UTEP Athletics has signed its first-ever uniform sponsorship deal, adding a GECU logo patch to football and both basketball programs' jerseys under a new three-year partnership. The Miners announced the agreement at a news conference at the Durham Center, marking the moment El Paso's flagship athletic program cashed in on newly loosened NCAA advertising rules.
The deal, first reported by the El Paso Times, comes after the NCAA changed its rules on August 1 to allow advertising logos on uniforms for the first time. UTEP athletic director Jim Senter said GECU was first in line for the sponsorship, a nod to a relationship the credit union and the university have maintained for more than 15 years. According to the paper's reporting, UTEP and GECU have not disclosed any financial terms of the arrangement.
UTEP modeled four new uniforms at the announcement, including a white jersey, a blue jersey, an orange jersey, and a throwback Texas Western uniform in black with orange trim. Each will carry the GECU logo patch, per the report. UTEP football head coach Scotty Walden said the university is honored to partner with GECU in a new era of college football, while GECU representative Alex Rascon said the uniforms represent a partnership built on teamwork, leadership, integrity and excellence.
A Rule Change Years in the Making
The NCAA Division I Cabinet approved the new patch rules on January 23, permitting programs to place up to two commercial sponsor patches, each no larger than 4 square inches, on uniforms and apparel, along with one logo on equipment, beginning August 1. That framework is what allowed UTEP to move forward with GECU, according to NCAA.org. Before this year, NCAA rules restricted uniform markings strictly to apparel manufacturer logos.
The shift traces back to final judicial approval in June 2025 of the $2.8 billion House v. NCAA antitrust settlement, which permits Division I athletic departments to share up to an estimated $20.5 million annually in revenue directly with student-athletes starting in the 2025–2026 academic year, as detailed by Jackson Lewis. That settlement created immediate budget pressure across Division I athletics, pushing schools nationwide to find new revenue streams fast. UTEP is one of many programs treating jersey ads as a direct answer to that financial squeeze.
Not Just Any Sponsor
GECU's path to becoming UTEP's first uniform sponsor didn't start this year. The credit union funded the GECU Terrace at Sun Bowl Stadium in 2020 and became UTEP's first court and field sponsor in 2024, placing its brand on the football turf and basketball floor, according to UTEP Athletics. GECU first signed on as UTEP's official credit union back in 2019, in what was then the largest sponsorship in program history.
The three-year uniform deal itself was negotiated by Van Wagner Sports and Entertainment, which has served as UTEP Athletics' exclusive multimedia rights holder and sales agent since May 2019. Van Wagner manages in-venue signage and promotional rights across all 11 UTEP athletic facilities, giving the agency a hand in most of the university's commercial partnerships, including this one.
UTEP Isn't Alone in the Patch Rush
UTEP joins a wave of Division I programs that moved quickly once the NCAA opened the door. Michigan State University partnered with MSU Federal Credit Union across all 23 of its varsity sports, while the University of Kansas struck a patch deal with a cryptocurrency firm, according to Sports Business Journal reporting relayed via a Reddit thread tracking the rule change. Financial institutions and credit unions have been among the most aggressive early adopters of college jersey advertising nationwide.
There are limits to where fans will actually see the GECU patch. Sponsor patches are allowed during regular-season and conference championship games, and teams may wear them during College Football Playoff games since the CFP isn't an official NCAA championship. But per CBS Sports, the patches must come off if a team competes in an official NCAA championship event like March Madness, due to conflicts with the NCAA's own national sponsors.
Timed to UTEP's Mountain West Debut
The jersey deal lands just weeks after UTEP officially joined the Mountain West Conference on July 1, ending a 21-year run in Conference USA and restoring regional rivalries with New Mexico, Air Force, Wyoming, and UNLV, as Hoodline reported in UTEP's move back into the spotlight. The GECU logo will now appear on Miner jerseys in Oklahoma, Michigan, and every other Mountain West city UTEP visits this season. The football team is set to debut the patch during its season opener at Oklahoma on September 4, according to the El Paso Times.
The timing is no coincidence. Mountain West Conference athletic events this season will air on national broadcasts across CBS Sports, Fox Sports, and The CW Network, giving GECU exposure well beyond El Paso. UTEP Athletics also launched Phase Two of its Climb Higher campaign to support the conference move, setting three-year goals of 2,500 Miner Athletic Club donors, 100 major donors giving $30,000 or more, and 10,500 season ticket holders. Local philanthropists Paul Foster and Alejandra de la Vega-Foster pledged $2.5 million to UTEP Athletics in June to help fund the transition, a sign that corporate sponsorship deals like GECU's are arriving alongside a broader push for private and donor support.
