Dimel, UTEP football set for final week of 2023 season, battle with No. 22 Liberty
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – Dana Dimel and the UTEP football team were back on the practice field on Monday morning for the final week of practices of the 2023 season, before the Miners host No. 22 Liberty to close the season on Saturday.
It’s been a difficult campaign for the Miners; they’re 3-8 heading into the clash with the 11-0 Flames and there’s questions swirling both locally and nationally about Dimel’s future at UTEP as he nears the end of his sixth season in El Paso.
Dimel told KTSM a couple weeks ago that he and athletic director Jim Senter haven’t discussed the future of the program and Dimel’s place in it beyond this Saturday. The noise surrounding the program right now is hard to ignore, for fans and people around the country that follow the team and likely, for Dimel and the Miners themselves.
To their credit, they were out on the practice field on Monday preparing like they do every week, which Dimel said has to be part of his philosophy for dealing with the noise around the team right now.
“There’s outside noise in every program at every level. That’s the case whenever you don’t have a good season, or even with some programs when you have eight-win seasons. If a coach ever gets on social media or does anything, he’ll really curb his opinion on things, he’ll change how he coaches his teams,” Dimel said.
With the future still uncertain, Dimel and the Miners will look to pull a massive upset and finish the 2023 season on a high on Senior Day on Saturday vs. Liberty. Kickoff at the Sun Bowl is set for 1:30 p.m.
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