COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The Mountain West Conference today announced the addition of The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) as the seventh full-time member of the league and the eighth football-playing institution. The Miners will begin competition for all conference sports in the 2026-27 academic year.
“We are excited to welcome The University of Texas at El Paso to the Mountain West as the next step in our strategic membership initiatives,” said MW Commissioner Gloria Nevarez. “The addition of UTEP restores historic rivalries with several of our member institutions within the geographic footprint and provides valuable exposure in the great State of Texas. We welcome and look forward to competing against the student-athletes of UTEP.”
UTEP joins the United States Air Force Academy, University of Hawaiʻi, Manoa (football only), University of Nevada, Reno, University of New Mexico, San José State University, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and the University of Wyoming as members of the Mountain West. The Miners previously competed with all seven institutions as members of the Western Athletic Conference.
“There’s no doubt this will be better for our student-athletes, our fans, and for El Paso,” said UTEP President Heather Wilson. “We look forward to rekindling former rivalries and welcoming teams and their fans to El Paso.”
The University of Texas at El Paso is America’s leading Hispanic-serving university. Located at the westernmost tip of Texas, where three states and two countries converge along the Rio Grande, 84% of its 25,000 students are Hispanic, and more than half are the first in their families to go to college. UTEP offers 170 bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degree programs at the only open-access, top-tier (R1) research university in America. UTEP's athletic programs have captured 21 NCAA championships, including the historic 1966 men's basketball win over Kentucky.
“We are honored to be invited to the Mountain West Conference,” said UTEP Vice President and Director of Athletics Jim Senter. “I know the Miners will feel right at home with the other quality athletic programs in this great conference.”
*MWC Press Release
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