ENGLISH LANGUAGE RADIO AND TELEVISION

UTEP Football moves to the FM dial for the 2006 season! All games -- home and away -- can be heard in El Paso and throughout the Southwest on the FOX, KOFX 92.3 FM. In addition, Miner fans in the Abilene area can tune in for the excitement on KFGL 100.7 FM.

Selected road games will be seen on Time Warner Cable MetroSports Southwest Channel 24, in simulcast with the FOX.

Those outside the area can enjoy an audio stream of all games plus an accompanying video stream of home games via subscription at the Miners' official athletic department website, www.utepathletics.com.

The veteran tandem of Jon Teicher and Bernie Ricono celebrate their 15th season together calling the action.

Teicher is in his 26th season as the "Voice of the Miners" this fall. A native of Detroit, Mich. and a UCLA graduate, Teicher serves as UTEP's Assistant Athletics Director for Broadcasting. He first arrived in El Paso to call play-by-play for the Diablos minor league baseball team from 1980-84 and again from 1988-92. Teicher has also broadcast professional baseball in Portland, Ore. and in Wichita, Kan. Additionally he spent a season as the voice of the New Mexico State Aggies, five years as the host of the popular local afternoon show Sportstalk on KROD and three years as a sports anchor for CBS-4 Television.

During the season, Teicher hosts the Mike Price and Doc Sadler radio and television shows on the FOX and Time Warner Cable MetroSports Southwest plus Miner Sports Weekly, a half-hour look at UTEP Athletics, also on Time Warner Cable MetroSports Southwest. In the spring and summer months, he is involved in sales and promotions with ISP Sports. Teicher was inducted into the El Paso Athletic Hall of Fame in the spring of 2001.

A former collegiate coach, Ricono spent four seasons as the Miners' defensive coordinator in the mid-to-late `70s. He also coached at Eastern Illinois (with Denver Broncos Head Coach Mike Shanahan) and at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

Bernie Ricono

Since leaving the coaching profession, Ricono spent time as the General Manager of the Southwestern International Livestock Show and Rodeo and currently is the Director of Sponsorships for the El Paso Diablos.

UTEP Football coverage on the FOX starts one hour prior to kickoff with the Countdown to Kickoff Show. The 90-minute postgame show features the Locker Room Report and the popular Miner Talk program, an opportunity for fans to call in and discuss the game.

SPANISH RADIO

Beginning in 2006, ESPN Deportes 1150 AM will carry all UTEP football and men's basketball games in Spanish. Omar Ropele (play-by-play) and former Miner Mike Perez (color) are the commentators for football.

Ropele is in his second tour of duty as a sports anchor for Univision affiliate KINT-TV Channel 26. He returns to El Paso following a one-year stint as sports anchor for KXTX Telemundo in Dallas.

Ropele graduated from the University of Chihuahua with a degree in mass communication.

Before initially joining the staff at KINT-TV, the El Paso native spent four years with XHJUB-TV, working as a news editor, news writer, news reporter and sports reporter. He also created the sports segment on the morning news show, and was the host of a weekend sports radio program.

Perez played for the Miners from 2002-04, seeing time at defensive back and linebacker. The San Elizario, Texas native appeared in 37 games for UTEP, including eight starting assignments.

Perez had a career-high 64 tackles as a junior in 2003, and was credited with 123 takedowns in his Miner career. He also had 11.5 tackles for losses and three sacks. He was on the field for all 12 games in 2004, UTEP's first season under the direction of coach Mike Price. The 2004 Miners finished 8-4 and faced Big 12 North Division champion Colorado in the EV1.net Houston Bowl.

After graduating from UTEP with a degree in accounting, Perez has stayed in El Paso, working for New York Life Insurance Company.