Written by: SteveKaplowitz 1/26/2010 9:00 PM
First, let me start off by saying I'm glad UTEP Athletic Director Bob Stull added a third football game with the University of Texas to their 2012 schedule. It is a series that began in El Paso with much fanfare and continued last year in Austin. Although the Miners kept it close in the first meeting, the Horns detroyed UTEP in the rematch. I was there for both games, and as much as I enjoyed the first meeting, I was stuck sweating bullets while UT crushed UTEP the second time around. Obviously know one knows what will happen in 3 seasons, so it will be fun to see where both teams are at the time of the September 8th game. Stull said he scheduled the game for the fans and I don't doubt that there's a lot of truth to that. However, he refused to admit that money played any role in getting the Longhorns back on the schedule. This is where I have a problem. No monetary figures were mentioned, but I would tend to believe that the 2012 game will be worth about a million dollars to UTEP. That's the going rate for a home game in Austin where more than 100,000 fans will be in attendance. UTEP's Athletic budget has been suffering the last few years from low attendance in football and basketball, and the money the university will collect from that game (and other money games like Arkansas) will help fund the Athletic Department for that season. We're not just talking about the UTEP football program, but also the volleyball, golf, tennis, and rifle programs. When I pressed Stull about the importance of the big payday, he downplayed it and instead said it played no role in scheduling Texas. If that's the case, why would he not schedule a return game in El Paso?
First, let me start off by saying I'm glad UTEP Athletic Director Bob Stull added a third football game with the University of Texas to their 2012 schedule. It is a series that began in El Paso with much fanfare and continued last year in Austin. Although the Miners kept it close in the first meeting, the Horns detroyed UTEP in the rematch. I was there for both games, and as much as I enjoyed the first meeting, I was stuck sweating bullets while UT crushed UTEP the second time around. Obviously know one knows what will happen in 3 seasons, so it will be fun to see where both teams are at the time of the September 8th game.
Stull said he scheduled the game for the fans and I don't doubt that there's a lot of truth to that. However, he refused to admit that money played any role in getting the Longhorns back on the schedule. This is where I have a problem. No monetary figures were mentioned, but I would tend to believe that the 2012 game will be worth about a million dollars to UTEP. That's the going rate for a home game in Austin where more than 100,000 fans will be in attendance. UTEP's Athletic budget has been suffering the last few years from low attendance in football and basketball, and the money the university will collect from that game (and other money games like Arkansas) will help fund the Athletic Department for that season. We're not just talking about the UTEP football program, but also the volleyball, golf, tennis, and rifle programs. When I pressed Stull about the importance of the big payday, he downplayed it and instead said it played no role in scheduling Texas. If that's the case, why would he not schedule a return game in El Paso?