Rio Grande Rivalry

Updated on Dec 07, 2023

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Sport Football Meetings total 106		Trophy Rio Grande Rivalry

Teams New Mexico Lobos New Mexico State Aggies First meeting January 1, 1894 New Mexico 25, NM State 5 Latest meeting October 3, 2015 New Mexico 38, NM State 29

Lobos claim rio grande rivalry in dramatic win

The Rio Grande Rivalry is an intercollegiate rivalry between The University of New Mexico and New Mexico State University. The rivalry began in 1894. In comparison, New Mexico was a United States Territory from Sept 1850 to January 1912, when it became a member of the United States of America and the Union.

For many years the rivalry was often referred to as the "Battle of I-25" in recognition of the campuses both being located along that interstate highway.

Lobo films new mexico basketball sweeps the rio grande rivalry

Traditions

The University of New Mexico students in collaboration with their student government, ASUNM, celebrates the rivalry with the Red Rally, an annual event which takes place the Thursday evening before that year's rivalry football game, in which an effigy of an Aggie is set on fire.

Men's Basketball

The men's basketball series between the schools has been more competitive than football, although UNM holds the all-time advantage in that series as well. Currently the Lobos hold a 121–97 advantage all-time over the Aggies. The most recent meeting in the series was a 84-71 Aggies victory at the Pan American Center in Las Cruces on December 10, 2016, the second of two meetings for the 2016–17 season. The December 19, 2007 contest was the 200th all-time meeting between the schools.

The UNM–NMSU series is somewhat unusual among non-conference rivalries in that the schools traditionally play a two-game home-and-home series each season (another example of such a rivalry is the Nashville mid-major matchup between Belmont and Lipscomb). Most other rivalries in which the schools are not members of the same conference usually only meet once per season. Although a few individuals have proposed cutting the series back to a more conventional single annual meeting, fan sentiment at both schools remains strong for preserving the traditional two meetings per season format.

Women's Basketball

The women's basketball series between UNM and NMSU has been defined by extended streaks of dominance by one program over the other. Prior to the mid-1990s the Roadrunners (as NMSU's women's programs were known prior to 2000) were dominant, winning the first meeting by a 57–53 tally on February 1, 1974 and proceeding to win 24 of the first 35 meetings between the schools. Between 1985 and 1995 NMSU ran off a streak of 16 consecutive wins over their in-state rivals. This stretch also covered a two-year period in which UNM did not field a women's basketball team. However on November 24, 1996 UNM turned the tables on NMSU in a big way. The Lobos' 48–47 win on that day in Las Cruces started a 22-game winning streak by UNM over NMSU that continued unbroken, despite a few close calls, through the 2006–07 season. But on December 2, 2007 the Lady Aggies ended 11 years of frustration against their instate rivals by knocking off the Lady Lobos 58–42 at the Pan Am Center. The all-time series now stands at 47–22 in favor of UNM, after the Lady Lobos beat NMSU 65–60 on December 30, 2010, at The Pit in Albuquerque. Like the men's teams, the UNM and NMSU women also traditionally play two games per year against each other, one game in each city.