad after acknowledging tge fans for their support.
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Charlie Bailey's final team was one of the best teams in UTEP history, yet nobody knows that. I am being 100% serious!
Here are some stats from Bailey's final season:
- UTEP had to play 3 road money games against P5 teams that year. They lost at Arizona by only 13 points, they lost at Oregon by only 19 points, and they lost by 33 at a Kansas State team that finished 11-1.
- UTEP only had 5 home games that season.
- UTEP played no 1AA schools that season, every game was against D1 competition.
- UTEP beat possibly the best NMSU team in their school history by a score of 54-31. NMSU finished that season with a 6-5 winning record and they beat a nationally ranked Arizona State team 35-7 the week before playing UTEP.
- UTEP had to play at TCU, at Fresno State, UNM, at Hawaii, Tulsa, San Jose State, at Rice, and SMU.
Bailey was given an impossible schedule and situation to win with. Remember this was also before we had the Durham Center or Miner Village Apartments to recruit to. Bailey had to recruit to a crappy weight room and old/ugly doorm rooms. Despite all of this and despite playing against an impossible schedule, UTEP finished that season 5-7 and would have made a Bowl Game had Paul Thomas not fumbled late at Fresno State, allowing them to tie the game and later beat us in Overtime when they stopped our 2 point attempt.
That 1999 team had 3 players get drafted in the NFL after that season, yet there was still enough talent left that they won the Conference Championship the next year in 2000.
Here are some stats from Bailey's final season:
- UTEP had to play 3 road money games against P5 teams that year. They lost at Arizona by only 13 points, they lost at Oregon by only 19 points, and they lost by 33 at a Kansas State team that finished 11-1.
- UTEP only had 5 home games that season.
- UTEP played no 1AA schools that season, every game was against D1 competition.
- UTEP beat possibly the best NMSU team in their school history by a score of 54-31. NMSU finished that season with a 6-5 winning record and they beat a nationally ranked Arizona State team 35-7 the week before playing UTEP.
- UTEP had to play at TCU, at Fresno State, UNM, at Hawaii, Tulsa, San Jose State, at Rice, and SMU.
Bailey was given an impossible schedule and situation to win with. Remember this was also before we had the Durham Center or Miner Village Apartments to recruit to. Bailey had to recruit to a crappy weight room and old/ugly doorm rooms. Despite all of this and despite playing against an impossible schedule, UTEP finished that season 5-7 and would have made a Bowl Game had Paul Thomas not fumbled late at Fresno State, allowing them to tie the game and later beat us in Overtime when they stopped our 2 point attempt.
That 1999 team had 3 players get drafted in the NFL after that season, yet there was still enough talent left that they won the Conference Championship the next year in 2000.
I remember Bailey's teams as the most physical ones I can remember. I recall opposing coaches mentioning the physical toll absorbed by their players when playing the Miners. Haven't seen that since Bailey. One quick correction, UTEPDefense, I think that was Paul Smith who had that fumble. He was one tough hombre.
Spin it all you want... Charlie Bailey was a good guy to speak with, but the only stats that mattered were 5 wins vs 7 losses... another telling stat was 406 yards on 43 carries for 6 TDS in an embarrassing performance that made LaDainian Tomlinson famous. Those 5 wins were literally more than a fourth his total wins at UTEP. I was at the Hawaii loss and it was totally humiliating and indicative if a lack of team discipline. That team was unfortunately Coach Bailey's best and that's pretty telling as to why he was done after that.
You do realize that those 5 D1 wins make it like one of the top 20 greatest seasons in UTEP history.
I would take that 1999 team against 80% of the teams that have been recruited since then. In the past 18 years since, UTEP teams have had higher paid coaching staff's than that 1999 team, much better facilities to recruit to(Durham Center) than that 1999 team, much better dorms(Miner Village) to recruit to than that 1999 team, and much weaker conference competition than that 1999 team had to play, yet only a few since could beat that 1999 team. Bailey's program also didn't have the same academic resources for keeping players eligible like coaches after him have had.
I don't think Bailey would be considered an overall succesful coach, but I do think that 1999 team was one of the best ever by UTEP standards and I do think that Bailey left the football program in better shape than he inherited it.
Spot on comment, UTEP and El Paso desperately do need to send that message. Problem is, the prime messenger needs to be Dr. Natalicio. And that IS a problem...
Money was not the issue with Kugler. If UTEP had paid him $1 million per year, do you think the outcome would have been different? He was an entry-level collegiate football coach, he was sorely lacking in credentials and experience, and he was paid accordingly, likely with appropriate incentives. Now, money IS important, but owning Fort Knox will not guarantee a program success in collegiate football. Texas AnM and Kevin Sumlin = Exhibit A.
I couldn't find any fcs coaches that made that much.
https://mcfeely.areavoices.com/2016...-big-for-fcs-but-compared-to-fbs-not-so-much/
If we are going off base salaries there are a couple of FCS coaches who make more. Overall the only I could really find is the coach from Liberty. I can’t find the link but I thought the James Madison coach received a raise this year that put him high on the list.
http://www.aseaofred.com/scanning-fcs-coaches-salaries/
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Either way we need UTEP to get serious with the FB HC salary. With C-USA avg being about $760k and the MWC avg over $900k, UTEP has to quit being the low man on the totem pole. Right now the schools base salary for Kugler is about $290k. If it can get that to about $400k with another $400k from boosters, UTEP could attract a good coach, which we badly need.
Completely agree. Say for example we hire Keeler and offer him a base pay of $500k that’s still a double pay raise from what he is currently earning. With the possibility of picking up another $200-300k in inventives and bonuses seems more than fair. If he has a good season he can more than triple his current salary.
