Traditions
What do we call the UTEP hand sign?
Picks Up!
What year was the University founded?
1914
What year did Texas Western win the NCAA Basketball National Championship?
1966
Centennial Plaza
Who is the UTEP President?
Dr. Heather Wilson
What country has inspired the UTEP campus architecture?
Bhutan
Before Paydirt Pete, what was the original UTEP mascot?
A prospector and a burro
How many colleges does UTEP have?
10
- College of Education
- College of Engineering
- College of Health Science
- College of Liberal Arts
- College of Nursing
- College of Science
- Extended University
- Graduate School
- School of Pharmacy
- The Woody L. Hunt College of Business
The Guinness World Record's "Largest Published Book in the World," can be found in which building?
The Library
What is the nickname for students who attend UTEP?
Miners
What event happens every Fall semester and welcomes alumni to return to campus to reminisce about their days as students?
Homecoming
Where was UTEP originally built?
Fort Bliss
How many name changes has UTEP gone through in its history?
6
- 1913: The State of Mines and Metallurgy
- 1919: Department of Mines and Metallurgy of the University of Texas
- 1920: College of Mines and Metallurgy of the University of Texas
- 1949: Texas Western College of The University of Texas
- 1966: Texas Western College of The University of Texas at El Paso
- 1967: The University of Texas at El Paso
This building will be opening in Spring 2026 and will be replacing the Liberal Arts Building.
Texas Western Hall
What is the UTEP mascot named?
Paydirt Pete
To the tune of "El Paso," by singer Marty Robbins, what is UTEP's official fight song called?
"Miners Fight"
What happened in 1916 that caused UTEP to build its campus on its current location?
A fire destroyed its original campus in Fort Bliss.
UTEP was the first state senior college in Texas to desegregate in what year?
1955
This building was built in 1936 for the centennial year of Texas independence.
Centennial Museum
Who is a UTEP alum that is currently playing for the Minnesota Vikings?
This is UTEP's oldest tradition that took place first in 1920, where engineers and geologists were initiated into the Order of St. Patrick, the patron saint of engineers.
Texas College of Mines (TCM) Day
In 2019, UTEP attained this designation from the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, which means UTEP is a top tier doctoral university with very high research activity.
R1 designation
Other universities that have this designation include Stanford, M.I.T., Michigan, Arizona, and Berkley.
This popular animal that lived in downtown El Paso was stolen as a prank and placed in a professor's office in Quinn Hall over the weekend to surprise him on Monday morning.
Alligator
This was one of the first four original buildings built at UTEP and is an official Texas Historic Landmark.
Old Main Building
UTEP alum, Danny Olivas, is the only UTEP graduate to have gone here.
Space