An announcement made on Friday, April 18 by UTEP Athletics that shocked the campus community–the tennis program was to be discontinued which was effective immediately.
The UTEP tennis team’s 2025 season ended two days before the announcement was made. On April 16, the Miners fell short to the New Mexico State University Aggies 4-0 in the first round of the Conference USA Spring Tournament.
The announcement was given by Vice President and Director of Athletics Jim Senter stating that the decision ultimately came because of the unprecedented changes occurring in college athletics.
Senter said these decisions will “enable UTEP to allocate additional resources to its remaining 16 sports programs, ensuring their long-term viability.”
While the announcement was made by Senter, the decision was reached by the executive team of UTEP Athletics and was then proposed to UTEP President, Dr. Heather Wilson.
Senter said this decision was not taken lightly and was in fact made with a heavy heart.
“Our women’s tennis student-athletes have represented the university in a first-class manner for over 40 years and have often set the standard for academic achievement among all our sports programs,” Senter said. “We are so grateful to Head Coach Ivan Fernandez and Associate Head Coach Joanna Furdyna for all the hard work that they have put in leading this program and mentoring our student-athletes.”
Senter went on to add that the decision also came from the influx in prices on common necessities for the program.
Resources such as scholarships, facility rental fees, travel expenses and overall operating budget continued to rise making the allocation of funds and resources more complex and strategic.
With this heavy loss, other sports at the university would now have the chance to open more doors for female student-athletes according to Senter.
“This strategic reallocation will create more opportunities for female student-athletes in UTEP’s other women’s sports programs,” Senter said.
While a surprise to many, this decision is not too uncommon for racket sports at the college of mines. The last time UTEP discontinued one of their student athletic programs was in May of 1999, in which the men’s tennis team was discontinued.
Another major reason for the discontinuation of the sport was that the university did not have an onsite facility for the team. The UTEP women’s tennis team practiced and hosted its games at the El Paso Tennis & Swim Club on St. Vrain Street, near UTEP.
For a tennis facility to be built, a more extensive donor base would have been required to raise sufficient funding.
As for the players from the UTEP women’s tennis team, the university will honor the scholarships given to the students prior to the announcement so long as the student remains at UTEP to complete their degree.
In addition, UTEP athletics will support the transfer over to a different university if that is the decision made by the athlete.
UTEP does not plan on cutting other programs at the moment and will continue to sponsor the NCAA-mandated FBS minimum of 16 sports.
After 40 years with an inaugural season in 1983-1984, UTEP will hang its rackets for good, moving on from racket sports and putting its focus onto other programs.
Joseph Montero is a staff reporter for The Prospector and may be reached at [email protected]
