While it's been a bumpy start to the Scotty Walden era at UTEP, there's reason to beleive that the future of the Miners' football program is bright.

On top of a strong 2025 recruiting class and a belief inside the walls of the Durham Center, it appears that UTEP could be due for an upgrade in conference affiliation as well.

According to a report from ESPN's Pete Thamel, the Miners are in the "final stages" of leaving Conference USA to join the Mountain West Conference.

Additionally, Thamel reports that the Miners have informed CUSA officials of their intent to leave the league and that a formal announcement is expected to be made soon.

Thamel's report corroborates with one from Action Network's Brett McMurphy, who says the Miners will join the Mountain West as full members in 2026.

UTEP will become the seventh full member of the MWC, joining Air Force, Nevada, New Mexico, San Jose State, UNLV and Wyoming, as well as football-only member Hawaii.

After spending the last 20 years as members of Conference USA, it's quite a shocking development to hear that the Miners are on the move, but such is life in the age of conference realignment.

UTEP is 0-4 this season and coming off a bye week in Week 5. The Miners are set to face Sam Houston (4-1) on Thursday, October 3 (8:00 p.m.).