Commissioner of the Mountain West Conference Gloria Nevarez recently paid a visit to the home of one of the conference’s newest additions, UTEP. Nevarez took an extensive campus tour and was met with the university’s top donors and major media outlets on Jan. 10 at the Larry K. Durham Center.
“Y’all belong with us, you look like us, you fit with us,” Nevarez said. “When we launch our strategic plans, we survey all the fans, the media, [and] thousands of focus groups. But the special sauce that is the Mountain West is who we are as institutions. We are very community-based.”
Before speaking at Friday’s press conference, Nevarez spoke highly of the Miner faithful and recognized the historical significance of UTEP’s transition to the Mountain West.
“I love how passionate the El Paso community is about UTEP athletics,” Nevarez said. “We look forward to revitalizing old rivalries and creating new ones.”
Once Nevarez took the stage, UTEP President Heather Wilson warmly welcomed her with a dark blue hat featuring a bright orange Miner pick on the front and a blue-and-orange Mountain West logo on the right.
“So, I’ve got something that’s so hot off the press it feels like it’s still a little bit warm,” Wilson said. “It’s not quite official yet, but we thought it was time to put the Miner pick where it belonged.”
Nevarez’s visit coincides with the launch of UTEP’s “Climb Higher” initiative. After donations from UTEP athletics’ two largest donors-the Woody and Gayle Hunt Family Foundation, and the Paul L. Foster Family Foundation, who each donated $2.5 million, the university reached 70% of their $10 million dollar donation goal.
The Climb Higher initiative is focused on growing three areas: capital improvements, such as locker rooms and practice facilities; sports operating budgets; and bolstering NIL opportunities for UTEP athletes.
“The Climb Higher campaign is going to address things like transition costs. Things like enhancing the student-athlete experience while they’re here,” UTEP Athletic Director and Vice President Jim Senter said.
UTEP’s departure from Conference USA, and move to the Mountain West was announced in October 2024, yet Senter said he had been dealing with demands to make the move since the day he took the job.
“Since the day I showed up here, the No. 1 question I [had] been asked by fans, ‘When are you going to get us in the Mountain West Conference?’” Senter said the day he announced the move. “If I had $100 for every time I was asked that, we would have been in a new league a long time ago.”
The dreams of Miner fans alike have finally been answered. After years apart, UTEP will finally face off against foes from the old Western Athletic Conference, such as Hawai’i, Air Force, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and more. The only patience the Miner faithful must carry at this moment is the wait until 2026.
Sebastian Perez-Navarro is the Multimedia Editor for the Prospector and can be reached on X, @sebastianpn8, LinkedIn, @sebastianperez-navarro, and at [email protected]
