Editor’s note: When this story was first published, UTEP had a winless record however the Miners are now 1-6.

In a sudden turn of events, UTEP accepted Mountain West Conference’s invitation to join, a conference realignment that will impact UTEP athletics for years to come. On Oct. 1, the university announced they will be exiting Conference USA (C-USA), one they had been a part of for nearly 20 years.

Before C-USA, UTEP had been a part of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) from 1968 to 2004. And for 20 years, C-USA had been UTEP’s home conference, seeing the football eras of head coach Mike Price, Sean Kugler, Dana Dimel and Scotty Walden.

However, with Mountain West losing half of its schools to the Pac-12 conference, they extended their hand, giving UTEP the opportunity to upgrade.

UTEP, now a part of Mountain West, will see competition from schools like Air Force, University of New Mexico, San Jose State, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, University of Nevada, Reno, University of Wyoming and University of Hawaii at Mānoa-a football only member.

In comparison to other conferences, Mountain West is a newer entity, even younger than C-USA. However, losing a handful of schools to Pac-12 including San Diego State, Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State and Utah State, the future of the Mountain West was unclear until UTEP accepted.

However, with a new conference comes new competition more specifically for the football program. This season, UTEP has already had a taste of the more advanced Mountain West competition when playing against Colorado State Sept. 21. While the final score was 21-17, it marked the fourth loss for UTEP, which currently has a winless record in the first Walden season.

UTEP will formally leave C-USA in Summer 2026. For now, UTEP Athletics is preparing for the new competition that they will see.

Sofia Sierra is the sports editor and may be reached at [email protected]