UTEP Miners

A powerhouse thrower, Emmitt Berry was a vital cog on five UTEP NCAA championship teams.  He was the 1976 NCAA indoor champion in the 35-pound weight throw, and a five-time All-American.  Berry took third in the NCAA weight throw in 1977, and was runner-up in the hammer outdoors in 1976, 1977 and 1978.  He was also a four-time Western Athletic Conference champion with titles in the weight throw indoors in 1978, and hammer throw outdoors in 1976, 1977 & 1978.  Berry was the 1977 USA Hammer Throw Champion.  He was ranked number one in the country in 1977, 1978 and 1979.  He was also a Penn Relays and United States Olympic Sports Festival Champion.  He has been inducted into the UTEP Track and Field Hall of Fame. 

Randy Culpepper made an immediate impact in the Orange and Blue uniform, earning Conference USA Sixth Man of the Year honors during the 2007-08 season.  A year later, he became the first UTEP sophomore to join the prestigious 1,000-point club.  Culpepper continued his scoring onslaught over the next two years, collecting 17.9 ppg as a junior and 19.3 ppg as a senior.  In 2010, Culpepper was anointed the CUSA Player of the Year.  Culpepper still ranks first in school history with 318 three-point field goals, second with 2,338 points and 251 steals, and tied for third with nine 30-point games.  He was voted to the UTEP Basketball Centennial Team in 2014.  He played pro basketball overseas for nearly 15 years.

Ja’Net Esparza joined the UTEP soccer program for its inaugural 1996 season.  She immediately took on a starring role for her hometown team, pacing the squad in scoring with 12 points to earn Western Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year accolades.  Over the next three years, she would add 50 points to her collegiate resume.  Esparza’s leadership both on and off the field proved pivotal, as the Miners progressed from a four-win campaign in 1996 to a WAC Mountain Division championship just two years later.  Esparza earned a spot on the All-WAC team four years running.  Nearly 30 years into UTEP’s soccer history, Esparza is still tied for third in the school record book in game-winning goals, tied for seventh in goals and tied for eighth in scoring.

Thomas Howard came to UTEP as a 190-pound walk-on defensive back.  But his drive and determination were strong, and he spent the next three years adding 50 pounds to his frame and morphing into a dominant force at the linebacker position.  Howard became a mainstay in the Miner defense from 2003-05.  During that span, he collected 265 tackles, 32 tackles for losses and 13 sacks.  Howard still rates fifth in school history with 34 tackles for loss and tied for sixth with 13 sacks.  He was picked by Oakland in the second round of the 2006 NFL Draft – UTEP’s highest selection in 37 years.  Howard played in the league for eight seasons before losing his life in a car accident at the age of 30.     

In three years as the Miners’ starting quarterback (2004-06), Jordan Palmer threw for nearly 10,000 yards and 81 touchdowns, while leading the Miners to 21 victories and two bowl appearances.  He accumulated 300 yards passing on 16 occasions, including a career-high 455 in a win at UAB late in the 2006 season.  He left the Sun City as a two-time All-Conference honoree, and UTEP’s all-time leader in every passing and total offense category.  At the time of his departure, Palmer rated 13th in NCAA history in touchdown passes, 19th in passing yardage and 23rd in total offense.  In 2014, he was one of three quarterbacks voted to the prestigious UTEP Football Centennial Team.  Palmer spent time in the NFL with six teams prior to starting a new chapter of his career mentoring young quarterbacks.