Fashion takes on many forms and shapes, and certain-ly varies from city to city. In this sun- baked city,  options are generally limited to warm weather clothes, aside from that one rare day of snow that may be seen in the pits of December or perhaps a blustery February morning.

College for many is about appearance. With a campus of more than 20,000, you’re going to be seen by a lot of people every day that you have class. To some, this is an opportunity to show off and dress formally, while others take advantage of their free choice and dress as they please. For us athletes, it’s a compromise.

I begin the semester with fresh hope and the naivety that I’ll get straight A’s and knock the semester out of the park. This is my time, I’ll tell myself as I get dressed before my Monday class, I’ll be diligent, go to every class, do every assignment, dress nicely and so on. The reality of the world and college is not so simple. In January, we don’t have much. In the spring, when school starts, towards, the second half of the month, as far as football goes, we’ll have the first week back free of workouts and such and only the last week where we get back into the groove.

That first week is a fantastic time to showcase our outfits, if we have any that we’ve brought from our distant homes. I went to private school, however, and the lack of formal attire that I have in my arsenal is pitiful. My former dean, Beck O’Connor, would not approve of my lacking wardrobe nor of my general attire.

Often times, us athletes are associated as casual, debonair folks, who couldn’t care less about our appearance. The truth of the matter is much different. I start out each semester dressed nicely. I’ll likely go with a dark pair of well-fitting jeans, some desert boots and a collared shirt to start a class. I cherish the early spring semester months, when the heat isn’t too oppressive and I’m afforded the luxury of wearing colors other than black because I don’t sweat profusely through my clothes.

Long walks register no fear in my mind in January and even mid-February, but when that first day of heat hits, all bets are off. In addition to this, our training picks up in March. We begin spring ball, for five weeks, which is essentially practice, only less times per week, but just as intense as in season. This also comes with meetings to watch film and study the game.

Naturally, this is an added four-plus hours to each day, which cramps our schedules. Ipso facto, the dream of staying dressed fairly decently goes out the window as we scramble to shower and dress after practice or a workout and then race off to class.

So, I bid you kind students of UTEP, to not look upon us athletes with disdain. We value our time here and want to graduate like everyone else. If you see me, I’ll likely be in a black shirt to hide my atrocious perspiration. It’s obnoxiously hot here and I’m from New York, so give me a break.