The New Mexico–New Mexico State football rivalry, known as the Battle of I-25 and the Rio Grande Rivalry in all sports, is an annual football game between the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25,400 ...

and

New Mexico State University New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public land-grant research university based primarily in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest public institution of higher education in New Mexico and one of the state's tw ...

. It is called the Battle of I-25 because the two universities are located along

Interstate 25 Interstate 25 (I-25) is a major Interstate Highway in the western United States. It is primarily a north–south highway, serving as the main route through New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming. I-25 stretches from I-10 at Las Cruces, New Mexic ...

connecting

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

and Las Cruces. In the entire history of the rivalry, the game has never been contested anywhere beside those two cities.

Series history

The rivalry between

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

's only two

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

institutions dates back to January 1, 1894 – eighteen years before New Mexico achieved statehood – when the schools met in a football contest in Albuquerque. While it is clear that New Mexico won that first game, school records seem to disagree on the score. According to New Mexico media guides the final score was 25–5 but according to New Mexico State media guides the score was 18–6. By the time New Mexico entered the union in 1912 UNM and New Mexico A&M (as NMSU was known prior to 1959) had already met on the gridiron six times. Beginning in 1993, the two universities played for the Maloof Trophy, but it was short-lived; the trophy was retired in 2000. Until 1937, the series was competitive with the Aggies holding a 15–12–4 lead over the Lobos. Since 1938, the Lobos have dominated the series 55–16–1 except during 1959–1968 when the Aggies won 7 of 10 meetings. The Lobos all-time advantage is 73–33–5, however the rivalry remains spirited. Most recently the Aggies defeated the Lobos 21–9 on October 15, 2022. The September 26, 2009 game when the Aggies won 20–17 in Albuquerque was the 100th time the teams had played each other. In August 2020, New Mexico State postponed football and fall sports due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

with consideration for a spring football season. The

Mountain West Conference The Mountain West Conference (MW) is one of the collegiate athletic conferences affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) (formerly I-A). The MW officially began operations o ...

initially postponed fall sports for New Mexico and other member schools as well, but New Mexico and other member schools began a conference-only schedule beginning in late October. The 2020 season was the first since 1945 without the rivalry game.

Game results

* Non-conference games (94: 1894–1930 and 1951–present) * Not played in 17 seasons (1895–1904, 1907, 1910, 1918, 1943–1945 and 2020)

Coaching records

Since first game on January 1, 1894

New Mexico

New Mexico State

* John O. Miller's overall record in series was 2–0–0 ()

References