UTEP’s Jim Senter named to NCAA D1 council and football bowl subdivision committee

EL PASO, Texas – UTEP Vice President and Director of Athletics Jim Senter has been appointed to the NCAA Division I Council and NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision Oversight Committee as the representative from Conference USA.

Senter will serve two-year appointments on each committee, beginning immediately and concluding in 2026.

“I am honored to serve on both of these committees and represent our great University and conference at the national level,” Senter said. “I look forward to collaborating with and learning from my distinguished peers as we strive to make the student-athlete experience the best that it can be.”

The Division I Council is composed of 40 high-level individuals including conference commissioners, athletics directors, athletics administrators, senior women’s administrators, faculty athletics representative and student-athletes. The council is responsible for the day-to-day decision-making in Division I.

The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision Oversight Committee is tasked with enhancing the development of the sport and making recommendations related to regular-season and postseason football. The committee prioritizes enhancement of the student-athlete educational experience (academically and athletically), while promoting student-athletes’ personal growth and leadership development simultaneously. The committee collaborates with the appropriate governance entities to provide solutions to issues impacting the health and safety of football student-athletes.

Senter is entering his seventh full year leading the Miners this fall. Since his arrival in the Sun City, he has hired head coaches in nine sports (men’s basketball, women’s basketball, football, men’s golf, women’s golf, soccer, softball, indoor and beach volleyball). 

On the field, highlights from the Senter era have included the football team earning its first bowl appearance in seven years, volleyball making the only postseason tournament appearances in school history (including finishing runner-up at the 2023 NIVC), women’s cross country capturing its first conference championship, and women’s track and field winning the Conference USA Indoor title. The Miners have excelled academically as well. In 2024, UTEP set school records with 219 student-athletes making the Conference USA Commissioner’s Academic Honor Roll (minimum 3.0 GPA), and 77 receiving CUSA Commissioner’s Academic Medals (minimum 3.75 GPA).