The Arizona–New Mexico football rivalry is an American

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

rivalry A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant o ...

between the

Arizona Wildcats The Arizona Wildcats are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of Arizona, located in Tucson, Arizona, Tucson. The Wildcats compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Divis ...

and

New Mexico Lobos The New Mexico Lobos are the athletic teams that represent the University of New Mexico, located in Albuquerque. The university participates in the NCAA Division I in the Mountain West Conference (MW) since 1999, after leaving the Western Athle ...

. They have met 67 times on the football field. Arizona leads the series 44–20–3.

Kit Carson Rifle

From 1938 to 1990, the winner of the rivalry took ownership of the Kit Carson Rifle. The gun is a

Springfield Model 1866 The Springfield Model 1866 was the second iteration of the Allin-designed trapdoor breech-loading mechanism. Originally developed as a means of converting rifle muskets to breechloaders, the Allin modification ultimately became the basis for ...

rifle that is rumored to have once belonged to the famous frontier scout,

Kit Carson Christopher Houston Carson (December 24, 1809 – May 23, 1868) was an American frontiersman. He was a fur trapper, wilderness guide, Indian agent, and U.S. Army officer. He became a frontier legend in his own lifetime by biographies and n ...

. Game scores from each game are carved into the stock of the rifle. Prior to the 1997 Insight.com Bowl, the two schools announced that they would retire the rifle due to concerns of its history of violence against Native Americans and it has not been used during any subsequent games between the two schools.

Game results

* Non-conference games (34: 1908–1930, 1951–1961 and 1978–2015) * Two bowl games: 1997 and 2015 * Not played in 46 seasons (1914–1919, 1943–1945, 1978–1986, 1988–1989, 1991–1996, 1998–2006, 2009–2014 and 2016–2021)

Coaching records

Since first game on November 26, 1908

Arizona

New Mexico

References