After graduating from college, most people are focused on their next step in life. For lifelong El Pasoan Ricky Zavala, though, he had other concerns as well. On the list of things to sort out was to make sure he got access to basketball and football tickets before those respective seasons came around. 
 
"I (always) got my student tickets (for free)," Zavala said. "Then, after graduation I couldn't get any student tickets anymore, so that's when I became a season ticket holder. I've been one for about 22 years now (for both football and basketball)." 
 
The foundation for his passionate support of the Miners was laid much earlier when Zavala was growing up, with those moments etched in stone to this day.
 
"My dad used to take me to the men's basketball games, especially during the 80s," Zavala said. "I really fell in love with UTEP. I love the campus. I love what they used to call the Special Events Center (now the GECU Arena at the Don Haskins Center). During that time, we had the 'Miner Maniacs', and the students were just so pumped and into the games. That was the era when Don Haskins took the Miners to seven NCAA tournaments in a row."
 
Incidentally, it was a game that he didn't get to attend that also helped grow his dedication with the Miners.
 
"One of the fondest memories that I have was when we were in the 1989 WAC tournament championship," Zavala said. "I think we were playing Colorado State, and my dad had waited until the final moment to buy tickets to the championship game. So, we went to the ticket center, and they had sold out. I went home crying because I just wanted to be at that game so bad."
 
The Orange and Blue went on to knock off Colorado State to advance to the NCAA Tournament. At the "Big Dance," the No. 7 seed Miners derailed LSU before falling to second-seeded Indiana in the round of 32.
 
That love for UTEP stayed strong throughout high school, and when it came time to pick a college, Zavala already knew what he would do despite having lots of options.
 
"When I graduated high school, I probably could have gone to any other university," Zavala said. "I was so intent on going to UTEP because it's El Paso, it's home."
 
As a student, he went to every game possible. He was a strong student as well, thriving in the classroom on the way to graduating with a degree in accounting. His efforts academically eventually led to a successful professional career in that field, but UTEP sports remained a key aspect of his life. If anything, Zavala is even more fanatical now in his support of the Miners.
 
"Now that I have season tickets, there's no way that I'm going to miss a game. I'm just a really hardcore fan," Zavala said. "Win or lose, whether it's a team contending for the championship or a team in the basement, it does not matter because I support UTEP. I support the players on the team. It's just the fact that it's an enjoyment going to basketball games. Going to a game is (still) a big moment for me."
 
While he enjoys going to as many different events as possible, a love affair with basketball is at his core.
 
"I'm a really big basketball fan. It's just my favorite sport. I played it when I was young, and I just follow the game, follow the sport so much," Zavala said. "I've been going to just about every single game, and about four years ago I also became a season ticket holder for the women's basketball team. It's such an experience because I have floor seats, so the players are right in front of you. I love seeing how they hustle, how they go after the ball after every rebound. It's magical when they shoot a 3-pointer, and you just follow that ball go through the rim and swish! I love those seats."
 
He is an active fan too, doing the best he can to help the team in any way possible. That even comes to anticipating missed shots by the opposition.
 
"I can see the ball is off course and not going to go in," Zavala said. "I start saying 'rebound, rebound!' I can see us trying to box out and trying to get that rebound."
 
Zavala, aside from his love of sports, is particularly motivated to be a season ticket holder and support UTEP because of an overwhelming desire for the Miners to succeed. 
 
"It's from wanting to win. Any way that I can support and improve our teams financially, I'm willing to do that with season tickets," Zavala said. "El Paso, you know, it's such a blue-collar town. Everybody puts in their hustle. Everybody works hard. It makes us feel good when we are represented with a winning team. That's with UTEP, the Chihuahuas or the Rhinos. We take pride in winning."
 
One area Zavala, not to mention just about every other UTEP fan out there, is amped about is the fact that the Miners have joined the Mountain West.
 
"I'm really, really fired up. When I saw that we were invited to join the Mountain West, the first thing I thought was, it's about time," Zavala said. "We had such a long history with the schools that were the founding members of the Mountain West, and I thought that UTEP should have been part of that conference from the very beginning."
 
Zavala, who is well-versed in collegiate athletics, knows that becoming part of the league means that everyone must step up. He believes that includes the fans as well.
 
"I think the level of competition (in the Mountain West) is much higher than what it is in Conference USA, both in basketball and football," Zavala said. "UTEP has to improve greatly in order to compete within the Mountain West. I want the GECU Arena at the Don Haskins Center to be an intimidating arena for opposing teams. If we could sell out every single game, the Miners have the potential to go undefeated at home and obviously have a really good shot of winning the league. Continue to buy season tickets. I think that's the number one way to help."
 
He has attended too many games to count, but his senses are still firing on all levels from the moment he walks into that tunnel.
 
"It's just exciting. You enter the arena. You hear the band play. You see the cheer and the dance team, the players (warming up)," Zavala said. "It's just a great environment, and it's a lot of enjoyment."
 
He also is fervent in his feelings that others should join him as often as they can.
 
"It's just a great opportunity (to support UTEP)," Zavala said. "The basketball games are just a lot of fun. Everybody has a blast. I would tell everybody to get season tickets, buy single-game tickets and go to the games." 
 
Zavala cherishes the chance to attend contests with his family, which elicit reflections on past moments, especially when he gets to have a full-circle moment and take his dad. And for him, that alone is worth the price of admission.
 
"I'll either take my brother or sometimes if he can't go, I'll take my dad," Zavala said. "When he can go, we just have a good time. It brings back a lot of memories of seeing old players like Greg Foster, Tim Hardaway, Antonio Davis, Jeep Jackson, you know. To share and relive those memories with my dad again, it's just really special."