At the turn of the 21st century, The University of Texas At El Paso’s (UTEP) volleyball program was accumulating dust. During the span of 2000-2019, the Miners claimed only three winning seasons, and appearances in the postseason, were as rare as a Bob the Goat sighting.
So, in came a coach from our crosstown I-10 rival, Ben Wallis. From 2013-2018, Wallis served on the paid coaching staff at New Mexico State University (NMSU), but once the Miner’s volleyball head coaching position was cleared, Wallis took his chance to strike gold.
Seven years later, Wallis cemented UTEP volleyball as a city staple, and national powerhouse. Look no further than 2023, when Wallis coached the program into the deepest postseason run that they’ve had in history, reaching the final of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship.
Ben Wallis has brought to UTEP volleyball a feeling that has long been missing in El Paso collegiate athletics; consistency.
The last time that Wallis’ UTEP volleyball squad had a losing record was before the current decade (2019). In the past five seasons, there have only been two instances where UTEP hasn’t won 20 games.
When I made a video about the expectations that the program held entering the 2025-2026 season, I declared that this team is on a quest to make El Paso “a volleyball city.” A friend of mine who has played volleyball for around four years, then responded to my video, telling me “El Paso has always been a volleyball city.”
Her response made me reconsider if I was underselling UTEP volleyball. In retrospect, volleyball has been the most successful program in Miner athletics in the past decade, had I simply not seen that this city has changed?
After thinking about it, I’ve come to my conclusion. I don’t think El Paso is a volleyball city… yet.
That’s not because of the team, the coaching staff, or their results. On the contrary, volleyball’s performance has put a national spotlight on the 915.
I don’t think El Paso is a volleyball city yet because of our attitude towards the team. Sure, we were there when the Miners went deep into the National Invitational Volleyball Championship in 2023 and packed-out Memorial Gym for the Conference USA 2024 tournament.
But we need to be more consistent in the regular season. This year, we’ve only managed to fill up Memorial Gym once; that was our home opener against The University of California Los Angeles. Since then, El Paso hasn’t packed out the arena.
When visiting The Prospector Podcast, Jon Teicher, who has broadcasted UTEP football and basketball for over four decades, recounted the days of the 1980s men’s basketball team.
Back then, the Don Haskins Center, previously known as the Special Events Center, was consistently sold out, with students camping for hours to simply claim their student ticket.
In order for El Paso to truly be a volleyball city, we need to bring that same energy. Not only because it creates a better playing environment, but because they deserve it.
For a team that is top 25 in the country, C-USA regular season champions and made a second run at the NCAA national tournament, Ben Wallis and the Miners have done their part in popularizing volleyball in the 915.
Now, the burden to complete El Paso’s sports transformation falls on us.
Sebastian Perez-Navarro is the multimedia editor for The Prospector and can be reached at [email protected] or Instagram and X @sebastianpn8, and on LinkedIn @sebastianperez-navarro.
