In the cutthroat world of NIL fundraising, a seven-figure donation can change a program’s trajectory overnight. For the struggling UTEP Miners, that’s precisely what happened on Thursday as they received a cash gift from a former player and his wife.

The program’s official account on X announced that former Miner Frank Sloan and his wife Shirley gifted the Miners $1 million. Per ESPN‘s Pete Thamel, the program “had less than $1 million in NIL last year for football.” Sloan’s gift is expected to be used for football NIL, which is significant as the Miners enter the Mountain West next season.

Frank Sloan was a wide receiver on the 1965 Miners team, appearing in 10 games and recording one reception for 7 yards. He was part of the famous squad that defeated TCU in the Sun Bowl. After his college career, Sloan moved into the wealth management sector in Dallas. The current donation is also linked to Sloan’s close friendship with UTEP’s head coach Scotty Walden.

“It is Shirley’s and my distinct honor to give back and support UTEP Football,” Frank Sloan said in a statement. “We believe in Coach Walden and see the value in making this investment during such a pivotal time for the program.”

In his statement, Walden praised Frank Sloan as a ‘great Miner and a great man.”

“I’m blessed to have developed a friendship with Frank over the last three years, and we are forever grateful for the Sloan family’s generosity. Their tremendous support of UTEP Football provides us with the necessary resources to retain and acquire elite talent. We are thankful for the Sloan family stepping up for Miner Football. Picks Up!” Walden said.

In the 2026-2027 athletic year, as they prepare to join one of the Group of Five conferences, the Miners have projected a sum of $3.45 million. And despite the size of their financial projections, which exceed the $21.3 million NCAA revenue-sharing cap, the program’s athletic director, Jim Senter, called it a “sizeable jump” in an email he sent to fans and donors. For things to change, he emphasized the need to provide the necessary resources.

“My sense is that, based on what our coaches know, when they go out recruiting athletes and we lose them to other schools, based on conversations I’ve had with other athletic directors, that our coaches have with other coaches, I would say we’re going to be on the bottom third of schools in the Mountain West Conference with $3.45 million, but that’s 300% better than this year when we had $1.1 million,” Senter said in an interview.

However, many critics pointed out the Miners’ performances on the field. In the 2025 season, they had a 2-10 record, which was the same regular-season record they had in 2024. Senter did not ignore the call-outs from fans and critics who questioned their need for money despite their consistently poor performances. He acknowledged the criticism but emphasized his focus on the core supporters, whom he believes are the key to returning the program to its glory days.

“You know, fans are going to be fans, and those people who will be critical of our enterprise and what we do, who won’t buy tickets or wait till we win—you know, it’ll be what it’s going to be. It’s the core people that I’m talking to, who I appreciate so much. We have some people who have stepped up in a really, really big way.”

Scotty Walden’s donation to the Miners

Not just the fans and donors have been called to raise funds, but the head coach has contributed as well. Scotty Walden and his wife, Callie, earlier announced that he will give $80,000 to the Miners’ revenue share for 2026, which is about 10% of his salary.

Walden has been among the most affected by the team’s inability to compete financially with others. While this could be his way of saving his job, the gesture is commendable, as few coaches go so far as to donate their own personal funds to their programs. In the past, Jon Sumrall donated a sum of $100,000 to Tulane shortly after he was fired to support the program’s NIL collective. Lane Kiffin did the same at Ole Miss during the COVID-19 pandemic.

And as they work on their finances, reports from their spring practices have also been very impressive for UTEP. According to Scotty Walden, the team has been very focused and more intentional about the details they usually would have overlooked