Miner Rusher's, I've been extradordinarily busy as I recently moved cities and took a new job.  The good news is that I'll be in the Dallas/Fort Worth area for SMU games and tailgates next season.  The bad news is that I've been unable to post here as much as I would of course have wanted to.

Full posting should be resuming Monday.  I've been slammed but have been keeping my pulse on the Javia Hall vs. Nick Lamaison quarterback controversy as well as the free agent wire.  Sadly, the reinstatement of the NFL lockout means no Miners can sign UFA contracts today.   But, as that works itself out, we'll be sure to follow those developments too.

Thanks for your patience.  And thanks to Asalom and Miner Mike for keeping their fingers on the pulse of this site for the last month and keeping some updates coming.

-- Adrian Mac

Catholics vs. Convicts?  What a whirlwind of a week for the Sun Bowl.  Just last week it looked like the Sun Bowl could pit the most undesirable matchup in recent memory in a Maryland vs. Toledo game.  But, yesterday's perfect storm of college football games has the Sun Bowl on the verge of a dream matchup between two old rivals; Notre Dame and Miami. 

Basically, here's what went down but I highly recommend you check out Bill Knights article that really hammers out where the Sun stands in terms of landing Notre Dame.  UConn's last second win over South Florida last night secured the Big East Championship for the Huskies.  That means 9-3 West Virginia, a team with a far superior on field body of work as compared to the Irish, are now available for the Champs Sports Bowl.  If the Champs passes on Notre Dame and takes West Virginia (which is what is expected to happen), then the Sun Bowl will grab Brian Kelly's Irish.

Just about 20 minutes ago, at 9:22 am MST, ESPN Chicago reported that Notre Dame is "likely" headed to the Sun Bowl.  So, as Knight noted, all eyes are now on the Champs Sports Bowl.

Another week passes us in Minerland and there's a lot going on.  I think the best way to catch everybody up is to go through a Picks Up/ Picks Down analysis.  So, here we go...

1.  Tim Floyd Showing the Program is Bigger than Any One Player

Tim Floyd sent a message loud and clear to the Miner Nation on Saturday when he didn't start the reigning C-USA Player of the Year Randy Culpepper against the Michigan Wolverines.  I realize that Floyd played down the move as being caused due to "matchups" but I'm not buying that.  No UTEP matchups against other teams are improved with RC3 on the bench.  I don't know what RC3 did or didn't do to deserve the short demotion, but when he got in the Michigan game he played smart, efficient basketball and finished with 24 points and 3 steals with only 1 turnover. 

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Is Mike Leach returning to the southwest?  Sports by Brooks has the run down here:

A former executive producer of University of New Mexico Lobo TV sports programming and long-time news producer for KRQE-TV in Albuquerque reported yesterday on his Facebook page that UNM will fire football coach Mike Locksley and hire Mike Leach as Locksley’s replacement after the Lobos play in-state rival New Mexico State on Oct. 9.

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One of the great things about the SBNation platform is that it promotes community involvement.  If you guys ever want to discuss a topic that you feel I'm ignoring, or merely want to get your view point across on a given Miner topic, I hope you try the FanPost option.  There is a minimal word limit, to avoid posts like "Hey, what do you think about Stull?" and no subsequent analysis. 

The FanPost option allows you guys to come up with polls, insert images or videos, and steer the UTEP conversation in a way you feel is important.  Also, if there's breaking Miner news, and I'm not on it, I encourage you guys to post it and start the conversation.   If there is a big event and you want to start an "open thread" feel free to do so. Time limits also keep me from posting as much as I would like on volleyball, softball, and other sports not named football and mens basketball.  So, if I'm missing out on a great Miner athlete or storyline, I hope the community brings it to the forefront.

If a FanPost is awesome, I'll definitely "bump" it to the front page which will make it available on the site's RSS feed and get it maximum exposure across the network.  I will also "tweet" them to all 12 or 13 of my followers!

Reader Anthony Salom, a UTEP alumni, recently emailed me an article that, in his words, sums up the state of Miner athletics right now.  It's exactly the kind of thing that would make an excellent FanPost and I'm going to post it, in it's entirety after the jump.  Thanks Anthony!

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Miner students are voting this week on the "Student Life and Athletic Enhancement Initiative."   The initiative will create a new fund for athletic expenses but requires tuition increases for all of UTEP's students.  If the initiative passes, UTEP athletic director Bob Stull could have $5 million more to play in 2012 and $7 million more in 2013.  Of course the burden lies with students who will be asked to pay $240 more in tuition next year and $360 more total in Fall 2013.  This vote has major implications for students and the athletic department alike.

Stull told KFOX ,"For us, it gives us a little more stable form of revenue that all the universities in the UT system have. We’re the only school that does not have an athletic fee."  That's true.  Currently UTEP students pay a "Student Services Fee."  A portion of that fee goes to athletics.  UTEP athletics received just under $5,000,000 of "direct institutional support" last year.  The student services fee will not be reduced.  Rather, it will go entirely to student services (think student organizations, events, some campus improvements).

There is a delicate balance at play here.  Athletics are obviously important to every university.  Scholarship athletes often bring diversity and unique perspectives to the classroom.  Nothing can unite a university community more than athletic success.  When UTEP is winning, especially in football, UTEP students burst with pride.

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