Celebrating March Madness

There are rumors that two of the officials involved in Tim Floyd's ejection at East Carolina have been issued suspensions.

In a prepared statement, ESPN told SportsBusiness Journal: "Conference USA never fulfilled their contractual obligation relating to ESPN’s future rights. We are exploring possible solutions to resolve this situation but remain prepared to take any necessary steps to protect our rights."

Conference USA spokeswoman Courtney Morrison-Archer disagreed, responding in an e-mail: "We have great respect for ESPN and have appreciated our partnership. We disagree with the assertion that ESPN was disadvantaged and are disappointed that they feel as if they were. On the contrary, ESPN had every opportunity to step up and address our concerns. Following a long and protracted discussion, the conference board of directors voted to move in a different direction. Conference USA reached an agreement with Fox on terms clearly more favorable than those offered by ESPN, and we believe the conference fully complied with its contractual obligations to ESPN."

Floyd, Eustachy home in on success

Dave Campbell's Texas Football Reviews 2011 UTEP Football Recruiting Class

2011 McDonald's All American Game Nominees

Needing A SitRep

Obviously Perez and Bohannon are still with the team, albeit the status of the latter player remains to be seen. This said, if memory serves correct Rashanti Harris, Desmond Lee and Michael Haynes are no longer with the program correct? I know that we picked up Kevin Perry from the football team. What's the status of Julian Washburn? Just trying to recall what we have available for next year with the additions of CJ Cooper, Darius Nelson, D'von Campbell, Jalen Ragland, Cedrick Lang, Mitch Marquis, Malcolm Moore and Dazmond Starke. Can anybody provide an update?

GET OUT THE VOTE!

TCU to Join Big East

- With all of Houston’s quarterback problems and with no one other than Southern Miss appearing to be anything decent, watch out for UTEP in the Conference USA title chase. The offense is playing well enough to overcome a lousy defense that gets nothing from the front line, but the big key is the schedule. The Miners don’t play a 2009 bowl team again until the end of October, and while November is set up for the annual UTEP nosedive (SMU, at Arkansas, Tulsa), the record should be strong with Memphis, at New Mexico, Rice, at UAB, Tulane, and at Marshall up next.

UTEP - 2010 CFN Prediction: 6-6

Sept. 4 Ark.-Pine Bluff
Sept. 10 at Houston
Sept. 18 NMSU
Sept. 25 Memphis
Oct. 2 at New Mexico
Oct. 9 Rice
Oct. 16 at UAB
Oct. 23 Tulane
Oct. 30 at Marshall
Nov. 6 SMU
Nov. 13 at Arkansas
Nov. 20 at Tulsa
Nov. 27 OPEN DATE

Scout.com makes their schedule predictions for this season. Interestingly enough they pick us to win all our home games and lose all our away games.

Personally, I predict far better than this.

On the flip side, however, one national media outlet has UTEP listed as a potential "BCS Buster" a school that has a chance to crash the BCS Bowl lineup despite not playing in a conference with an automatic bid.

2010 UTEP Preview- College Football News

Rock the Vote

Are prep schools legit??
Tim Floyd has picked up a second recruit from Heat Academy. It is a prep school that assists high school players who have not passed their ACT or scored high enough on the SAT to enter college.

In fact most that attend are gifted atheletes but challenged academically. It is not free either, the tuition to these schools for room, board, and books is north of $10,000.

Rashanti Harris has also attended Patterson Academy (now defunct) and has not been eligible for college admission and clearance by NCAA for two years.

My question other than are they legit—-is this a better route than Jucos since all from prep schools if eligible at UTEP are somewhat older than the typical freshman.

by JACELP on May 3, 2010 1:24 PM CDT

MinerMike: Bumped from another thread as I believe this topic deserves it's own attention.

DothanEagle News: What’s been the major difference between your first months at UTEP compared to your first months at Auburn?
Tony Barbee: The welcome, to me, to my family, to the staff, has been overwhelming. When you hear about the Auburn family, you really don’t grasp it until you’re a part of it.

Boys' basketball: Decision soon for Dwayne Polee Jr.
May 3, 2010 | 8:49 am
Dwayne Polee Jr., the City Section player of the year from Westchester, should finalize his college choice no later than early next week, his father, Dwayne Sr., said Monday.

My $0.02: It looks like the world will finally be blessed to hear of this decision a week from now. I'm sure they'll throw a major media press conference for this "sacred" event.

Ten Players Facing Tough Draft Decisions

UTEP C Arnett Moultrie
CLASS: Sophomore
BUZZ: Moultrie really didn't show that much improvement this season. He's athletic and can run all day, but he has been far from dominant for the Miners. Transfer Derrick Caracter was featured more in the Miners' offense this season, and Caracter's presence also meant Moultrie's rebound total went down. If he stays in school, he and fellow Memphis native Randy Culpepper will give the Miners a nice inside-outside combination. But he has to weigh his potential improvement against possibly being a late first-round selection. Moultrie would be drafted on potential, not production. Some teams like his athletic ability and see a guy who could be a solid role player on both ends of the court. Others see a lack of bulk and wonder whether he would wash out in a few seasons. If he stays in school, you can bet new UTEP coach Tim Floyd will improve his defensive intensity.

Friday presser preview (reported by MI)

Like I’ve said before with the coach, recruit, coach, recruit pattern; you’re expecting UTEP to announce a coach on Friday correct? Well it looks like there will be a recruit to announce from what we’re gathering.

Recruiting talent was one of the bullet points that Small said would help the current squad make a larger run in the NCAA Tournament because it would give them more depth. That’s a good thing to hear with the departures of Derrick Caracter and Eric Moreland.

UTEP Bolsters Frontcourt Depth With Addition of Michael Haynes