In the fall of 1981, UTEP fans were introduced to a voice who would go on to narrate countless top moments in school history for the next four decades.
Jon Teicher has been a constant in the booth as he enters his 40th year broadcasting UTEP Athletic events.
In this week's Friday Feature, we visited with the Voice of the Miners and took a trip down memory lane. Check out the top 10 most memorable moments in UTEP Football and Men's Basketball history, according to the man who had a front row seat for it all –
Jon Teicher.
Jon Teicher's Top 10 Most Memorable Moments
10.
December 29, 2004 – In 2004, UTEP closed out a magical year in which they improved from 2-11 to 8-4, one of the top turnarounds in college football that season. The Miners capped off the campaign by making an appearance in the 2004 EV1.net Houston Bowl at Reliant Stadium opposite Colorado. The game marked the conclusion of Mike Price's first year as the UTEP skipper, but what Teicher remembers most is the atmosphere, which was enhanced by the huge amount of UTEP fan support that traveled from El Paso to Houston to cheer on the Miners.
9.
1983-98 – Over a span of 15 years, Teicher was on the mic for countless memorable moments with Don Haskins as the head coach for the Miners, but four milestone victories stick out.
- Win No. 400 – The Miners secured a 60-55 victory over Arizona State on the road on Dec. 22, 1983.
- Win No. 500 – UTEP hosted Lamar on Dec. 17, 1987 and secured an 87-56 victory to mark Haskins' 500th win as a head coach.
- Win No. 600 – Haskins and the Miners took down Wyoming on Feb. 27, 1992 by a score of 73-72 in El Paso.
- Win No. 700 – The fourth milestone victory that Teicher had the pleasure of calling came on Jan. 3, 1998 when the Miners defeated SMU, 66-64, in El Paso.
(Don Haskins closed out his Hall of Fame career with an overall record of 719-353.)
8.
December 27-29, 1985 – In a three-day span at the tail end of 1985, the UTEP Men's Basketball program pulled off the upset over No. 5-ranked Georgetown, along with wins over national powers Ohio State and Alabama. The Miners hosted all three games.
7.
January 19, 1984 – On this day, the Miners took the court to play at Colorado State with an unblemished 15-0 record and a No. 4 national ranking. UTEP ended that season with a 27-4 overall record and an NCAA Tournament appearance.
6.
October 26, 1985 – In 1985, UTEP Football knocked off defending national champion and No. 7-ranked BYU at the Sun Bowl for the team's only win that season. The Miners won, 23-16, thanks in part to a pick-six by Danny Taylor, who intercepted a pass in the north end zone and ran 100 yards down the sideline to put the game away in the fourth quarter.
5.
March 13, 1987 – In the opening round of the 1987 NCAA Tournament, the UTEP Men's Basketball team was facing Arizona on the Wildcats' home court. It was the last year teams were allowed to play NCAA Tournament games on their home floor. In that game, the Miners knocked off the hometown favorite Wildcats by a score of 98-91 in overtime to advance to the second round.
4.
December 7, 1985 – The first-ever college football game played in Melbourne, Australia, featured the UTEP Miners taking on Wyoming on Dec. 7, three weeks removed from the previous scheduled game on Nov. 16. Both coaching staffs had already been informed they would not return the following season, but they were allowed to coach the last game. The game kicked off at 3 a.m. (MT) and was played at Victorian Football League Park as part of the WAC schedule. Bill Yung was head coach for the Miners at the time. Wyoming eventually won the game, 24-21, over the Miners.
3.
November 11, 2000 – UTEP Football captured the 2000 WAC Conference Championship with a 38-21 win over Rice in the Sun Bowl in front of what was the largest crowd in UTEP Sun Bowl history (at the time). The announced attendance was 53,304.
2.
November 19, 1988 – In the final regular-season game of the 1988 season, the Miners had to win to reach bowl eligibility. UTEP ended up winning the game, 31-24, over Air Force in the Sun Bowl to go to the program's first bowl game since 1967.
1.
March 22, 1992 – The 1991-92 UTEP Men's Basketball team pulled off a 66-60 upset win over No. 1-seeded Kansas in the second round of the 1992 NCAA Tournament in Dayton, Ohio, to send the Miners to the Sweet 16. The win sent UTEP to Sweet 16 and reintroduced Don Haskins to a national audience. Following the win, Teicher's postgame call-in show seemed never-ending as the broadcaster spent seven hours on the air fielding phone calls from ecstatic Miner fans following the victory.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Football – 2000 Humanitarian Bowl in Boise, Idaho (UTEP's first bowl appearance since 1988); 1988 Independence Bowl in Shreveport, Louisiana (UTEP's first bowl game since 1967); 2008 – UTEP vs. Texas (New record crowd for the Sun Bowl); 1997 – UTEP defeated nationally-ranked BYU, 14-3, in the Sun Bowl, as Miner fans tore down the goal post and dumped it over the rim of the stadium following the win.
Men's Basketball – 2004 NCAA Tournament appearance vs. Maryland in Denver (It marked the first time UTEP had been back to the NCAA Tournament since 1992 as the Miners engineered the biggest turnaround in NCAA history that year.); 2005 NCAA Tournament appearance vs. Utah in Tucson, Arizona; UTEP's triple-overtime victory over BYU on Feb, 9, 1985.
For complete coverage of UTEP Athletics, be sure to follow the Miners on social media at @UTEPAthletics (Twitter/Instagram) or visit the official home of the Miners at UTEPMiners.com.
