Do You Know Why The UTEP Colors Are Orange, Blue And Silver

As the University of Texas at El Paso Miners begin their 2022 football season, here is some info about their colors.

The orange part of the UTEP logo has always been there, along with the white, and dates back to 1916. The burnt orange and white coloring chosen back then was also used by the University of San Antonio. 

In 1980, after UTEP students indicated that they wanted UTEP to have its own colors, blue was added by then President Haskell Monroe.

The chosen orange was more “brownish” than “burnt” and was thought to resemble the mountains at the pass. The blue was slightly darker than the blue being used of the old NFL team, the Houston Oilers; the color was identified as “El Paso Bright Blue Sky.”  - ucweb.utep.edu

Great idea but, too late ... just days before UTEP submitted their new colors, San Antonio made similar changes, also adding blue, and both universities continued to share the same colors.

The colors got another upgrade in 1999 with the addition of the silver accents. In 2000, another subtle shift was made to the "dark" orange hue, lightening it a little as it would appear to be red in some cases.

Nicknames associated with the University of Texas at El Paso have also shifted some over the years. Students and teams were christened "The Miners" early on since the study of mines and metallurgy was the primary reason for UTEP's founding.

Over the years though, other nicknames applied to UTEP have been the "Muckers" and the "Ore Diggers" while female teams are usually referred to as "Lady Miners".