Back in 2022, I started the Send Jay Away bracket as an excuse to take in a college football game at a venue I had never seen. West Virginia won that initial bracket and reminded me why I fell in love with the sport in the first place. Unique traditions exist everywhere in this sport, from the 100,000+ capacity stadiums to the NAIA schools you might not have heard of. I decided to make it an annual tradition, leading me to visit both South Dakota Mines and Montana State. For Send Jay Away 2025, I stayed in the Lone Star State – making the trek west to El Paso to visit the iconic Sun Bowl.
The Sun Bowl, home of the University of Texas-El Paso Miners, long occupied a spot on my college football bucket list. Set in the mountains of far west Texas, UTEP occupies a space of its own in the long and storied history of Texas football. No other venue in the state comes close to the iconic views from the stadium, a fact I was lucky enough to witness with my own eyes.
But it’s more than just the incredible scenes that made the trip so special. In El Paso, I found fans deeply passionate about their hometown team. While the vistas will stick with me forever, the generosity of UTEP fans struck me just as much, and I’ll be talking about this trip forever. I know I’ll fail to do it justice, but here’s my recap of Send Jay Away 2025.
Send Jay Away 2025 Journey
While I didn’t leave the state for this edition of Send Jay Away, we did manage to cover some serious ground on the journey. 743 miles lie between my home in Houston and Sun City. The trek west began on a Thursday, and after stopping for the night in Junction, we completed the rest of the journey on Friday.
El Paso truly feels like a completely different world from the rest of Texas. The desert mountains alone set it apart, but it also sits at the confluence of Texas, New Mexico, and Mexico. The border with Juarez, just on the other side, is a stone’s throw away. The influences of both Mexico and New Mexico are clear in the cuisine (we didn’t make it to L&J Cafe as planned, thanks to a bit of a long night out on Friday), and every bite we had was delicious, including some unique vendors at the stadium.
The pace of life in the city feels significantly different from the rest of the state as well. While traffic on the highways might be a bit hectic at times, downtown El Paso felt infinitely more relaxed than Houston. I do have to confess my bias here, though. This wasn’t my time through El Paso, and I will always have a soft spot for it.
Great spending a segment today with @CoachJayArnold at The Shack Slice & Brews 🏈
— Adrian Broaddus (@AdrianBroaddus) September 20, 2025
You might spot him at a tailgate tomorrow ahead of UTEP-Louisiana Monroe.
Hear about #SendJayAway week and more from today’s show @600espnelpaso pic.twitter.com/KplRvbFpcE
Once we arrived in El Paso on Friday, we made a quick trip over to the east, where I got to chat a bit about the journey and Send Jay Away with Adrian Broaddus of 600 ESPN El Paso. From there, it was back to downtown to rest and recover a bit from the hours of driving.
From there, we headed up to Scenic Drive to take in the city of El Paso from a different perspective. Being down in the valley, I don’t think you get the true perspective of the city. That changes in a hurry as you climb the edge of the Franklin Mountains.
Folks, pic.twitter.com/7UrOLoh1U9
— Jay Arnold (@CoachJayArnold) September 20, 2025
To gaze out over the lights of El Paso and Juarez is breathtaking. A little bit of lightning only added to the theatrics. If you get the chance to journey out west, be sure to head up Scenic at night and get a view of the city.
The Game
Saturday saw us head to campus to check out some of the scenes around UTEP ahead of the game. For the uninformed, UTEP has an incredibly unique campus, beyond just the setting. The architecture is inspired by the nation of Bhutan, creating an incredible cultural blend. The center of that architecture is the traditional Bhutanese temple – the Lhakhang – right in the center of campus.
After walking around a bit, we headed towards the Sun Bowl for the contest, walking by tailgates along the way. The stadium itself defied expectations. Pictures don’t do it justice, and you simply have to experience it for yourself.
Unfortunately for UTEP, the success on the field hasn’t happened for a while. I won’t try to sell you on an electric crowd here, but the fans I did get to speak with were passionate about their team. It feels like a place dying to support their squad. With a bit of success, I can only imagine how much better this venue will be.
Not sure if I ever shared this video of the team entrance from UTEP but I thought the Mine Shaft was pretty rad pic.twitter.com/9K00yJ0PlU
— Jay Arnold (@CoachJayArnold) October 7, 2025
Still, the scenes alone make this place incredibly special. The Rose Bowl claims the best sunset in college football. I can’t claim to have seen it firsthand. What I can say is it’s hard to imagine any sunset being quite as iconic as the Sun Bowl. With the desert mountains looming all around, the sun slowly descended as the game began.
UTEP ultimately fell in the contest against Louisiana-Monroe 31-25, fighting to the bitter end after falling behind early. I know it’s not the results fans or the team wanted, but I am still incredibly grateful for the opportunity to take in a place like no other in college football.
Thank you to all of the incredible people who made this trip one that I’ll remember for the rest of my life. From the fans of El Paso to the staff at UTEP, who were incredible hosts, sending suggestions and even a bit of gear, to the original West Texas Road Trip boys, who joined me for yet another trek out west. Here’s to an incredible Send Jay Away trip once again.
I can’t wait to see where we head next.
Joe
December 9, 2025 at 9:24 am
I live in El Paso and love watching games at UTEP. The product hasn’t been very good for years but the town loves to support the Miners. Thanks for coming and I love that my city treated you well.