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UTEP’s move to the Mountain West revives long-missed chances at Arizona and Cactus bowls, offering historic bowl and Power Five upset opportunities.
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The Mountain West cleared up lingering questions about its bowl lineup during its Media Day festivities this week.
Commissioner Gloria Nevarez announced that the conference would partner with four ESPN bowl games, the Arizona Bowl, and have a backup tie-in to the Cactus Bowl in Phoenix, Arizona.
The agreements with the Arizona Bowl and Cactus Bowl give UTEP an opportunity to reverse decades of missed opportunities. In 1990 and from 1992 to 1997, the Western Athletic Conference had a spot in the Cactus Bowl.
At that time, it was held in Tucson, the current site of the Arizona Bowl, and was known as the Copper Bowl. UTEP never came close to appearing in the Copper Bowl in those years, finishing a combined 16-62-1 in those seven seasons.
When the Arizona Bowl brought a bowl game back to Tucson, it partnered with Conference USA for its inaugural year in 2015. The Miners were an ideal choice as the conference’s westernmost member and located 5.5 hours away from Tuscan.
However, the Miners came just short of appearing in the bowl, finishing 5-7. After Conference USA could not provide a team in 2015, the Arizona Bowl instead partnered with the Sun Belt beginning with the 2016 season.
The connections to the Cactus Bowl run deeper for UTEP. The Cactus Bowl returns to Mountain America Stadium beginning this year, where it took place from 2006-2015. Notably, Mountain America Stadium hosted the Fiesta Bowl from 1971 to 2006. The Western Athletic Conference sent its champion to Tempe from 1971 to 1977.
As with the Copper Bowl years, UTEP came nowhere close to appearing in the Fiesta Bowl. The Miners accumulated a record of 14-63 from 1971 to 1977, losing ten or more games in four seasons.
Nonetheless, a new conference brings new opportunities. UTEP can achieve a milestone decades in the making with an appearance in either the Arizona or Cactus Bowl. The Cactus Bowl arguably presents the most significant milestone for the program.
The Miners can notch a rare win over either the Big Ten or the Big 12, depending on who appears in the bowl. UTEP is 0-4 against Big Ten schools eligible for the Cactus Bowl (each school that did not come from the Pac-12) and 15-42-2 against eligible Big 12 schools (non-Pac 12 additions).
What’s old is new again in many aspects of UTEP’s move to the Mountain West. The chance to play in a bowl in the Grand Canyon State is one of them.
