UTEP fires Dimel 2 years after bowl appearance

Adam Rittenberg, ESPN Senior WriterNov 26, 2023, 01:13 PM ET

College football reporter.
Joined ESPN.com in 2008.
Graduate of Northwestern University.

UTEP on Sunday fired football coach Dana Dimel, who served for six seasons at the school.

Dimel went 20-49 with the Miners, including a New Mexico Bowl appearance in 2021, UTEP’s first since the 2014 season. UTEP went 3-9 this season and 2-6 in Conference USA play.

“We would like to thank Dana for the dedication and hard work that he has put in over the last six years, and we wish him the best in the future,” athletic director Jim Senter said in a statement. “Under his leadership, our football program has shown improvement in all the academic metrics, and we have had minimal off-the-field issues. When he was hired, UTEP Football was coming off a winless season, and he built a more competitive team. However, we have not seen the kind of improvement necessary to compete for and win championships. We determined that a change in leadership was needed for the program to move forward.”

The 61-year-old Dimel, who coached Wyoming and Houston earlier in his career, came to UTEP as Sean Kugler’s replacement after a lengthy run as Kansas State’s offensive coordinator under Bill Snyder. He’s 50-88 overall as an FBS head coach with four winning seasons.

The Miners finished their season with a 42-28 loss to No. 25 Liberty, the team’s third straight to end the season.

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