The “Mining Minds” pick at UTEP’s University Avenue roundabout will be illuminated in blue and orange Thursday and Friday evenings, March 19 and 20, to commemorate two special UTEP occasions.
On March 19, the special lighting will honor the 49th anniversary of the UTEP men’s basketball NCAA championship victory on March 19, 1966. On that historic day, the Texas Western (now UTEP) Miners started all African-American players for the first time in NCAA championship history. The story was told in the 2006 motion picture “Glory Road.”
The March 20 special lighting will commemorate the annual TCM Day festivities.
Celebrated each March near St. Patrick’s Day, TCM Day is the longest-running student tradition at The University of Texas at El Paso. The tradition began in 1920 when UTEP was known as the Texas College of Mines and Metallurgy, or TCM, as an annual rite of passage to initiate new engineers and geologists into the Order of St. Patrick, the patron saint of engineers.
Students, faculty and staff from all disciplines are invited to participate in the seven parts of TCM Day 2015, including the Team Mining Challenge.
“Mining Minds” is an iconic piece of public art installed in 2010 to enhance The University of Texas at El Paso campus. At night, orange lights illuminate the steel structure while light from LEDs emanate from the perforated “ones” and “zeroes” at each end of the pick.
On special occasions, including historic dates, major annual milestones and to celebrate special accomplishments, the pick is illuminated in blue and orange. Learn more about the statue and its artist at miningminds.utep.edu.