There's a hole of regret, right here in my orange heart.
A Lesson Taught Long Ago — Two Miners Connect Through the Late Ben Collins (August 2019)
Category: Coaches
The Sound of Silence – UTEP Miners Football Quietly Rehabs and Rebuilds (May 2019)
Nothing pleases a college football coaching staff more than a forgettable summer. Yes, this is when they reintroduce themselves to their wives and kids and take a few days off for family vacation.
Ross Moore & Wayne Vandenburg – Two Historic UTEP Sports Figures Still Strike a Chord (April 2019)
Once in a great while, a UTEP post strikes home, triggering unpredictable reader reaction. It recently happened, not once, but twice — with a flurry of comments on former Miners track coach Wayne Vandenburg and the late trainer, Ross Moore.
Where Texas Western Led, Others Followed — Miner’s New Book Chronicles UTEP’s Historic Stake in American Culture (April 2019)
Sixty years of living and football, plus two years of research and writing, just washed up on my doorstep today. A 5,213-pound package containing 1,500 copies of my baby. You may recognize it as my new release: Beyond The Big Shootout – 50 Years of Football’s Life Lessons, a historical account of the Arkansas – Texas game for football's national title, and what happened afterwards. Answer: Plenty.
Vandy Still a Dandy — Hall of Fame UTEP Coach in Full Stride (April 2019)
Wayne Vandenburg was on fire the other night, poking at a plate of enchiladas at a Permian Basin café, serving up 55 years of UTEP athletics for dessert.
Winchester Shoots His Own Ammo (March 2019)
In the mid-1960s, former Texas Western Coach Bum Phillips moved from the border to Port Neches-Grove High, where son Wade was a promising sophomore linebacker.
Tough But True — Don Haskins Treated All His Players the Same — Like Crap (February 2019)
My associations with Hall of Fame basketball coach Don Haskins consisted mostly of watching his practice sessions. At Memorial Gym on campus where the Miners practiced, I once sat with (Western Athletic Conference basketball official) Moose Stubing.
UTEP Miners in the NFL — The coaching tie that binds (January 2019)
UTEP fans hardly raised an eyebrow recently when Texas Tech boxed up Kliff Kingsbury and shipped the former Red Raider quarterback out of Lubbock. No return postage required. So, again, we see universities have a way of eating their own young. We also see why most coaches strive to get along, at least to make … Continue reading UTEP Miners in the NFL — The coaching tie that binds (January 2019)
What Has Become of Sean Kugler? (January 2019)
The Denver Broncos, after their first back-to-back losing seasons in nearly 50 years, recently canned Head Coach Vance Joseph. While most assistant coaches in college and the NFL have their tin cans tied to the H.C., the Denver Postreports the Broncos are expected to retain most of Joseph’s staff. This would include a fellow named … Continue reading What Has Become of Sean Kugler? (January 2019)
Applewhite Gets Fired – What it says about the parallel world of UTEP and U of H (January 2019)
University of Houston boxes Major Applewhite and, after only two season, sends him out to the Ship Channel, bon voyage. In El Paso, UTEP Coach Dana Dimel must have greeted that off-season football news with a rueful smile and knowing nod. He not only has been there, done that, but has the souvenir tattoo to … Continue reading Applewhite Gets Fired – What it says about the parallel world of UTEP and U of H (January 2019)
Miners Are Forever 