UTEP releases 2022 football schedule
EL PASO, Texas - With the UTEP Miners looking to capitalize on their 2021 bowl campaign, they now know who and when they will be playing in 2022.
But while the Conference USA slate is "official," there could be some derailments.
The Miners officially unveiled their schedule Tuesday, and will begin with four games against FBS non-conference opponents before starting conference play
2022 UTEP Football Schedule
Sept 3 at Oklahoma
Sept. 10 NM State
Sept. 17 at New Mexico
Sept. 24 Boise State
Oct. 1 at LA Tech*
Oct. 8 Florida Atlantic*
Oct. 15 Southern Miss*
Oct. 22 at Old Dominion*
Nov. 5 at Rice*
Nov. 12 UAB*
Nov. 19 at UTSA*
Nov. 26 North Texas*
* Conference USA game (All dates subject to change) Home games in bold
The Miners start off the season in Norman, OK against the presumably ranked Sooners, who will be playing their first game under new coach Brent Venables. Formerly the defensive coordinator at Clemson, Venables was hired to replace Lincoln Riley who departed for USC.
It's worth noting that Venables and UTEP Head Coach Dana Dimel were assistants on the same staff at Kansas State under Bill Snyder.
UTEP follows that up with back-to-back rivalry games vs. New Mexico State and at New Mexico.
The Miners host Boise State at the Sun Bowl on September 24th, a return trip from last season's 54-13 Broncos' win in Boise.
The conference slate is set by C-USA but two of the Miners' scheduled opponents, Southern Mississippi and Old Dominion, have said that they plan to leave the league this summer for the Sun Belt Conference.
Consequently, Conference USA has stated that it will exhaust all legal options to ensure that both teams will fulfill their contractual agreement past the 2022 season.
Southern Mississippi, Old Dominion, and Marshall have all previously agreed to join the Sun Belt, but when their original contracts expired in 2023.
No doubt UTEP will let the legalities play out between the conference and conflicted teams, as the Miners will be focused on returning 14 starters (seven offense/seven defense) on both sides of the football.
The Miners will play their Spring Game on Friday, April 8th and tickets for the 2022 season are available at www.UTEPMiners.com/tickets or by calling 915-747-UTEP.
