{"id":358360,"date":"2026-07-02T09:02:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T09:02:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/358360\/"},"modified":"2026-07-02T09:02:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T09:02:15","slug":"utep-unveils-modernized-paydirt-pete-as-miners-join-mountain-west","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/358360\/","title":{"rendered":"UTEP unveils modernized Paydirt Pete as Miners join Mountain West"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>As the University of Texas at El Paso entered a new era in the Mountain West Conference on July 1, the university also unveiled a bold new look for its iconic mascot, Paydirt Pete.<\/p>\n<p>UTEP said Paydirt Pete has evolved over the years, with the most recent iteration launching in 1999. <\/p>\n<p>The updated version is modernized while also drawing from the popular \u201cretro\u201d logo associated with the Miners\u2019 1980s era.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe wanted to give Paydirt Pete a fresh look while not straying too far from the vintage mark that our fans love,\u201d UTEP Vice President and Director of Athletics Jim Senter said.<\/p>\n<p>Apparel featuring the new Paydirt Pete is available online and is beginning to arrive at the UTEP Bookstore. <\/p>\n<p>UTEP said plush and bobblehead versions of Pete are in the works and are expected to be available by fall 2026.<\/p>\n<p>RECOMMENDED: <a href=\"https:\/\/kfoxtv.com\/news\/local\/utep-team-3d-prints-gel-battery-electrolyte-allowing-batteries-to-fit-devices-better?SRC=LINK\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">UTEP team 3D-prints gel battery electrolyte, allowing batteries to fit devices better<\/a><\/p>\n<p>UTEP said it is partnering with adidas, Blue84, Collect Bobbleheads, L2 Brands, LogoBrands, Mascot Factory, Peter Millar, Something Inked, WinCraft and additional vendors on new Pete-branded merchandise.<\/p>\n<p>Once again UTEP Athletics aims high and delivers a new collection for the ultimate UTEP fan,\u201d UTEP Campus Store Manager Xochitl Meyer said. \u201cWe are honored to be a part of this new era for UTEP Athletics.<\/p>\n<p>The UTEP Bookstore will also host a pop-up event featuring new Pete merchandise on Friday, July 10, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Leech Grove on campus.<\/p>\n<p>A mascot version of the new Pete is expected to be unveiled at UTEP football games beginning in September.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPaydirt Pete is at the heart of game-day energy, and it&#8217;s so exciting to have a new Pete joining us as part of the entertainment experience our fans love,&#8221; said Bianca Marquez, director of UTEP Spirit Operations. &#8220;Our Cheer and Dance teams can&#8217;t wait to perform alongside him and keep building that spirit in support of Miner Athletics.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/kfoxtv.com\/sign-up\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Sign up<\/a> to receive the top interesting stories from in and around our community once daily in your inbox.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As the University of Texas at El Paso entered a new era in the Mountain West Conference on&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":358361,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[138,140,139],"class_list":["post-358360","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-el-paso","tag-el-paso","tag-el-paso-headlines","tag-el-paso-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/358360","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=358360"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/358360\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/358361"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=358360"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=358360"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=358360"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}