There was something special about Sun Bowl Stadium when it opened on Sept. 21, 1963. On the first play from scrimmage at the then-30,000-seat stadium, Miner running back Larry Durham bolted 54 yards for a touchdown against North Texas State University. The Miners went on to score a 34-7 victory over the Eagles.

The Sun Bowl, home of the UTEP Miners, was the result of efforts by officials of the Sun Carnival, the supporting arm of the Sun Bowl game held each December. Officials realized that a 15,000 seat stadium such as Kidd Field, former home of the Miners and the Sun Bowl game, needed to be replaced in order to meet the needs of network television officials. Also, as the Miner football team became more successful, additional seats were needed to accommodate the growing number of fans.

A second deck on the Sun Bowl Stadium press box was added in 1969 and in 1982 extra seating was added. The present capacity is 51,500. The 1969 expansion includeded "The Captain's Club," a facility for special supporters to the university. In 1998, the Captain's Club had another facelift, this time with all of the chairbacks being reupholstered. 

Recent additions to the stadium have included a state-of-the-art 20-foot by 26-foot video board, three strategically-placed scoreboards and a grass-like artificial surface, AstroPlay. All three components were installed in 2001. In 2006, the press box facade was reconstructed to match the Bhutanese architecture of the UTEP campus.

Since 1968 the Brut Sun Bowl game has had a working arrangement with CBS television and the CBS radio network has been broadcasting the contest worldwilde on the Armed Forces radio Network. Last year's Sun Bowl was historic in nature, with Oregon State defeating Pittsburgh, 3-0, in the lowest scoring major bowl game in half of a century.

More than one million fans have passed through the Sun Bowl turnstiles during the Mike Price era, and the Miners set a school-record for attendance in 2005 at 47,899 fans per game. UTEP has played in front of four capacity crowds under Price, and sports a record of 19-11 at the venue since his arrival.

UTEP has played 261 games in the Sun Bowl, holding a 111-147-3 record. The Miners enjoyed undefeated home records in 2000 (5-0) and in 1988 (6-0).