The Mountain West Conference is in deep discussions about adding UTEP, an obvious target for the league from both a geography and tradition standpoint, as a full member, sources told ESPN on Monday, and there's mutual interest between the sides.
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"In UTEP, the Mountain West will get a school with a strong football and basketball lineage. UTEP's football opener against Southern Utah drew 41,633 fans to the Sun Bowl.
In football, UTEP has reached 15 bowl games, and its former coaches include everyone from Bum Phillips to Mike Price. UTEP is currently in Conference USA, where it has resided since 2005, when it jumped over from the WAC.
UTEP's basketball history is even stronger, as it has appeared in 17 NCAA tournaments and won the national championship in 1966, when the school was known as Texas Western. The Miners were the first team with a starting five of all African American players to win the national title. The coach of that team, Don Haskins, is in the Basketball Hall of Fame.
UTEP has a strong fan base, and El Paso, Texas, has a population of nearly 679,000, which makes it one of the top 25 most populated cities in the United States."