University of Texas at El Paso

Template:Infobox University2 The University of Texas at El Paso, popularly known as UTEP is a public, coeducational university, is part of the University of Texas System. It lies on the eastern bank of the Rio Grande, in El Paso, Texas. Founded in 1914 as The Texas State School of Mines and Metallurgy, a mineshaft still exists on the mountainous, desert campus. It is composed of buildings of Bhutanese architecture, with massive sloping walls and overhanging roofs. Although the population of the campus was 99% white, in 1966, basketball coach Don Haskins thrilled portions of the nation by winning the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship with mostly African-American players, including three guards, thus breaking an unspoken barrier. By 1967, the Board of Regents authorized that the name of the college be changed from Texas Western College to its present name. Currently, there are more than 18,900 students enrolled at UTEP. More than 70 percent of UTEP's student population is Mexican-American.

In 2004 it was announced that the now-famous 1966 NCAA win is to become a major motion picture titled Glory Road, set to release in 2006.

Today, the institution is devoted to educating the diverse population which inhabits this isolated part of the nation.

History

In 1913, Texas Governor Oscar Branch Colquitt signed Senate Bill 183, creating the Texas State School of Mines and Metallurgy in El Paso. The school officially opened its doors on September 23, 1914 with an initial enrollment 27 students. By 1916, the school's enrollment had grown to 39 students and for the first time women were allowed to enroll. In 1919, the school's name was changed to U.T. Department of Mines and Metallurgy and in the following year 1920 the school's name changed again to the College of Mines and Metallurgy, El Paso. In 1923, the school's students painted a large "M" for Miners on the Franklin Mountains; the "M" is still there today. In 1949, the school's name was changed again to Texas Western College of the University of Texas (TWC). The nation’s first Peace Corps class was trained at Texas Western College in 1961. In 1963, the Sun Bowl stadium was constructed. In 1966, coach Don Haskins led the Miner basketball team with five African-American starters to a stunning win over the heavily favored Wildcats of the University of Kentucky, coached by basketball legend Adolph Rupp. In 1967, TWC changed its name to The University of Texas at El Paso. UTEP in 1969, won its first of seven NCAA Men's Cross Country Championships. UTEP's first doctorate degree program in Geological Sciences was approved in 1974, and in that same year, UTEP went on to win its first of seven NCAA Men's Indoor Track and Field Championships. The following year in 1975, the UTEP men's Track and Field team struck gold again and won both the NCAA Men's Outdoor and Indoor National Championships. In 1976, the Engineering-Science Complex was completed and the College of Nursing was also created. In 1977, UTEP's Special Events Center (now the Don Haskins Center) with 12,000 seats was completed. In 1982, The Sun Bowl's expansion was completed and the seating capacity was raised to 52,000. In 1984, the six-story University Library opened its doors to the public. Diana Natalicio became the first woman president at UTEP in 1988. In 1989, UTEP's second doctorate degree program was approved for Electrical Engineering. The 1990's and into the 2000's brought a lot of positive changes to UTEP academics. In 1991, the Computer Engineering doctorate program, in 1993 the Psychology doctorate program, in 1995 the Environmental science and engineering doctorate program, in 1996 the Pharmacy cooperative doctorate program, in 1997 the Biological sciences doctorate program, in 1999 the History doctorate program, and in 2000 the Nursing cooperative doctorate program, all began enrolling students to further expand the higher educational goals of UTEP. In 1997, Don Haskins was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame and the Special Events Center was renamed the Don Haskins Center in honor of "The Bear". In 1999, the legendary basketball coach Don Haskins retired from coaching, and UTEP's MBA online degree program was launched. In 2000, UTEP's Miner Village was completed and UTEP was designated as a Doctoral/Research-Intensive University by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. In 2002, the $11 million Larry K. Durham Sports Center opens for the first time and the Sam Donaldson Center for Communication Studies is established. 2003 was a busy year for UTEP, the school hired former Washington State University head coach Mike Price to bring new life to the UTEP football team, $44 million in construction projects began for Academic Services and Biosciences buildings and an addition to the Engineering-Science Complex, construction also began on the $1.8 million Helen of Troy Softball Complex, and the International business doctorate, the Civil engineering doctorate, and the Composition and Rhetoric doctorate programs were approved. In 2004, UTEP celebrated it's 90th anniversary and in the 2004-2005 athletic year, UTEP enjoyed great success in both football and men's basketball, the Miner football team under new coach Mike Price went on to play the Buffaloes of the University of Colorado in the EV1.net Houston Bowl, and the Men's basketball team under new coach Doc Sadler went on to play in the school's 15th NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament appearance.

Notable alumni

UTEP's notable Alumni include:

• Ana Alicia, '77
• Sam Donaldson, '56
• Nolan Richardson, '62
• Tim Hardaway, '38
• Nate Archibald, '56
• Don Maynard, '70
• Bob Beamon, '58
• Shoshana Johnson, '34

External links

• University of Texas El Paso (http://www.utep.edu/DesktopDefault.aspx)
• Official UTEP athletics site (http://www.utepathletics.com)
• University of Texas at El Paso Film Studies Program (http://utminers.utep.edu/mitorres)
• Thematic Mapper infrared image of 3 states and two nations. The red region follows the Rio Grande (http://paces.geo.utep.edu/elpjuarez/elpjuarez.html)

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