The New Mexico State Aggies football team represents
New Mexico State University
New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public, land-grant, research university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1888, it is the state's oldest public institution of higher education, and was the original land-g ...
in
NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision
The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As ...
(FBS)
college football
College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...
as a member of
Conference USA
Conference USA (CUSA) is a collegiate athletic conference of member institutions in the Southern and Western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. CUSA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas.
Mem ...
.
New Mexico State spent the 2013 season as an independent and from 2014 to 2017 as a football–only member of the
Sun Belt Conference
The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that has been affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football confe ...
, New Mexico State began playing as an independent again with the 2018 football season. On November 5, 2021, New Mexico State announced it would be joining
Conference USA
Conference USA (CUSA) is a collegiate athletic conference of member institutions in the Southern and Western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. CUSA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas.
Mem ...
in all sports including football starting in 2023.
History
Early history (1893–1985)
One of New Mexico State's earliest football games was the first match-up against in-state rival
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...
on January 1, 1894. From 1914 to 1916,
Clarence Russell served as head football coach of the Aggies, compiling a 7–2–6 record.
Dutch Bergman served as head coach from 1920 to 1922, compiling a record of 12–1–5.
R. R. Brown served as the head football coach of the Aggies from 1923 to 1925.
He led the 1923 team to an undefeated 9–0 record, including victories over
Hardin–Simmons, and rival teams
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...
, and
UTEP.
Jerry Hines began coaching the Aggies in 1929, and was also coach of the men's basketball team. Hines’ teams competed well in the new Border Conference. Between 1934 and 1938, the football record was 31–10–6, and the team was invited to the first
Sun Bowl in 1936 where they tied the powerful
Hardin–Simmons Cowboys 14–14. Hines's coaching career ended with his induction into military service during World War II.
Julius H. Johnstontook over the Aggies football team after Hines's resignation,
and led the Aggies for three seasons before departing to serve in World War II.
In his absence, assistant coach
Maurice Moulder led the team.
Johnston's record was 6–21. The Aggies did not field a football team from 1944 to 1945 because of the events surrounding World War II.
From 1946 to 1947,
Ray Curfman was the head coach of the Aggies, then in the
Border Conference
The Border Conference, officially known as the Border Intercollegiate Athletic Association, was an NCAA-affiliated college athletic conference founded in 1931 that disbanded following the 1961–62 school year. Centered in the southwestern Unite ...
.
Curfman's Aggies compiled an 8–11 record. He resigned in December 1947 to work in the sporting goods industry in
Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
. From 1948 to 1957, NMSU compiled a dismal 21–74 record under four head coaches (Vaughn Corley, Joseph Coleman, James Patton and Anthony Cavallo) that were either fired or forced to resign in succession.
Fan support and attendance declined, recruiting was becoming more difficult and alumni and administration support was drying up. This would be a sign of things to come for the Aggie football program.
Future
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive Tourist attraction, attraction devoted to college football, college American football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players ...
inductee
Warren B. Woodson took over as head coach in 1958.
He previously had success at the
Conway Teachers College (now Central Arkansas) and
Hardin–Simmons. In his second season at New Mexico State, Woodson's team defeated
North Texas
North Texas is a term used primarily by residents of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex to refer to a geographic area of Texas, generally considered to include the area south of Oklahoma, east of Abilene, Texas, Abilene, west of Paris, Texas, Par ...
in the 1959
Sun Bowl.
The following year, Woodson guided the Aggies to an 11–0 finish, the only perfect season in school history. That year, New Mexico State defeated
Utah State, 20–13, in the 1960
Sun Bowl and attained a final
AP Poll ranking of 17th. Quarterback
Charley Johnson won the bowl
MVP
MVP most commonly refers to:
* Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition
* Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering
MVP may also refer to:
...
honors both years becoming the first and still only player in NCAA history to win the MVP award from the same bowl game in back-to-back years.
Johnson went on to play in the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
for 15 years with the
St. Louis Cardinals,
Houston Oilers
The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston, Texas, from its founding in 1960 Houston Oilers season, 1960 to 1996 Houston Oilers season, 1996. The Houston Oilers began play as a charter member of the Ame ...
and
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...
. During his NFL career he managed to complete a Doctorate in
Chemical Engineering
Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of the operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials ...
making him one of only a handful of NFL player to earn a Ph.D. Dr. Johnson subsequently retired as a professor and department head of the Chemical Engineering school at NMSU. The Aggies continued to fare well under Woodson through the 1967 season.
However at the end of that season, university administration, with whom Woodson had a contentious relationship throughout his career, invoked a clause requiring state employees to retire at age 65.
Thus Woodson, who would turn 65 that offseason, was essentially forced out despite a 7–2–1 1967 campaign that ended with a 54–7 shellacking of archrival
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...
.
Despite some impressive single game wins and individual player stats, the Aggies have struggled as a team in the days since Warren Woodson.
Since his departure Aggie football has spiraled into an abyss of perennial futility that some Aggie fans have begun to refer to as the "
Woodson Curse."
In the 49 seasons between Woodson's firing and 2016, NMSU amassed just four winning seasons while failing to appear in a single bowl game until the
2017 Arizona Bowl.
From 1968 to 1985, NMSU's football program declined, failing to reach a single bowl game and struggling to win football games. The Aggies' best season during this time period was a 5–5–1 mark in 1971 under head coach
Jim Wood.
Jim Bradley,
Gil Krueger and
Fred Zechman also led the Aggies football program during these years and they failed to produce any winning seasons as they were fired as a result.
In 1978, Krueger and the Aggies went 6–5 and won the Missouri Valley Conference.
Mike Knoll era (1986–1989)
In December 1985,
Miami
Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
linebackers coach and former Aggies linebackers coach
Mike Knoll was named NMSU's new head coach, replacing the fired Zechman. Under Knoll, the Aggies were abysmal, compiling a 4–40 record that included a 17-game losing streak at the end.
In each of Knoll's four seasons, the Aggies were outscored by at least 200 points. Knoll was fired after a winless 1989 season.
Jim Hess era (1990–1996)
NMSU, hoping for a positive change in results, hired
Jim Hess away from
Stephen F. Austin in December 1989. In November 1990, the Aggies managed to snap their 27-game losing streak,
the longest active losing streak at the time,
when they defeated
Cal State Fullerton 43–9.
Fullerton dropped its football program following the 1992 season. The 1988–90 NMSU team is ranked the ninth worst college football team of all time by ESPN.
The Aggies were also featured in the August 31, 1992, issue of Sports Illustrated in a piece that chronicles a tradition of losing games. Overall, the same subpar results remained under Hess, leading to his firing after seven seasons. Hess' record at NMSU was 22–55. However, Hess did lead the Aggies to their first winning season in 14 years in 1992, a 6–5 campaign.
Tony Samuel era (1997–2004)
Nebraska
Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...
defensive ends coach
Tony Samuel took over the Aggies football program in December 1996. Under Samuel's guidance, New Mexico State compiled a 34–57 record. The highlight of Samuel's tenure was on September 18, 1999, when the Aggies traveled to
Tempe and upset No. 22 ranked
Arizona State by a shocking 35–7 score, bringing much-needed attention to the football program. Running back
Denvis Manns became the third college football player to rush for 1,000 yards each of his four seasons. At that time the only other backs that had accomplished the feat at that time were
Tony Dorsett
Anthony Drew Dorsett Sr. (born April 7, 1954) is an American former professional American football, football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos.
Raised in western Pennsylvani ...
(
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
) and Amos Lawrence (
North Carolina
North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
). Although Samuel would lead the Aggies to winning records in
1999
1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons.
Events January
* January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers.
* January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...
and
2002
The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...
, the Aggies failed to win a conference title or receive a bowl game bid under his leadership and his contract was not renewed following a 5–6 season in
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
.
Hal Mumme era (2005–2008)
NMSU turned to former
Kentucky
Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...
head coach
Hal Mumme
Hal Clay Mumme (born March 29, 1952) is a former American football player, and current offensive analyst for the Sullivan East H.S Patriots football program. He most recently served as an offensive advisor for the Dallas Renegades of the XFL (20 ...
to turn around the moribund program in December 2004. Mumme brought his high-scoring, pass-oriented offense known as the "Air Raid" to NMSU. Under Mumme, the Aggies compiled an 11–38 record. At the end of the 2008 season the Aggies ended their fourth season under Mumme at 3–9 (1–7 WAC) with a disappointing 47–2 loss to
Utah State. The following Tuesday, December 2, Mumme was fired. The 15-year NFL veteran quarterback
Charley Johnson, who an
alumnus and was then a
chemical engineering
Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of the operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials ...
professor at New Mexico State, was appointed as interim head coach during the search for a replacement.
DeWayne Walker era (2009–2012)
UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...
defensive coordinator
DeWayne Walker was named NMSU's head coach on December 31, 2008, signifying a new direction for the pass offense-oriented squad. Under Walker's tutelage, NMSU compiled a 10–40 record,
failing to win more than four games in a given season.
Walker, facing mounting pressure from administration, alumni and fans, resigned as head coach and departed NMSU to serve as defensive backs coach for the NFL's
Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...
.
Doug Martin era (2013–2021)

NMSU hired
Boston College
Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...
offensive coordinator and former
Kent State head coach
Doug Martin as the program's 34th head coach in February 2013. Martin had previously been offensive coordinator at NMSU during the 2011 season helping obtain the school's first victory over a Big Ten team (
Minnesota
Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
) before being hired away by
Boston College
Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...
. In Martin's first season at the helm, the Aggies compiled a 2–10 record. The 2015 season saw the Aggies finish with a 3–9 win–loss record, with all three wins coming in Sun Belt Conference play, where the Aggies finished tied for 5th. The results included a loss to local rival UTEP in The Battle of I-10 by a score of 50–47 in OT, marking the 7th straight loss to the Miners in the series. On December 2, 2017, the Aggies defeated
South Alabama 22–17 at Aggie Memorial Stadium to finish the regular season at 6–6 and advance to its first bowl game in 57 years, where they would play in the
Arizona Bowl at
Arizona Stadium in
Tucson
Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...
on December 29, 2017. New Mexico State defeated
Utah State 26–20 in
overtime
Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways:
*by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society) ...
in front of a loud partisan crowd for New Mexico State. It was the first winning season for the Aggies since 2002.
Jerry Kill era (2022–2023)
On November 28, 2021, former
Minnesota
Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
head coach
Jerry Kill was officially named the next head coach for the Aggies. Kill, a successful former head coach who stepped away due to health issues, signed a five-year contract that pays $550,000 per year. In Kill's first season in
2022
The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
the Aggies stumbled to a 1–5 start before a midseason turnaround saw them win five of their last six games to finish the regular season 6–6 and receive a bid to the
Quick Lane Bowl where they defeated
Bowling Green
A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls.
Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...
24–19.
On November 18, 2023, during Coach Kill's second season, the Aggies delivered a 31-10 beatdown to the Auburn University Tigers of the SEC, in an historic upset victory. The win marked head coach Jerry Kill's second consecutive victory over Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze, who was the head coach of Liberty University when the Flames lost to the Aggies in 2022.
Tony Sanchez era (2024–present)
On January 4, 2024, former
UNLV
The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. ...
head coach and New Mexico State player
Tony Sanchez was officially named head coach for the Aggies, after coach Jerry Kill stepped down. He signed a five-year contract that will pay him $600,000 in his first year, but increases each year by $25,000 reaching $700,000 in 2028. Additional bonus will be added for reaching a bowl game and/or winning six or more games.
Conference affiliations
* Independent (1893–1930)
*
Border Conference
The Border Conference, officially known as the Border Intercollegiate Athletic Association, was an NCAA-affiliated college athletic conference founded in 1931 that disbanded following the 1961–62 school year. Centered in the southwestern Unite ...
(1931–1961)
* Independent (1962–1970)
*
Missouri Valley Conference
The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the fourth-oldest collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the Midwestern Unite ...
(1971–1982)
*
Big West Conference
The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's NCAA Division I, Division I. The conference was origina ...
(1983–2000)
*
Sun Belt Conference
The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that has been affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football confe ...
(2001–2004)
*
Western Athletic Conference
The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the Western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, Texas, Utah and Washington (state), Washington.
Due to ...
(2005–2012)
* Independent (2013)
* Sun Belt (2014–2017)
*
Independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States
* Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...
(2018–2022)
*
Conference USA
Conference USA (CUSA) is a collegiate athletic conference of member institutions in the Southern and Western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. CUSA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas.
Mem ...
(2023–present)
WAC realignment and Sun Belt era, 2010–2017
From 2010 to 2013, the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) underwent a
major realignment, which would leave the conference with only two football-playing members as of the 2013 season (NMSU and
Idaho
Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...
). As a result, the WAC could no longer sponsor football as a conference sport.
On September 12, 2012, New Mexico State announced that it would stay in the
Football Bowl Subdivision
The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As ...
(FBS) and become an independent for 2013, while exploring potential conference affiliations for future seasons. In 2014, New Mexico State's football team returned to the
Sun Belt Conference
The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that has been affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football confe ...
(of which the school was formerly a full member) as an "associate member" for that sport only, while keeping its other sports in the WAC. However, on March 1, 2016, the Sun Belt Conference announced via teleconference that New Mexico State's football-only associate membership would not be renewed following the 2017 FBS season because it, along with fellow football-only member Idaho, were too far from the Sun Belt's geographic "footprint" in the Southeastern United States. New Mexico State football then resumed its independent status at the start of the 2018 season.
On November 5, 2021, New Mexico State announced it would be joining
Conference USA
Conference USA (CUSA) is a collegiate athletic conference of member institutions in the Southern and Western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. CUSA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas.
Mem ...
in all sports including football starting in 2023.
It will be joining alongside new members
Sam Houston State,
Jacksonville State, and
Liberty
Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...
. Also, it will be joining
Battle of I-10 rival
UTEP in the conference.
Conference USA realignment 2021–2023
In 2021, the New Mexico State Aggies were accepted to join Conference USA and would start by 2023. The Aggies, coming off a Quick Lane Bowl winning season, were hungry to join a conference, and after being independent for years, they finally had a chance. In 2023, the Aggies put together a 10–3 regular season and earned a spot in the
2023 CUSA Championship against the
Liberty Flames, also making their debut in the conference and its championship game.
Conference championships
Bowl games
The Aggies have a 4–1–1 record in their bowl games.
The Aggies went 57 seasons between bowl appearances (December 31, 1960 – December 29, 2017), which had been the longest current drought by an FBS team.
Rivalries
New Mexico
NMSU's biggest rival is in-state foe
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...
. The series, known as the Rio Grande Rivalry, dates back to January 1, 1894 – eighteen years before the state of 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 61–20–1 except during 1959–1968 when the Aggies won 7 of 10 meetings. The Lobos' all-time advantage is 73–35–5; however, the rivalry remains spirited.
The September 26, 2009, game when the Aggies won 20–17 in Albuquerque was the 100th time the teams had played each other. Including that 100th meeting, the series is even at 7 wins each over the past 14 meetings. Most recently, the Aggies beat the Lobos 27–17 in Albuquerque in 2023.
UTEP
The Aggies also hold a rivalry with
UTEP, known as the Battle of I-10. Although UTEP holds the series lead at 57–38–2,
this is largely due to dominance in the series from the 1920s to the 1960s. From 1969 through 2000, each team acquired 16 victories each. However, UTEP's advantage is now 13–6 in the last 19 games.
The winner of the annual matchup receives a pair of traveling trophies. The older of the two is known as the Silver Spade. It is a replica of an old prospector's shovel found in an abandoned mine in the
Organ Mountains
The Organ Mountains (also known as La Sierra de los Órganos) are a rugged mountain range in southern New Mexico in the Southwestern United States. Organ Mountains–Desert Peaks National Monument was declared a national monument on May 21, 2014 ...
near Las Cruces and has been traded between the schools since 1955. A second trophy, officially titled the Mayor's Cup but commonly nicknamed the Brass Spittoon, was added in 1982.
Due to the close proximity of the campuses it was natural for a rivalry to develop. The Texas College of Mines played its first ever game against a collegiate opponent versus New Mexico A&M on October 31, 1914, and with few exceptions, including during World War I and World War II, the teams would meet again every year. Following World War II the series resumed on an annual basis from 1946 until 2001, when UTEP's administration made the controversial decision to cancel their scheduled trip to Las Cruces in favor of scheduling an additional home contest against a
Division I-AA opponent. The schools agreed to meet again in 2002 (a 49–14 NMSU win, their biggest blowout of the Miners since 1922), but did not play again until 2004 in El Paso when the Miners exacted revenge for their blowout loss two years prior with a 45–0 pasting of the Aggies, the most lopsided result in the series in 55 years. The blowout marked the beginning of a three-game winning streak for UTEP in the rivalry. The tide of the series then seemingly turned back in the Aggies' favor, as NMSU defeated UTEP the next two years, their first back-to-back wins over UTEP since 1994 and 1995. The Aggies edged the Miners 34–33 on September 20, 2008, at the
Sun Bowl for their first win in El Paso since 1994.
However, the most recent three games in the series have gone back to the Miners, with UTEP defeating NMSU at
Aggie Memorial Stadium 38–12 on September 19, 2009 (only their second win in the
Mesilla Valley since 1991),
topping the Aggies 42–10 at the Sun Bowl on September 18, 2010, and again defeating the Aggies 16–10 on September 17, 2011, in Las Cruces for their first back-to-back road wins in the series since winning four straight games in Las Cruces between 1986 and 1991.
National award winners
*
AFCA Coach of the Year
*
National Football Foundation National Scholar-Athlete Award
*College Football Network Freshman Interior Defender of the Year
All-Americans
*
Pervis Atkins, HB- 1960 (AP-1st; NEA-1st; UPI-3rd)
* Jim Pilot, HB- 1962 (NEA-2nd)
* Jim Bohl, HB- 1966 (FN- 1st)
* Manny Rodriguez, OT- 1969 (CP-3rd)
* Hank Cook, WR- 1973 (AP-3rd)
*Carl Dean, G- 1974 (AP-3rd)
*Carl Dean, G- 1975 (AP-3rd)
*
Larry Rose III, HB- 2015 (AP-3rd)
*Malaki Ta’ase, DT- 2024 (CFN Freshman All-American)
Future non-conference opponents
Announced schedules as of May 10, 2025.
References
External links
*
{{Conference USA football navbox
American football teams established in 1893
1893 establishments in New Mexico Territory