The Challenges of showing UTEP’s road games on TV and why it’s unlikely to happen

When the UTEP Miners basketball team win on the road this year, finding them on television is a problem.

So far this year when the Miners have been on the road for Conference-USA games they have not been aired locally.

A reason for that is because local stations in town can’t air the games on their channel on weekdays.

It’s a problem UTEP Athletic Director Bob Stull is aware of.

Last week someone created a Twitter account: @WeWantMinerTV. In less than an hour it had over a 100 followers. In less than a week, the Twitter handle has over 300 followers

Stull expressed the challenges of putting the Miners on local TV.

“We’d love to have them on the road like it was back in the ’80’s but things have changed,” Stull said. “Right now over the air networks will not carry the games, the key is that stations will not put the game on over an episode of Grey’s Anatomy to air the game.”

KVIA ABC-7 General Manager Kevin Lovell added to what Stull said about local TV stations and their obstacles.

“We’re under contractual obligations to networks,” Lovell said. “The national networks won’t allow us to put the game on over scheduled broadcasting.”

Another challenge UTEP faces is doing the production on their own. For starters, UTEP has to figure out a way to transport their UTEP Miner Vision truck to the away city’s destination, and the cost to do a broadcast would be $25,000.

As of now UTEP will have three upcoming road games televised. Two in February and one in March, but two of those games will be nationally broadcast and the other will air all throughout Texas.

For a fee fans can go to the Conference-USA website and pay a monthly or yearly fee to watch a live stream of games. The fee pays for not just UTEP games, but any games you want to watch in the conference.

Right now watching games on the internet isn’t ideal, but the reality for several of the Miners upcoming road games is that it’s your only choice.