Bob Stull Is Retiring – Here’s 5 Things The New Athletic Director Needs To Do

After a thirty year career at UTEP, Athletic Director Bob Stull is retiring to spend more time with his family. We wish Stull well in his retirement, but there are a few things the new guy, or gal, needs to do once they take over.

Before I started hanging out with Darren, I never really went to UTEP games. I took my boys to the occasional football or basketball game, but for the last eleven years, I've gotten a very close up view of UTEP athletics because Darren and I go to most of the home games. If the new athletic director wants to help the program out, this is what he/she needs to do:

1. No parking for non-season ticket holders at the Sun Bowl parking structure - Why should I have to buy season tickets in order to park in a space that is not being used? I've complained about this a lot. The next AD needs to make it easier for fans to park for football games.

2. Upgrade the restrooms - The restrooms at the Sun Bowl are like something out of a bad prison movie. I know it's just a place to pee, but does it really have to be so ugly?

3. Get better concession foods - I bought a churro at one of the games and was told by the concession worker that they are fried at the beginning of the season and whatever doesn't sell is refrigerated and brought back out for the next game. They aren't ever freshly made after the first game. That's disgusting, and it's the reason no one is willing to spend money on UTEP concessions.

4. Get us in a better conference - I don't know much about conferences and such, but I do know that when UTEP had rivalries with BYU, New Mexico, and Hawaii, among other schools in the WAC, there was a lot of excitement about the program. We need to get someone who can go out and get us in a conference that people care about.

5. Work with the City - UTEP and the City always seem to be trying to be the biggest dog in the yard and they don't work together to get things done. We need to use Dee Margo's connections, Paul Foster's connections, Diana Natalicio's connections, and any other connections to package and market El Paso and UTEP together. Whether you like them or not, we need to use the people who are here with money and pull to bring better things about for UTEP.

UTEP may be a commuter school and it may not ever be on par with UT Austin or Texas Tech, but we need to get our act together and be the best we can be and stop complaining about how crappy the school is. It's like greeting people at the door of your home and saying, "I know it's a dump, but I'm not going to bother to do anything to change it, so deal with it." We need to stop being so proud of being mediocre.