Qualla: University of Texas at El Paso

University of Texas at El Paso: Introduction

Wed, 04 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Zereshk, CC BY 3.0. Perched on hillsides overlooking the Rio Grande with Ciudad Juarez in view across the border, the University of Texas at El Paso presents one of America's most distinctive campuses -- its buildings styled after the dzong monasteries of the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan. This unlikely architectural marriage of West Texas desert and Buddhist fortress emerged from tragedy and serendipity, while the university itself became the stage for one of sports history's most transformative moments. Founded in 1913 as a mining school with 27 students, UTEP is now the nation's largest and oldest Hispanic-serving R1 research university.

Image: Zereshk | CC BY 3.0

University of Texas at El Paso: A Fire and a Magazine

Wed, 04 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit ElpasoHead at English Wikipedia, Public domain. The State School of Mines and Metallurgy opened in 1914 adjacent to Fort Bliss, complete with a practice mineshaft that survives today. Two years later, fire destroyed the main building, forcing relocation. When Kathleen Worrell, wife of the school's first dean, saw photographs o...

Image: ElpasoHead at English Wikipedia | Public domain

University of Texas at El Paso: The Game That Changed Everything

Wed, 04 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Original uploader was Ancheta Wis at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0. UTEP became the first college in the American South to integrate its intercollegiate sports programs in the 1950s. When Don Haskins became basketball coach in 1961, he aggressively recruited Black players at a time when many claimed they lacked the mental and emotional 'necessiti...

Image: Original uploader was Ancheta Wis at en.wikipedia | CC BY-SA 3.0

University of Texas at El Paso: Triumphs and Tensions

Wed, 04 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Public domain. UTEP's athletic programs have won 21 NCAA Division I national championships, tying for 10th overall among schools in men's sports -- one basketball title plus seven in cross country and thirteen in indoor and outdoor track and field. But success came with controversy. In 1968, th...

Image: Public domain

University of Texas at El Paso: Picks Up for the Miners

Wed, 04 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Dicklyon, CC BY-SA 4.0. The school's 'Miners' nickname likely came from a clerical error in the 1913 bill establishing the institution, when Senator Claude Hudspeth wrote 'State School of Miners and Metallurgy' instead of 'Mines.' UTEP students flash the 'Picks Up' hand symbol -- representing a miner's ...

Image: Dicklyon | CC BY-SA 4.0