Falcon Football - UTPB

RICHARDSON, Texas – The Lone Star Conference will grow to 10 member institutions as league officials announced Friday the University of Texas of the Permian Basin has accepted an invitation to join the conference in the fall of 2016. The UT System Board of Regents approved the move Thursday morning. The LSC Council of Presidents gathered at the NCAA Convention in Washington D.C. in January for their annual winter meeting, where they unanimously voted to extend an invitation to Texas-Permian Basin. "We are extremely pleased to have a program with great athletic and academic traditions in UTPB joining the Lone Star Conference," said Angelo State President Dr. Brian May, chair of the LSC President's Council. Located in Odessa, Texas, UTPB is a dynamic, growing campus with over 5,000 students. The Falcons sponsor 11 NCAA Division II sports (volleyball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's basketball, softball, ba

By Felix Chávez / El Paso Times Several area high school athletes will continue their athletic careers at the collegiate level at non-Division I schools. Five Canutillo students are among the 14 — four football players and a girls basketball player. Eastlake, Franklin, Andress and Americas had two players each signed. • Americas football player Nikales Sanchez will compete for Doane College in Nebraska. • Eastlake defensive back Nick Hamilton will continue his football career at Western New Mexico in Silver City. • Eastlake offensive lineman Charlie Holguin signed to play for Benedictine College in Atchison, Kan. • El Dorado wide receiver Alex Powell will continue his career at Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction, Colo. • Franklin wide receiver Braxton Hatch will continue his career at Dixie State University in St. George, Utah. • Franklin place-kicker Andrew Zubia will continue his career at Benedictine College. • Andress running back Johnny Smith will play

UTPB football head coach Justin Carrigan announced Friday the addition of two defensive coaches to his inaugural staff. Chris Mineo, a 2001 Permian graduate, has been brought aboard as co-defensive coordinator/defensive line coach and Jacob Martin, a two-time state championship player at Celina High School, will be co-defensive coordinator/linebackers coach. “I’m beyond excited to have these coaches join me in building this program,” Carrigan said. “I have never been around two guys more loyal and hardworking than Chris and Jacob. They are tireless recruiters and coaches who have an unbelievable amount passion for this game.” Mineo and Martin both were previously with Tarleton State as defensive assistants — Mineo for the past seven seasons and Martin for the past five. UTPB, which will play its first game in fall 2016, received its first batch of player commitments Wednesday, inking six on National Signing Day. Carrigan, also a former assistant with Tarleton State, was introduced a

By Joshua Weaver jweaver@oaoa.com Two weeks after being hired to lead the from-the-ground-up NCAA Division II UTPB football program, head coach Justin Carrigan welcomed his first batch of prep visitors. The recruiting tools are at a minimum right now. “Not one thing is in place, other than myself, that says football,” he said. But an edited video that had been taken by a drone showing a bird’s-eye view of the UTPB campus allowed Carrigan to point out where certain amenities, such as a practice field, will eventually be. A vision of the future. His main selling point. On Wednesday, the Falcons, who are scheduled to play their inaugural game in the fall of 2016, received their first six commitments during National Signing Day. “It’s unbelievable. To be able to sell them on the idea of redshirting for a year and seeing the big picture,” Carrigan said. “I don’t think it’s difficult to sell, but difficult for a 17- or 18-year-old kid to understand. We are in the now generation