Softball Continues to Fight 7

Title IX Equity? 8

Women’s Golf C-USA Champions 11

Quarterback Battle Rages On 12

UTEP’s Wolfpack 15

The Final Word 17

VOL 1 ISSUE 14 APRIL 27, 2011

MINERILLUSTRATED

MINERILLUSTRATED

VOL I ISSUE 14 APRIL 27, 2011

Well, April is almost over, and with the end of April comes the end of spring ball as well as the winding down of softball and golf.

This time of year is bitter sweet for me. On one hand, I see summer looming just around the corner while on the other hand this year’s sports are all about done.

For football fans, like myself, this also denotes the beginning of the long wait for the arrival of the regular football season, and so with that in mind, we at MI have filled this week’s issue with a few football stories sure to appeal to all Miner fans.

Alex discusses one of the stronger units of the football team, the running backs, and describes how these players will be able to lead the Miners to victory come Fall while Gus presents his take on the continuing competition for the starting quarterback position.

For our readers who rather delve into other Miner sports, Josh provides a hopeful Final Word on UTEP’s chance at becoming the next NCAA Cinderella story, and I highlight the women’s golf team and their successful journey to becoming C-USA Champions.

Additionally, Chris talks about the fight left in the softball team while Alex argues the negative ramifications of Title IX on a mid-major university like UTEP.

Finally, to round things out, we have scores from Around the League and plenty of Jeff’s photography that captures this week’s UTEP athletic highlights.

And as always, we thank you, the readers, for your support. Although we will be anxiously awaiting the arrival of Fall and the commencement of another year of UTEP athletics, until then, we hope to continue providing you with the latest news on all Miner sports.

Rebecca Frazier Burch

a publication of Shamrock Media LLC

CHRIS AVILAPRESIDENT

REBECCA FRAZIER BURCHEDITOR-IN-CHIEF

JEFF TAYLORCHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER

GUS CONTRERASANGEL LUNA

ALEX MORALESJOSH PUGA“UTEP66”

STAFF WRITERS

DANNY LEVARIODIRECTOR OF BUSINESS

OPERATIONS

SUZETTE THOMPSONMAGAZINE DESIGN

Letters to the editor, general feedback and advertising

inquiries:show@minerillustrated.com

Cover photo: Conference USA women’s golf individual

champion Teresa Nogues proudly held her trophey at the conclusion of the championship

tournament. Photo courtesy UTEP Athletics and Michael

Spooneybarger/Conference USA.

From The EDITOR

Proudly holding up their C-USA championship trophy, the women’s golf team (Teresa Nogues, Emma Edin, Nathalie Castillo, Rosana Go-mez, Shang-Fan Huang, Liz Sobczak, and Ana Pastor) posed with Coach Jere Pelletier during their press con-ference Friday afternoon. Jeff Taylor

THE BIG PICK

Senior Becky Smith helped lead the charge against East Carolina this past weekend defensively and with her hit-ting. Jeff Taylor

M I N E R I L L U S T R A T E D . C O M

THE FIGHT IN UTEP’S SOFTBALL TEAM

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would do the same, but it’s hard to say I would do just that if I were in this team’s position. It is hard to say exactly what the team thinks of the situation. As we continued our discussion, the idea of the team having some fight left in them arose, and my mind immediately raced through plays and situations that could have been played differently from this season. I thought of an instance where I may have signaled for a bunt instead of a hit and run. I thought of throws that may have been angled just a bit differently towards a base that could have saved the all-important milliseconds needed to tag a runner out. I kept wondering if those instances would affect my outlook on the season had they gone differently. I kept thinking “woulda, coulda, shoulda.” And so we tabled the topic in hopes that the softball writing muse would come to me at a later date. Then came Easter weekend and a tremendous match up with East Carolina and quite possibly the best pitcher in C-USA: Toni Paisley. I didn’t know what to expect from the Miners. I was yearning for a team that would take the diamond and play with such ferocity that they would sweep the Pirates and put the rest of the conference on notice, sending a message that UTEP was still a legitimate team. Sadly, I was being unrealistic, but I did have a glimmer of hope that the Miners would get at least one win. UTEP did come awfully close, but instead, they ended up losing all three games. However, something was different this past weekend. I saw something that I hadn’t seen from the team in quite sometime. While the Miners didn’t sweep East Carolina in their second to last home stand, I did see a vastly different team out on the field and was pleasantly surprised at how hard the team fought over the

course of the two days. I saw a pitcher in senior Courtney Auger who went toe-to-toe with Paisley and matched her pitch for pitch in game one of the series. Auger looked focused and determined to beat the Pirates and threw the ball with fervor and emotion that I hadn’t seen all season. Becky Smith helped lead the team by continuing to maintain her all-out attitude when chasing down a fly ball and then hurling it back into the infield with authority as if to say to East Carolina, “Go ahead, try and run on me. I’ll throw you out.” There was hustle in the infield as players raced towards the ground balls that were hit to them rather than waiting for the ball to come to them, which did succeed in getting runners out. Kayliegh Walts leapt to her feet and gunned down runners from behind the plate with ease, and the bats of freshmen Kayla Black and Samantha Alvillar provided some crucial runs. I sat back in the broadcast booth and thought to myself, “This is the team I expected to see play all season. This is the team that could win games over the next two weeks.” “This is a team with some fire in them.” The Miners never lost focus and never gave up, which could have easily happened at any point during the weekend given the season they have had. They could have given up on themselves and even more so the fans, who have been coming to the Helen of Troy Softball Complex religiously all season. So when the Miners take on Marshall this weekend, I hope that they will continue to play with the same determination and energy that they had against East Carolina because it’s bound to lead to a win, and then there will definitely be something to write about.

CHRIS AVILA

As we sat and discussed the softball team during our production meeting for this week’s edition of the magazine, we tried to think about the positives we could take away from the team’s season. The staff looked to me for ideas about what we could work on or if there was a statistic that we could elaborate on. The discussion got pretty quiet, to say the least. I really couldn’t think of anything tremendous to write about. Injuries have ravished the team with Chelsea Troupe now out of the lineup thanks to a concussion. Camille Herrera was out because of some minor surgery for a couple of weeks; the UTEP bench has simply been getting thinner and thinner over the last few weeks. It also hasn’t helped that the Miners have yet to win another Conference USA game since their victory over Central Florida in early March. Now I don’t believe the room grew quiet because we didn’t want to avoid writing about the team, but as we thought back on the months of March and April in regards to softball, there just wasn’t a lot to talk about. It’s not fun to write about a team that is slumping; you can only say they lost so many different ways before you run out of descriptors. Quite honestly, I began to wonder what kind of mental state the team was in after such a tough couple of months. Had the Miners become fragile due to the losses? Did the team still believe they could contend for a conference championship? I don’t know what the mental state is of all the players. I can only begin to wonder, if I were still playing and in this situation, what would I do? Would I have the mental fortitude to fight through the losses and keep playing with every bit of me? Would I begin to pack things in, go through the motions and wait for the off season? I want to tell myself that I would keep fighting, and I hope that the Miners

M I N E R I L L U S T R A T E D . C O M 8

TITLE IX GIVES NO EQUALITY TO MID-MAJORSALEX MORALES

UTEP has been labeled a mid-major university, which means it isn’t in the upper echelon of universities when it comes to athletic budgets. Because of this, Title IX has been one a factor that has hurt universities like UTEP rather than helped them as was intended. Now don’t get me wrong, I am all for Title IX, but I think it should only be enforced at universities that have the budgets to accommodate the rule. With the NCAA enforcing the regulation, smaller universities are left with the tough decision as to which sports to keep and which to eliminate. That is just ridiculous since Title IX was initially meant for high schools. When it was passed by the United States Department of Education in 1972, it was meant to create equality between men and women in every facet in high schools. But in 1979, President Jimmy Carter’s administration set a three-prong test that applied to universities, specifically in sport programs, that forced universities to make sure women had the same opportunities as men. What President Carter’s administration did should have only applied to high schools because most universities’ athletic programs are not funded by the states. Title IX allows women to have the same opportunities in high school sport programs as men. At the university level, it means scholarships have to be matched, or equal, for both men and women. UTEP had to deal with Title IX when it had baseball and football programs. According to Joe Muench’s ‘Reviving baseball’ column in May of 2009, then athletic director Bill Cords sited a monetary issue as the reason baseball was cut. UTEP had no possible way of keeping both a baseball and football team so it was forced to choose between the two. The same number of scholarships had to be accounted for in women’s program, and there simply wasn’t enough money in the budget. So in 1985, UTEP said goodbye to baseball and picked up a men’s tennis team, which costs significantly less. In 1999, that team was also cut. Of course, football stayed because it brings in more money than any other athletic program at the school. And at UTEP, men’s basketball generates plenty of money for the school as well. If you look at all the sport programs that UTEP now has, the women have more because football eats up most of the scholarships for men. What that boils down to is less sports teams for men, which if Title IX was aiming for equality, they have failed.

Men have football, basketball, golf, cross country, and track. While women have basketball, golf, cross country, track, soccer, tennis, rifle, volleyball, and softball. Not equality if I say so myself. So let’s take a closer look at the real issue behind it all: money. UTEP’s budget is currently $25.59 million, which compared to other universities is quite small. Even NMSU, with $26.8 million at their disposal, has a bigger budget than UTEP. And though, NMSU has six athletic programs for men and 10 for women, they too are hurt by Title IX. The only reason NMSU has a higher budget is because the state of New Mexico funds athletic budgets while as the state of Texas does not; a factor that was not taken into consideration when Title IX was made to apply to all schools in all states. Furthermore, if we throw in the budgets of other universities that compare with UTEP, Arizona has $53 million, Arizona State has $51.8 million, New Mexico has $38.3 million, Utah has $32 million and Houston has $31.3 million. All clearly more than what UTEP has to work with, and yet all universities have to abide by the rule regardless of the size of their budget. UTEP has the smallest budget, so why not equal out the sport teams and give the men some more teams that would generate more money for the school. A baseball team or even a soccer team would draw fans; these are teams that UTEP and the city of El Paso have been clamoring for. The creation of these teams would not only attract fans, they would give local baseball and soccer athletes a reason to attend UTEP and therefore funnel more money into the university. And if evening out the teams is not an option, why not let the mid-majors choose how they distribute the scholarships, so long as there is the same number of sports programs for men and women. I don’t think anyone would complain if UTEP had eight athletic teams for men and eight for women. UTEP could then choose which programs to cut to give both men and women the same amount, and by doing so, it would free up more money for scholarships. I, for one, think this would be more than fair. But unfortunately, until Title IX is amended, mid-major universities will continue to suffer. And a regulation that was created to ensure equality will only continue to further the gap between the universities that can afford to oblige by it and the universities, like UTEP, that are losing out because of it.

M I N E R I L L U S T R A T E D . C O M 9

SOFTBALL: AROUND THE LEAGUE

MINER ILLUSTRATED STAFF REPORTS

Tulsa Claims Pivotal Series over UAB TULSA, Okla. - The Tulsa softball team won, 2-1, over UAB in game one of the series, but its comeback fell short in game two, as the Golden Hurricane dropped a 7-6 decision. However, in game three, Tulsa got a two-hit shutout from freshman Aimee Creger and a sacrifice fly from sophomore Samantha Cobb to defeat UAB, 1-0 and claim the pivotal Conference USA series at the Donna J. Hardesty Sports Complex. Creger (19-2) took a no-hitter into the seventh inning of game three and struck out seven batters in the game to pick up her 19th victory, and become the first TU pitcher to eclipse 200 strikeouts in a season. UAB picked up its first hit in game three with a bunt single by shortstop Catherine Douglass to lead off the seventh inning. TU eventually ended the game with a fly ball to the fence in right center field. Alisha Smith (9-4) took the loss for the Blazers after allowing one run on five hits in 4.1 innings. The Golden Hurricane (37-12, 16-5 C-USA) took a percentage-points lead over UAB (33-15, 13-5 C-USA) and Houston for first place. With two weeks remaining in the season, TU has a league bye week before traveling to UTEP for the finale, while UAB and Houston each have six games remaining. ECU Snaps Losing Streak with Victory over UCFMEMPHIS, Tenn. - The University of Memphis softball team run ruled UCF, 8-0, in five innings to earn the three-game series sweep on Saturday afternoon at the Tiger Softball Complex. The victory is the 10th straight for Memphis (31-10, 11-6 C-USA) and fourth series victory in Conference USA play. The 11 C-USA wins are a program best in league play. The Tigers scored eight runs on nine hits. Heather Mott, Maddie McKinley and Jessica Phillips all saw their hitting streaks increase with all three carrying streaks of 10 games or more. Carly Hummel earned her seventh-straight victory in the circle and improved to 18-4 on the season. Hummel struck out five for the 14th shutout of the season for Memphis, which is a school record. Diana Rojas (7-11) suffered the loss for the Knights (18-28, 8-10 C-USA) in the circle. Rojas allowed five runs on eight hits in three innings of work and struck out three. Ashley Schmitt pitched an inning and a third and allowed three runs on one hit.

Marshall Takes Series from Southern MissHUNTINGTON, W.Va. – In a continuation of Friday’s second game, the Marshall University softball team broke open for a 4-2 victory early Saturday afternoon, securing the conference series with the win over Southern Miss. Natalee Pulver improved to 8-13 after the series, where the Thundering Herd (17-29, 3-14 C-USA) out lasted Southern Miss 4-2. Coming up big at the dish for MU was Alysia Hively who homered her sixth long ball of the year in the contest, going 1-for-3 with two RBI. In the final game of the series, Southern Miss chalked up three runs in the second on its third home run of the series, via Alexis Hurley, giving the Golden Eagles a 3-0 head start in the weekend finale. Marshall worked through a trio of pitchers in the second frame, starting with Erika Bennett, who pitched the first 1.1 innings and nabbed one strikeout. Andi Williamson entered for a brief stint of four batters faced before the Herd elected to call up Pulver to get out of the jam. Unfortunately, the Golden Eagles would seal the 5-1 win in the top of the seventh after Chanell Thurman’s single up the middle plated Taylor Brown and Michelle Takeda. Saturday’s second game saw Southern Miss (17-29, 4-14 C-USA) stave off the sweep, collecting its lone win in the series 5-1. Beth Dietrich came in relief to snag the win, improving her to 10-14 after being the pitcher of record in all three games of the series.

WOMEN’S GOLF TEAM FINISHES ATOP C-USA

Conference USA women’s golf individual champion Teresa Nogues (center) helped carry the Miners to a C-USA team championship last week at the Peninsula Golf & Rac-quet Club in Gulf Shores, Ala. The team is comprised of Liz Sobczak, Ana Pastor, Teresa Nogues, Shang-Fan Huang and Rosana Gomez (from left to right). Photo courtesy UTEP Athletics and Michael Spooneybarger/Conference USA.

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M I N E R I L L U S T R A T E D . C O M

WOMEN’S GOLF TEAM FINISHES ATOP C-USA1 1

Wisconsin native Sobczak, who came into the season with a stroke average of 79.6; a 3 stroke improvement since her freshman year with the Miners. But the real star of the team this year has been junior and C-USA individual champion Teresa Nogues. Nogues has been quietly leading this team since her freshman year. She played in 10 tournaments her first year and nine last year; her immediate positive impact was noted by everyone on the team. “I was surprised a little when I won [the individual award],” Nogues said. “I knew I played well, but I was 2 strokes over par on the second day.” Nogues’ individual champion award should have come as no surprise considering her improvement over the season. In February when the team played in the Claud Jacobs Challenge in Victoria, Texas, Nogues ended in 21st place, posting a 78 in each of her three rounds. By April when the team played in the Wyoming Cowgirl Classic, Nogues finished in 16th place with a 72, 75 and 78 for a 225 for the tournament; a 9 stroke improvement since the start of the spring. Nogues’ improvement was noted this week when she was named to the second All-Conference USA team With three of her teammates graduating this year, Nogues will have to step up to the lead the Miners, but she will not be alone. Fellow junior Shang-Fan Huang has proved that she is ready to take the reins for the team. Huang was named C-USA Player of the Week back in October when she finished 2nd in the Price’s Give ‘Em Five Collegiate by shooting 2 under par with a 214 and just this week Huang was named to the second All-Conference USA team. Huang and Nogues also have teammates Nathalie Castillo and Emma Edin returning next season. Though neither freshman has had much experience on the greens this year, they are eager to follow in their teammates’ success. Coach Pelletier knows that next year will be different with half the team leaving, but he believes the Miners will be successful once again. “Next year will be tough. You wish you could keep the seniors one more year, but you can’t,” said Pelletier. “Still if the girls keep working hard, we will do well.” It helps that the team will have some natural leaders in Nogues and Huang; leaders who will have experience playing against schools of all calibers. “Of course next year, I want to win it [C-USA Championship] again,” Nogues said. “That’s always the goal.” Yet, before UTEP can concentrate on next season, the Miners have to tackle NCAA Regionals in a week. This is the first time in the program’s history that they have advanced to the next level of play. UTEP earned the automatic bid into

REBECCA FRAZIER BURCH

Golf isn’t a sport you hear much about around the UTEP campus, especially women’s golf. But for the past two weeks, it’s all anyone has been talking about because on April 19th, the UTEP women’s golf team captured the Conference USA Championship. To some people’s surprise, the UTEP women’s golf team went into the C-USA Conference Tournament ranked 7th only to come out on top. Yet, one person who was not surprised by this outcome was Coach Jere Pelletier. Pelletier, who was named the C-USA Coach of the Year, knows that his team has what it takes to go all the way. “I was not surprised after day one,” said Coach Pelletier. “We were in the lead going into the second day, and the girls continued to play well.” The team had been playing well all season, but they were up against tough competition within the conference; Tulane was ranked no. 13 in the nation while Tulsa sat at no. 42. By playing consistently throughout both days of the conference tournament, UTEP not only capture the victory, they denied Tulane their third straight league title. “They have been working hard all season,” Pelletier said. “We have been playing well against good teams all year.” Despite playing well as of late, the Miners had a rocky start back in September. At their first tournament, the Ptarmigan/Ram Classic in Ft. Collins, Colorado, the team finished 14 out of 17 teams. Over the next two months, the Miners attended four more tournaments from the Badger Invitational in Madison, Wisconsin, to the Price’s Give ‘Em Five Intercollegiate in Las Cruces, New Mexico. As a whole, the team ended their tournaments 8th out of 11, 3rd out of 17, 3rd out of 14 and 2nd out of 17th. It is evident that the team improved with each tournament, individually and as a whole, and much of this can be attributed to the team’s consistency and work ethic. “If the girl’s continue to work hard and be consistent, we will do well,” said Pelletier. Leading the team this year have been seniors Rosana Gomez, Ana Pastor and Liz Sobczak. Gomez, who hails from Spain, has been leading this team since her freshman year when she played in eight tournaments. This year, Gomez was named C-USA Player of the Week on March 30th after her impressive performance in the UALR Classic, where she carded a 10-over-par 226 with rounds of 74, 75 and 77 respectively. Helping Gomez lead the Miners is teammate Pastor, who also hails from Spain. Pastor played in six tournaments last year and has been on the C-USA Commissioner’s Academic Honor Roll since her freshman year. Finally, there is

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QUARTERBACKS STILL FIGHTING FOR STARTING SPOT

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Coach Mike Price went and got found a player, doesn’t mean he will be given the starting job; Lamaison needs to earn it with hard work and good play. Lamaison’s closet competition has been Tate Smith, but he too hasn’t played well in the past two weeks. Smith has been off in his throws and seems to have lost some confidence due to his poor performances during scrimmages. Smith appears to have an all around good game, but he is lacking spark when out in the Sun Bowl; a prime time when he could put himself ahead in the race. During last week’s scrimmage, Smith struggled in his passes to the left side, and though he managed to earn 133 yards for the afternoon, Smith only had one touchdown as well as one interception. Smith has been susceptible to throwing interceptions when he has had tight coverage and has also thrown into double coverage several times. I’d like to believe that Smith could win the job, but so far, he has botched his chance in the limelight. On the flip side, sophomore Carson Meger has played well during the past few practices. During Saturday’s scrimmage, Meger went 8 for 11 and earned 84 yards; impressive but not enough to surpass the upperclassmen stats. It seems as if Meger is not ready to step up and take the starting spot. At 5-feet, 11-inches, he is definitely undersized, but he has been able to throw passes that the other three quarterbacks haven’t been able to make. Meger’s strengths lie in his decision-making and his ability to throw on the run. Meger is a ways off from being ready to be given the reigns of the offense, but he sure will give freshman Javia Hall competition in the next few years. Speaking of which, freshman Javia Hall is a tall thin quarterback that likes

GUS CONTRERAS

The start of spring football officially began the competition for the starting quarterback position; a position that has yet to be filled. While each of the Miners’ four quarterbacks has had their fair share of good practices and scrimmages, so far it seems as if none of them really wants the job. By now I figured that either junior transfer Nick Lamaison or senior Tate Smith would have claimed the spot, but both players haven’t looked good these past two weeks. Instead, sophomore Carson Meger and freshman Javia Hall have performed impressively; each having made some good throws and smart decisions. So what’s really going on? Let’s start with Lamaison’s play under center. Lamaison was recruited because of his experience at the position. He put up some impressive stats while in junior college, but thus far, his abilities haven’t really transferred over this spring. Lamaison has an explosive arm, but his touch isn’t all there, and with some wayward throws, Lamaison has shown he can be vulnerable. Maybe he hasn’t settled down in El Paso just yet, but how much time is he going to need? During Saturday’s scrimmage in the Sun Bowl, Lamaison struggled to find his groove. In his first rotation on the field, Lamaison looked a bit unsure of himself, but still managed to get the ball in the end zone in only five plays. In his next series, Lamaison continued to struggle, especially in his attempts to the middle of the field. He looked rusty, which is not what you would expect from a quarterback with his experience and talent. If Lamaison wants the starting spot, he needs to step up and play better during practices and really spend time with the receivers. Just because Head

to use his feet when he feels pressured. He has made big improvements this spring and shows some great potential. Hall was the star of this past week’s scrimmage where his quick thinking had him go 4 for 6; the best completion percentage of the four quarterbacks. Hall’s thin body worries me though; a few big hits would definitely injure him, but since he is so young, he has time to bulk up a bit. Getting his weight and muscle up would definitely give Hall an edge going forward; it would give him some arm strength to throw the ball deep. Personally, I think Hall has the most potential out of the four quarterbacks, but his lack of experience isn’t something this team needs at the moment. Without knowing who will be the starter and with the quarterbacks putting in inconsistent practices, it is tough to rate how well this team could be. It’s been a tough spring for the quarterbacks and not all of it has been their faults. Dropped passes by receivers have made it hard to gauge the capabilities of each quarterback. Furthermore, the Miners have a young offense this year; a factor that will need to be taken into consideration when selecting the starting quarterback. Personally, I don’t see Coach Price naming a starter once spring drills are over. It is going to take some time to find out who is really up for the job, and even then, that individual will need time to work with the receivers and tight ends before really producing on the field. What I would really like to see is a contender come out prior to the end of spring football; someone who is a commanding force under center and looks to want to make the big plays. And since that remains to be seen, the competition for the starting quarterback spot will continue.

JUCO transfer Nick Lamai-son is in the thick of a quar-terback battle with fellow teammates Tate Smith, Car-son Meger and Javia Hall. Mike Price has not said who will have the starting spot in Saturday’s spring game. Jeff Taylor

Joe Banyard, seen here running against Tulane in the 2010 foot-ball season, is expected to help lead the charge out of the back-field for 2011. Jeff Taylor

M I N E R I L L U S T R A T E D . C O M

UTEP’S WOLFPACK:RUNNING BACKS LEAD THE MINER OFFENSIVE THREAT

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“The team is doing great,” Myers said. “A lot of new people on offense. A whole new offensive line, receivers, and quarterbacks. The only real veteran group that we have here are the running backs. We [running backs] are all putting together a really long spring, and we are all getting along really well, and that is why the offense is doing great.” Though Banyard, Frazier and Myers are all friends off the field, when they strap on their pads they are all business, especially since pressure has built on the shoulders of these three men since this is their last year donning UTEP jerseys. “The competition is heavy of course,” Myers said. “We all know and we all feel the pressure in the room. Of course, Joe [Banyard] probably feels it the most because he played the most last year, but we all feel the pressure.” With the motivation to improve from last year’s 6-6 record and to do it with players who aren’t as experienced, Frazier is doing what he can do to become a better all-around back. He has put in the extra work to make sure he is on the field a lot more. “I’ve been working on my blocking so I can be in there on every play,” Frazier said. “Instead of being kind of situational like I have been and also working on making big plays.” Banyard also knows that in order to be on the field more as a running back, he will have to be able to protect the quarterback and know his assignments. This has had him working on being able to block out of the backfield. “I need to improve probably more on my pass protection,” Banyard said. “I already know the safety rotation and everything, but probably my pass protection needs the most [work].” For Myers, the area that he wants to work on is being able to run on the outside. He does not want to be too predictable or for the defense to identify where he is going to carry the ball. “I want to work on going outside more,” Myers said. “I would like to get to the open field more that is why I am going to run more outside plays so they [the defense] just don’t sit in the box and wait for me. It will make it a whole lot easier on me and my body, but you know it happens. I like it more, to run between the tackles and the contact you get, but if I can get outside and break a big run, I’ll love it.” Though they all have their areas that need to be addressed, the way the players are utilized will make opponents fear the UTEP running game. Myers believes that the team is going to be a difficult match up for the opponents’ defenses as they will all be utilized in the Miners’ game plan. “I think it is going to be a lot of switch up the pace,” Myers said. “Just because there are three seniors and you are trying to get them the ball as much as you can, but it will be a good

ALEX MORALES

All the attention and focus to the UTEP football team this Spring has been on who is going to lead this team with the departure of Trevor Vittatoe, but what everyone has forgotten is how deep the running back depth on this squad is. The Miners are not used to having an abundance of guys who can run the ball. With the tremendous amount of depth, the coaches are going to have to figure out ways to get the players into the ball game. The way this will happen is by creating formations and straying away from four to five wide receiver sets. Ever on top of things, Head Coach Mike Price is already considering ways in which to get his play makers onto the field more often. “We really got depth at running back,” Price said. “We are going to have to start using them some more because we are kind of short on receivers and tight ends right now; so we might look at some new sets with them [running backs].” Though Price is excited about how many players in the backfield possess athleticism, the running backs themselves are even more excited with their depth. Because with depth comes competition, which leads to players working even harder to get better. No one knows more about this then the “three-headed monster” that UTEP possesses. Last season, running backs Joe Banyard, Vernon Frazier, and Leilyon Myers all received a number of carries that contributed to their development and the success of last year’s team. Banyard led all rushers last year with a 109 carries for 638 yards and eight touchdowns. Frazier was the speedster out of the bunch. He had 38 rushes for 244 yards and three touchdowns. While Myers, who saw his production increase towards the end of the season, had success at the goal line and finished the year with 51 carries for 221 yards and six touchdowns. Yet, the depth does not stop with the top three running backs as there are three freshmen who are already capable of breaking a big run. “The depth this year is ridiculous,” Banyard said. “We have six running backs, and we are all good. We are still learning everything, but we are all ready.” Although there is a large amount of players at UTEP’s disposal at tailback, the team lacks play makers at other key positions. There are new players at every skilled position on the offense due to all the seniors who will be graduating next month. But despite all the new players on the offensive side of the ball, UTEP still has its work horses to rely on.

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RUNNING BACKS (CONTINUED)

thing to see what happens in the fall; to see who gets how many carries this week and that week. It’s a good thing we are all looking forward to.” Even though all three seniors will be splitting carries throughout the season, they know when their number isn’t called they will still do their best to help the team in other areas. “We all want to get more carries, but we are just here for the team,” Banyard said. “At most, we know if we are needed, we’re there; if not than we will try to make plays in other places, like on special teams.” The running backs will have to be the heart and soul of the offense this year as it will be experiencing growing pains under the center. The backs are going to be relied upon heavily, and regardless of who is lined up behind the quarterback, the rest of the unit will be cheering on their teammate. “We all push each other to get better, and we are all competing to get better,” Myers said. “It’s not about who really

plays; we just want to push each other and make sure the person who is out there is better and doing the right things.” Pushing each other was just what they were doing during Saturday’s scrimmage. Banyard started with the ones and within three plays he was in the end zone for the first touchdown of the scrimmage. In the next series, Frazier took to the field and gained 30 yards in two plays. Frazier would go on to end the scrimmage with nearly 70 yards. Yet, the star of the scrimmage was freshman Nathan Jeffery, who went 10 for 83. Quarterbacks Javia Hall and Carson Meger both connected well with Jeffery while on the field. But Jeffery’s real success came late in the scrimmage when junior quarterback Nick Lamaison handed him the ball for a 59-yard run that ended in a touchdown. Proving that maybe we should focus our attention away from the quarterback battle and indulge ourselves in the friendly competition that is brewing between the running backs because this is one unit that is ready to take the field come Fall.

WOMEN’S GOLF (CONTINUED)

the NCAA Tournament, but they are not the only team from C-USA advancing; Tulane, Tulsa and East Carolina, who are all ranked, will be going on as well. “I think qualifying will be easy. They take eight teams out of sixteen,” Nogues said. “Once we get to Nationals, we will just have to play well.” The Miners have been assigned the 24th slot in the West Regional at Washington National Golf Club in Auburn, Washington, where they will run into some tough competition. Amongst UTEP’s competition next week will be some familiar faces, like New Mexico, New Mexico State, Oklahoma, Oral Roberts, Pepperdine, and conference foe Tulsa. Still, if the next level proves to be as easy as Nogues predicts, you can be sure people around campus will be spending even more time talking about this year’s phenomenal women’s golf team.

M I N E R I L L U S T R A T E D . C O M 1 7

THE FINAL WORD:Could UTEP Be The Next Final Four Cinderella?JOSH PUGA

Although spring football is already coming to a close, I must admit I am still having some serious March Madness withdrawals. I fully realize it has been almost a month since the college basketball season ended, but in that time, I have been reflecting on the successes of mid-major schools, like George Mason, VCU and Butler. Butler and George Mason were locks prior to the 2011 NCAA tournament. Miner fans know all about Butler, especially after UTEP’s loss to the Bulldogs in the opening round of the 2010 NCAA tournament that led all the way to the National Championship Game where Butler finally fell to Duke. Not to take anything away from Butler and George Mason, but I really want to focus on the most recent Cinderella, VCU. We all know the story; the Rams were one of the last team’s in and most wouldn’t have batted an eye if they were left out. VCU used motivation fueled by the so-called basketball experts that said they didn’t belong to make a magical George Mason-esque run to the Final Four. Just like the 2006 George Mason team, VCU and Coach Shaka Smart made the most of their at-large bid and surprised all by winning 5 straight tournament games. Their impressive run was capped off with a huge upset over number one-seeded Kansas in the Elite Eight, thus leaving VCU as one of the last four teams standing on college basketball’s biggest stage. In watching VCU’s run, I was reminded of the 1992 UTEP team led by legendary Coach Don Haskins that upset number one-seeded Kansas in the second round of the NCAA tournament to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. As many diehards remember, the Miners lost a close game in the Sweet Sixteen to Cincinnati, who moved on to defeat Memphis State (now Memphis) in the Elite Eight and advance

to the Final Four. Had UTEP defeated Cincinnati, I have no doubt that the Miners would have defeated Memphis State. Monumental Final Four runs by mid-major teams provide hope to fans that their team could be next. UTEP is a unique mid-major basketball program. Simply calling the Miners a “mid-major” might offend not only Coach Tim Floyd, but also some long-standing local fans that have followed the Miners since the 1960s when Haskins started in El Paso. UTEP (formerly Texas Western) has won a national title, and believe me as someone who was born and raised in El Paso, I am extremely proud to know the Miners are in elite company. I enjoy reminding other college basketball fans how UTEP is still the only Texas school to win a college basketball National Championship. Unfortunately, I was born in 1977 and though I have watched the replay of the 1966 Championship win over Kentucky many times, it just isn’t the same as having been a fan while the drama unfolded right before your eyes. I will always be envious of the fans and locals that were able to share in the joy of that historic Miner victory. No matter how many times I watch Glory Road (and believe me, it is more than you want to know,) it will never duplicate living at that time. People talk about the Miner loss to

Memphis in the C-USA Final as being one of the toughest losses UTEP fans have endured. While I don’t disagree with the newer generation of Miner Maniacs, personally, the 1992 loss to Cincinnati was the hardest loss I have felt as a fan. Just knowing how close UTEP came to shocking the world and meeting up with Michigan’s Fab Five still hurts. However it may appear, I harbor no hard feelings toward the mid-major schools that have achieved the impossible. In all honesty, I was hoping Butler would have pulled the upset to give even more mid-major fans hope that not only is it possible to make it to the Final Four, but a National Championship is not out of the question. But could UTEP really pull it off?Prior to George Mason’s Final Four appearance, I would have said without hesitation, no way. Now after watching what the mid-major basketball programs have accomplished over the last five years in the NCAA tournament, it is no longer a pipe dream to think the Miners can get another crack at possibly hanging not only a Final Four banner, but another National Championship banner in the Don Haskins Center. Without a doubt, Floyd and company would have their work cut out for them to pull off the unimaginable, but with the right team and a couple fortuitous bounces along the way maybe, just maybe, UTEP could be the next VCU.

Could play-ers like Gabe McCulley help lead the Miners to a Cinderella appearance in the NCAA Final Four next season? Jeff Taylor

signing OFF

Jeff Taylor