UTEP, El Paso set to host CUSA 2024 volleyball championships
El Paso has not traditionally been a hot spot for hosting conference tournaments but in a new-look Conference USA that is changing rapidly.
On the heels of hosting the Conference USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, UTEP and El Paso are set to host the volleyball championships Nov. 22-24 (Thursday-Sunday).
That will bring eight teams, with traveling parties of 25 to 30, to town for five days.
The track meet, which concluded Sunday night, was the first league championship in town since track was here in 2017. El Paso has never hosted a conference volleyball tournament.
"Anytime as a university you have a chance to host the conference you want to put your best foot forward and we're looking forward to having everyone in Conference USA come here and experience Memorial Gym when it's full," athletic director Jim Senter said.
"As Miner fans know, when we pack Memorial Gym the Miners play really, really well. We're looking forward to hosting the tournament."
The last three games played in Memorial Gym, the last three rounds of the NIVC tournament last December, were sellouts announced at 3,200. UTEP eventually finished as runner-ups of the postseason tournament.
Volleyball coach Ben Wallis said luring the tournament here has been several years in the making, as UTEP began inquiring in 2021. The vote for the 2024 tournament came down to New Mexico State and UTEP and Wallis said El Paso having an airport was a factor.
While UTEP (and NMSU) are on the geographical edge of the conference, UTEP is one of three of soon-to-be 10 schools in the league with a commercial airport in its immediate area (Florida International is the other; Middle Tennessee and NMSU are 45 minutes from commercial airports).
"The travel into El Paso and staying in El Paso is going to be much more affordable for everyone which is something that goes into hosting these championships," Wallace said. "Bringing people into El Paso will be much more affordable than other stops on our path. Everybody will have to fly a little further but it's an affordable place to get in and out of."
Wallace said there will be some renovations to Memorial, mostly in terms of improving the locker room situation for an eight-team tournament.
"We're in the steps right now of making sure everything starts to move forward, like what happened this weekend with the track championships," Wallis said. "Make sure all the details are prepared, all the volunteers are ready and the city is ready to host a championship so we do it the right way for the conference.
"We're excited to get people to Memorial to see if we can't win a championship in our own gym, which would be cool. We've shown ourselves to be capable of doing it last year. Now we have to take the next step and close it out."
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: UTEP, El Paso set to host CUSA 2024 volleyball championships
