2000 UTEP Miners football team

The 2000 UTEP Miners football team represented the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) as a member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) during the 2000 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by first-year head coach Gary Nord, the Miners compiled an overall record of 8–4 with a mark of 7–1 in conference play, sharing the WAC title with TCU. UTEP was invited to the Humanitarian Bowl, where the Miners lost to Boise State. The team played home games at the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas.

2000 UTEP Miners football
WAC co-champion
Humanitarian Bowl, L 23–38 vs. Boise State
Conference	Western Athletic Conference
Record	8–4 (7–1 WAC)
Head coach	Gary Nord (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Patrick Higgins (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Larry Hoefer (1st season)
Home stadium	Sun Bowl
Seasons ← 1999 2001 →

2000 Western Athletic Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 21 TCU +		7	–	1					10	–	2
UTEP +		7	–	1					8	–	4
Fresno State		6	–	2					7	–	5
San Jose State		5	–	3					7	–	5
Tulsa		4	–	4					5	–	7
Rice		2	–	6					3	–	8
Hawaii		2	–	6					3	–	9
SMU		2	–	6					3	–	9
Nevada		1	–	7					2	–	10
+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

Brian Natkin became the first, and so far only, unanimous All-American in UTEP football history.^[1]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 2	6:30 pm	at No. 19 Oklahoma*	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, Oklahoma	FSN	L 14–55	74,761
September 9	7:05 pm	SMU	Sun Bowl El Paso, TX		W 37–20	31,483
September 16	7:00 pm	at Texas A&M*	Kyle Field College Station, TX		L 17–45	69,184
September 23	7:05 pm	Hawaii	Sun Bowl El Paso, TX		W 39–7	36,637
September 30	7:05 pm	New Mexico State*	Sun Bowl El Paso, TX (Battle of I-10)		W 41–31	50,068
October 7	5:00 pm	at Tulsa	Skelly Stadium Tulsa, OK	KKWB	W 40–7	18,689
October 14	7:00 pm	at San Jose State	Spartan Stadium San Jose, CA	KKWB	W 47–30	13,274
October 21	7:05 pm	Fresno State	Sun Bowl El Paso, TX		W 23–13	50,085
November 4	1:00 pm	at Nevada	Mackay Stadium Reno, NV		W 45–22	15,249
November 11	7:05 pm	Rice	Sun Bowl El Paso, TX		W 38–21	53,304
November 18	1:00 pm	at No. 15 TCU	Amon G. Carter Stadium ort Worth, TX	FSN	L 14–47	41,068
December 28	11:30 am	vs. Boise State*	Bronco Stadium Boise, ID (Humanitarian Bowl)	ESPN2	L 23–38	26,203
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Mountain time

^[2]

Roster

2000 UTEP Miners football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR 7 Lee Mays Jr QB 13 Wes Phillips Jr TE 87 Brian Natkin Sr RB 32 Josh Wheat Fr	Defense Pos. # Name Class	Special teams Pos. # Name Class LS 47 Jon Dorenbos So	Head coach Gary Nord Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt