UTEP MINERS UTEP at NM State | 7:30 p.m. MT | Saturday, Aug. 28 | Aggie FOOTBALLMemorial Stadium | Las Cruces, N.M. GAME 1 AT NM STATE UTEP (0-0) MINERS Head Coach: Dana Dimel (Kansas State, 1986) Career Record: 35-66 (9th season) Record at UTEP: 5-27 (4th season) Home: 0-0 | Road: 0-0 | Neutral: 0-0 TUNE IN AT NM STATE (0-0) TV: KVIA-ABC 7 AGGIES Adam Young (PxP) Head Coach: Doug Martin (Kentucky, 1985) Danny Knee (Analyst) Career Record: 52-117 (16th season) Record at NM State: 23-64 (9th season) Home: 0-0 | Road: 0-0 | Neutral: 0-0 RADIO: ESPN 600 El Paso Jon Teicher (PxP) Mike Perez (Analyst) MINERS Mando Medina (Sideline) AT A GLANCE » OPENING WITH THE AGGIES The Miners are opening their season versus NM State for the first time since 2016, and are kicking off the campaign in Las COACHING STAFF Cruces for the first time since 2005. Overall UTEP is 5-3 when opening the season against its I-10 rival (3-1 home, 2-2 away), with wins in five of the last six season openers versus the Aggies. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. MT on Saturday. The game will be Dana Dimel, Head Coach streamed live on KVIA-ABC7 and can also be heard on ESPN 600 El Paso. Dave Warner, Offensive Coord./QBs Bradley Dale Peveto, Defensive Coord./LBs » SILVER SPADE & BRASS SPITTOON UP FOR GRABS Aaron Price, Special Teams Coord. The winner of the annual matchup between UTEP and NM State will take home a pair of traveling trophies. The older of the two is known as the Silver Spade. It is a replica of an old prospector’s shovel found in an abandoned mine in the Organ Mountains Matt Wallerstedt, Assoc. HC/Defensive Line near Las Cruces and has been traded between the schools since 1955. A second trophy is officially titled the Mayor’s Cup, but is Josh Brown, Secondary/Safeties * commonly referred to as the Brass Spittoon and was added in 1982. Trevin Wade, Cornerbacks » STARTING IT OFF ON THE ROAD Barrick Nealy, Running Backs UTEP is kicking off a campaign on the road for the first time since 2017, and for the first time under coach Dana Dimel. The -Min Scotty Ohara, Pass Game Coord./WRs ers are 8-31-2 when opening a season away from home, with the last victory coming at NM State, 38-22 in 2016. Theron Aych, Inside Wide Receivers * » IT’S HERE ALREADY??? Mike Simmonds, Offensive Line The Aug. 28 start to the 2021 season ties the earliest in school history. The Miners also opened the 2008 season on Aug. 28 at * Indicates in the booth Buffalo. UTEP is 6-4 all-time in games during the month of August (4-0 home, 2-4 road). TABLE OF CONTENTS » RIVALRY RENEWED UTEP and NM State are facing off for the first time since the 2019 season after the Aggies did not play any games during the fall Media Information 2 of 2020. The scheduling quirk means the Miners and Aggies are playing back-to-back games in Las Cruces for the first time since Rosters 3-4 1988-89. UTEP is trying to snap a three-game losing streak versus NMSU, its longest since a four-game skid from 1992-95. The Depth Chart 5 Miners’ last victory over NM State was on Sept. 3, 2016 in El Paso, 28-22. Their last win at NMSU was on Sept. 19, 2015, 50-47 in overtime. Game Notes 6-9 Head Coach Dana Dimel 10-12 » ON THE ROAD AGAIN 2020 Game Recaps 13 UTEP will play a school-record sixth consecutive game away from El Paso at NM State. After playing at home in two of their first 2020 Statistics 14-17 three contests in 2020, the Miners were on the road for their last five matchups versus ULM, La Tech, Charlotte, UTSA and North 2020 Start Chart 18 Texas. Prior to this season, the Miners had never played more than five consecutive road games in their history. Game-by-Game Stats 19-20 Single-Game Highs 21-22 SERIES BREAKDOWN ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS SERIES INFORMATION Anna Claire Thomas (Primary) Overall: UTEP leads, 57-38-2 Assistant A.D./Communications El Paso: UTEP leads, 38-17-1 Email: [email protected] Las Cruces: NM State leads, 21-19-1 Neutral: No Meetings Drew Bonney (Secondary) First Meeting: NM State won, 19-0, in Las Cruces (1914) NM State won, 44-35, in Las Cruces (2019) Associate Director/Communications Last Meeting: Streak: NMSU, 3 Email: [email protected] THE VENUE Mark Brunner (Tertiary) Stadium: Aggie Memorial Stadium Associate Director/Communications Capacity: 30,343 Email: [email protected] Surface: FieldTurf SCHEDULE & RESULTS 2021 @ NM STATE BETHUNE-COOKMAN @ BOISE STATE NEW MEXICO OLD DOMINION* @ SOUTHERN MISS* LA TECH* @ FAU* UTSA* @ NORTH TEXAS* RICE* UAB* Aug. 28 Sept. 4 Sept. 10 Sept. 25 Oct. 2 Oct. 9 Oct. 16 Oct. 30 Nov. 6 Nov. 13 Nov. 20 Nov. 26 Las Cruces, N.M. El Paso, Texas Boise, Idaho El Paso, Texas El Paso, Texas Hattiesburg, Miss. El Paso, Texas Boca Raton, Fla. El Paso, Texas Denton, Texas El Paso, Texas Birmingham, Ala. KVIA-ABC7 ESPN3 FS1 ESPN 3/+ ESPN 3/+ ESPN 3/+ ESPN 3/+ ESPN 3/+ ESPN 3/+ ESPN 3/+ ESPN 3/+ ESPN 3/+ 7:30 p.m. 7 p.m. 7:30 p.m. 7 p.m. 7 p.m. 5 p.m. 7 p.m. 4 p.m. 2 p.m. 2 p.m. 2 p.m. TBA GAME 1: UTEP AT NM STATE UTEP FOOTBALL WEEKLY SCHEDULE 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 MON TUES WED THU FRI SAT SUN Practice Practice Practice Practice No Availability UTEP GAME DAY No Availability 9-11 a.m. 9-11 a.m. 9-11 a.m. 9-11 a.m. POSTGAME Press Conference UTEP Football Coach Dimel and 2:30 p.m. MT with Dana Dimel select players will Radio Show be available follow- 6-7 p.m. ing the conclusion Holiday Inn El Paso of the game. West - Sunland Park MONDAY PRESS CONFERENCES MEDIA INFORMATION Head coach Dana Dimel will meet with the media at 2:30 p.m. MT every Monday prior to a COLLEGEPRESSBOX.COM game in the Hall of Champions at the Larry K. CollegePressBox.com is the official media website for Conference USA and UTEP Football. Durham Center. Audio and video of each press Access and download weekly game notes, quotes, statistics, media guides, headshots, logos and conference will be emailed out to media on more for UTEP, Conference USA and each of its member schools. Login information will be dis- Monday afternoons. tributed to accredited media or you can apply for a password at collegepressbox.com. DAILY MEDIA AVAILABILITY PRACTICE COVERAGE The following is a general weekly schedule of media availability for the UTEP football team. In addition to Monday’s press conference, Members of the media are expected to adhere to these policies at all times. All interview requests UTEP student-athletes and coaches are available should be made to UTEP Assistant Athletic Director/Communications Anna Claire Thomas at for interviews following practice on Tuesday, least 24 hours in advance. All media availability times are subject to change. Please contact Anna Wednesday and Thursday of game week. All in- Claire Thomas for any changes in the schedule. terview requests must be directed to the UTEP Athletic Communications Office at least 24 hours Monday: UTEP’s weekly press conference starts with statements from head coach Dana Dimel beginning at approximately 2:30 p.m. MT every Monday prior to a game. in advance. Please send all requests via email to [email protected]. Monday-Thursday: Practice will be held from 9-11 a.m. Coaches and players are available fol- lowing the conclusion of practice. COACH/PLAYER AVAILABILITY Members of the UTEP coaching staff are Friday and Sunday: No availability. available during the designated days and times throughout the year. Select players are also avail- Saturday: Postgame availability only. Head coach Dana Dimel and select student-athletes will be able during the designated days and times. available for interviews following the conclusion of the game. The UTEP locker room, home or away, is CLOSED to the media at all times. SOCIAL MEDIA For games in El Paso, all UTEP postgame press conferences will be held after each game fol- UTEP fans can access the most in-depth in- lowing a 10-minute cooling off period. No in-person interviews will be allowed on the field with formation regarding all the University’s programs players and/or coaches immediately following games. Coach Dimel and select players will be through social media opportunities available on- available in the press conference following games. line. CONFERENCE USA FOOTBALL COACHES’ TRANSCRIPTS Twitter – Members of the UTEP Athletic Com- Conference USA schools will submit transcripts of weekly press conferences each week to munications department will be tweeting CollegePressBox.com. throughout the year with the latest news and in- game score updates. To follow them, simply find them on Twitter. INTERVIEW REQUESTS @UTEPFB – Direct reports from football All interview requests must be made at least 24 hours in advance and practices, games and more. must be submitted to Anna Claire Thomas at [email protected]. #PicksUp 2 MINER FOOTBALL 2021 #PicksUp GAME 1: UTEP AT NM STATE NUMERICAL ROSTER @UTEPFB NO. NAME POS. HT. WT. CL. EXP. HOMETOWN/PREVIOUS SCHOOL NO. NAME POS. HT. WT. CL. EXP. HOMETOWN/PREVIOUS SCHOOL 0 Gerard Joseph DE 6-5 250 Fr.