UTEP Upgrades Sun Bowl Video Board Using Daktronics Renew Program
2026-08-17 · via invidis
The University of Texas at El Paso has replaced the LED modules on its main stadium video display without touching the structure around them, using Daktronics' Renew program ahead of the 2026 football season.
For operators managing large-format LED, this is a useful case study in how a Renew-style upgrade differs from a full teardown. The Sun Bowl board keeps its original footprint, 33.5 feet high by 60 feet wide, but moves from a 15HD pixel configuration to a 10 mm pixel pitch. Daktronics says that change delivers 50% more LEDs and 4.5 times the previous resolution, which the company says improves image clarity and contrast.
The key point is what didn't change. Daktronics' Renew approach swaps out the LED technology while leaving the existing display structure, steel, and mounting in place. That's a materially different project than a ground-up replacement, both in cost and in downtime, though the announcement does not give a price or a timeline for the installation work.
Content flexibility retained
The refreshed board keeps the ability to run as a single large canvas or split into multiple zones. UTEP can use it for live video, instant replays, stats, game information, graphics, and sponsorship content, the same kind of zoning that most large-venue displays now offer as standard.
Daktronics also supplied its Show Control system on this project, handling display control, video processing, data integration, and content playback. That's the software and control layer that ties the improved panel to whatever content UTEP's production team is running on game day, and it suggests this was sold as a full system upgrade rather than just a panel swap.
Context: a new conference, a sharper screen
The timing lines up with UTEP's move into the Mountain West Conference, which the university officially joined on July 1. A higher-resolution board is a visible signal for a program stepping into a new conference, and it likely matters for how the university sells sponsorship inventory on the display going forward, though the release doesn't quantify any commercial impact.
For other venue operators sitting on older 15HD or similar boards, this is a reminder that Daktronics is actively pitching Renew as an alternative to full replacement. It lets a venue upgrade image quality and LED density inside a structure that may otherwise still have years of useful life left, without absorbing the cost of new steel and framing. What the announcement doesn't say is how the resolution jump compares to newer stadium boards installed from scratch, or what the module upgrade cost relative to a full replacement, information venue managers weighing the same decision would want before choosing between Renew and a ground-up install.
The announcement in full
Reproduced from invidis for reference. Digital Signage Magazine did not write the text below.
The University of Texas at El Paso has upgraded the main video display at Sun Bowl Stadium without changing its physical dimensions.
The scoreboard refresh comes just in time for the 2026 football season, using Daktronics’ Renew program to improve image quality while retaining the existing display structure.
The video board is still 33.5 feet (10.2 meters) high by 60 feet (18.3 meters) wide, but now uses a 10 mm pixel pitch in place of the previous 15HD configuration. According to Daktronics, the upgrade provides 50% more LEDs and 4.5 times the previous resolution, improving image clarity and contrast.
Rather than replacing the entire display structure, the Renew approach upgrades the LED technology within the existing installation. The refreshed board can operate as one large canvas or be divided into multiple content zones for live video, instant replays, statistics, game information, graphics and sponsorship content.
Daktronics also supplied its Show Control system as part of the project, covering display control, video processing, data integration and content playback.
The upgrade arrives as UTEP begins its first football season as a member of the Mountain West Conference, which the university officially joined on July 1.