EL PASO, Texas -- The UTEP Bookstore was packed Thursday and some hotels are booked for this weekend, all because the Texas Longhorns are coming to town.

Weekends like this upcoming one are the reason for which the Hilton Garden Inn on campus was built.

"For the Garden Inn, it's great. We've been sold out roughly about two months prior to the game; we had a full house," said Lorenzo Flores, general manager of the Hilton Garden Inn.

And plenty of plastic was being swiped Thursday at the UTEP Bookstore.

"I walked up here from work just to grab a T-shirt for my wife for the game on Saturday," said Jesus Mena from East El Paso.

"I'm here shopping for some UTEP clothing for Saturday's game," said Israel Chavez from East El Paso.

No matter what the score on Saturday, the game is guaranteed to be good for business, as the bookstore seems to be running up the score at the register.

"Our merchandise sales are up over last year about 12 percent, so we're very pleased with how things are going over at the bookstore," said Victor Pacheco with the UTEP Bookstore.

The gameday T-shirt was the biggest seller on Thursday, with them running out. However, the employees said not to worry, as more are expected to arrive on Friday.

"The gameday shirt, the UT Austin/UTEP gameday shirt, is selling real well," said Pacheco.

"I know the gameday shirts are gone; that's what I came out here to look for," said Mena.