Nine years after the plans for Dell Medical School included the demolition of the Erwin Center and nearly three years after construction began on the Moody Center, the No. 12 Texas Longhorns will finally open their new arena on Monday evening with a game against the UTEP Miners, the first meeting between the two teams since 1991.
“I think there’s no denying that it’s not your normal night,” Texas head coach Chris Beard said on Sunday. “It’s definitely got an asterisk next to it. I know every place I’ve ever coached, or every place I’ve ever gone into, there’s always that picture of the first game ever in the arena and so I don’t think there’s any denying that — t’s not a normal game, it’s an historical night.