When UTEP moved to online classes a month ago, Eric Vila, a 6-foot-11 forward for the Miners basketball team, had a chance to return home to Spain to ride out the coronavirus.
Spain was on its way to becoming one of the hardest-hit nations in the world by the coronavirus, and Vila made the decision to stay in America. Now he doesn't have a choice, as his native country has closed its borders and Vila is riding out the lockdown with his girlfriend in California.