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Sun Bowl

Sun Bowl in El Paso, TX, home of UTEP. Capacity 51,500. Opened September 21, 1963.

Sun Bowl in El Paso, TX
Sun Bowl, El Paso, TXPhoto: Quintin Soloviev, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Capacity
51,500
Opened
1963
Surface
FieldTurf
Roof
Open air
Elevation
3,884 ft
Home team
UTEP
UTEP here
66–⁠81 games on file since 2001

Since it opened: UTEP is 150–⁠207–⁠3 in home games from the 1963 season on. Our source names a game’s stadium only from 2001, so that count takes every earlier home game not marked neutral and may include a few played elsewhere.

Biggest games here

From the games on file here, 2001 on: title and postseason games, meetings of two ranked teams, upsets by our pregame Elo ratings and the biggest swings in CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.

Crowds season by season

Average and biggest crowd at Sun Bowl by season, 2001 to 202610k20k30k40k50k60k2001: 31,913 a game over 5 games; biggest 47,8122002: 32,495 a game over 6 games; biggest 48,9172003: 23,745 a game over 8 games; biggest 49,8942004: 40,722 a game over 8 games; biggest 51,2882005: 48,260 a game over 7 games; biggest 51,5002006: 43,342 a game over 7 games; biggest 51,8272007: 38,468 a game over 7 games; biggest 49,8672008: 38,974 a game over 7 games; biggest 53,4152009: 32,539 a game over 7 games; biggest 53,7132010: 29,350 a game over 6 games; biggest 39,2142011: 29,965 a game over 7 games; biggest 48,1232012: 32,024 a game over 7 games; biggest 47,9222013: 31,632 a game over 6 games; biggest 47,9122014: 31,153 a game over 7 games; biggest 47,8092015: 26,206 a game over 6 games; biggest 41,1802016: 25,396 a game over 8 games; biggest 42,1662017: 22,940 a game over 6 games; biggest 39,8972018: 17,944 a game over 7 games; biggest 40,6802019: 20,710 a game over 7 games; biggest 42,4122020: 5,905 a game over 3 games; biggest 6,0562021: 19,344 a game over 7 games; biggest 34,5402022: 22,273 a game over 7 games; biggest 45,9712023: 22,455 a game over 7 games; biggest 48,2232024: 22,961 a game over 6 games; biggest 41,6092025: 19,983 a game over 7 games; biggest 44,9752026: 17,869 a game over 3 games; biggest 24,580200120062011201620212026

Biggest crowds on file

53,713Oklahoma at Stanford2009
53,415Texas at UTEP2008
51,827Texas Tech at UTEP2006
51,500New Mexico State at UTEP2006
51,500Marshall at UTEP2005

Bars are each season’s average crowd, dots its biggest (the record in orange), the dashed rule today’s capacity. Attendance is on file for most games from 2001 on.

Weather on game day

Coldest kickoffs

Hottest kickoffs

Coldest game days before 2004

Hottest game days before 2004

Kickoffs: the NOAA report nearest kickoff from the closest weather station (NOAA NCEI Integrated Surface Database). Game days: the day’s high and snowfall at the NOAA station nearest the stadium, for UTEP’s home games before 2004 (NOAA GHCN-Daily, public domain).

The stadium’s history

Opened
September 21, 1963
Architect
Garland & Hilles
Carroll & Daeuble
Surface over the years
Natural grass (1963–⁠1973)
AstroTurf (1974–⁠2000)
AstroPlay (2001–⁠2014)
FieldTurf (2015–present)
Expanded
1982
Renovated
2006, 2018

From the stadium’s Wikipedia article, Sun Bowl (stadium).

From above

50 mN ↑
The stadium’s footprint, north up: about 210 by 210 meters (700 by 680 feet), the field in green. Outline from OpenStreetMap, © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Recent games here

Oct 17, 2026San José State 24, UTEP 11
Oct 10, 2026Nevada 30, UTEP 13
Sep 26, 2026Oregon State 33, UTEP 7
Sep 12, 2026UTEP 51, Texas Southern 10
Dec 31, 2025Duke 42, Arizona State 39
Nov 22, 2025New Mexico State 34, UTEP 31
Nov 8, 2025Jacksonville State 30, UTEP 27
Oct 8, 2025Liberty 19, UTEP 8
Sep 27, 2025Louisiana Tech 30, UTEP 11
Sep 20, 2025UL Monroe 31, UTEP 25
Sep 6, 2025UTEP 42, UT Martin 17
Dec 31, 2024Louisville 35, Washington 34

Pouring rights

Coca-Cola has the stadium’s soft-drink pouring rights, on record since 2025. Single source.