The irony was, that CUSA membership vote took place in the spring (April?) right after Mike Price arrived at UTEP, and UTEP beat LA Tech in football 44-27 in Ruston in 2004. It was the only time
since 1939 that UTEP has beaten LA Tech in football.
I still maintain that LA Tech would have been invited to join CUSA in 2005 instead of UTEP, if not for that one loss. The timing of that loss was just terrible for LA Tech. With Mike Price's arrival, everyone was suddenly more optimistic than ever about UTEP fortunes. So when Price's first team beat LA Tech in Ruston for the first time since 1939, everyone in CUSA thought UTEP's fortunes were much better than Tech's.
UTEP has lost every single game to LA Tech since.
LA Tech owns the series with 10 wins, 2 losses and 1 tie.
http://www.winsipedia.com/louisiana-tech/vs/utep