SPECIAL REPORT: UTEP Head Coach Sean Kugler’s core principles start in the classroom

Ever since Sean Kugler joined the UTEP Miner program as the head football coach, things changed for the better.

“First day on the job we had 17 players that were ineligible that had no chance of becoming eligible,” Kugler said. “So right then, we decided that we needed to clean up academics.”

The Miners now boast a perfect 1000 score on their Academic Progress rate (APR), which means every athlete is on track to graduate on time.

Kugler is often seen as an intimidating presence on or off the field, but it’s inside the classroom where his rigid team policies take effect.

“We make everything mandatory,” Kugler said. “The class checks are done by the professors, and they give us a detailed report daily. We have mandatory tutoring and mandatory study hall, 8 hours a week for all of the athletes.”

But it doesn’t stop there. If any of the guidelines are broken, strict punishment will be handed down to any player.

“We do what we call commitment time, and we take something away from them that is very important,” Kugler said. “We take away their weekends during the season and off season from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m., in the Larry K. Durham center. We make them bring nothing but books. No electronics, cellphones or iPads.”

Kugler told ABC-7 he believes any type of success, whether it’s sports-related or not, starts with academic discipline and a strong foundation of hard work.

“I really feel as a head coach, your No. 1 job is to make sure these guys are successful and set up for life,” Kugler said. “And to be able to do that, you need a degree. And to get your degree, they have to be pushed, discipline has to be in place and it has to be important to you and the entire staff.”

A strong policy that has clearly turned around the lives of dozens of athletes, as the football program boasted its best GPA in program history.

Coach Kugler said the team set a goal for 50 players to have a GPA of 3.0 or higher, while they just fell short at 49.

But you don’t have to ask the man in charge if that goal will be reached by next semester; Kugler assured ABC-7 it will.

The Miners kick off their season with a home opener against rival NMSU at the Sun Bowl on Sept, 3.