Game(s) on! Dates finally set for renewal of UNM Lobos/NMSU Aggies annual basketball rivalry

It’s a date.

Or two.

The ink has dried on the contract to renew the annual UNM Lobos/NMSU Aggies men’s basketball rivalry series for the 2023-24 season after a one-year hiatus.

Last season’s games were cancelled after an NMSU player shot and killed a UNM student in self defense around 3 a.m. the day of the November 2022 game in Albuquerque.

The scheduling for this coming season’s games happened after both schools submitted game-day security information with each other for the games as hostilities in the more-than-century-old rivalry escalated greatly in the past year.

“The New Mexico-New Mexico State rivalry means so much to our state and we are excited to have these games scheduled for the upcoming basketball season,” said UNM Athletics Director Eddie Nuñez in a release from the school.

“The pride and passion of Lobo fans and Aggie fans make for an incredible atmosphere every time the teams play and it is important to continue that tradition. We are grateful to our colleagues at NMSU for working with us to ensure the safety and well-being of all our student-athletes, coaches, staff and fans.”

This season’s games will be played Saturday, Dec. 2, in the Pit in Albuquerque and on Friday, Dec. 15, in Las Cruces.

The lone NMSU at UNM women’s basketball game this season will be played Dec. 2 in the Pit, but will not be a doubleheader with the men’s game.

Times for the games have not been set and won’t be until media-rights partners for both schools determine if they will be televised, which would dictate the start times of the men’s games.

The Dec. 15 game in Las Cruces is a different date than the one the two schools had initially agreed on but had never signed a contract confirming. The last signature signed on the contract came Aug. 3 by NMSU Athletic Director Mario Moccia.

Reports surfaced a few weeks ago indicating the UNM/NMSU game in Las Cruces would be played on Saturday, Dec. 16. However, NMSU wanted to shift that date to avoid any chance of a conflict its football team may have because the New Mexico Bowl is being played on that same day. Conference USA has a bowl tie-in with the New Mexico Bowl and the NMSU administration and sports information staff would be stretched too thin to be able to attend both games in different cities.

Neither contract for the upcoming men’s and women’s rivalry games mentions specific security changes or enhancements, nor whether student sections will remain only a few feet from the visitors’ benches in both arenas.

As is custom for such nonconference games, the Dec. 2 game in Albuquerque will have game officials assigned by the Mountain West while the Dec. 15 game will have game officials assigned by C-USA.

After the 2022 games were canceled, the Lobos managed to land short-notice games with San Francisco (a Lobos win in Las Vegas, Nev., on Dec. 12) and Oral Roberts (a Lobos win in the Pit on Jan. 9).

The rivalry game not happening in 2022 in Albuquerque cost UNM “north of $400,000” per one source. Based on last year’s season ticket numbers, a sold-out Pit would have generated well over $200,000 in single-game tickets. All 40 suites were sold out for the game and there were estimates of more than another $100,000 in concessions and parking shortfalls.

This year’s games will be the first in the rivalry series with new NMSU coach Jason Hooten taking on Richard Pitino’s Lobos. Pitino is in his third season as head coach and is 1-1 against the Aggies.

There are no dates for the 2024-25 series, but this year’s contract stipulates the first of next season’s games will be played in Las Cruces. An alternating pattern for the first game has largely been customary in the series.