UNM FOOTBALL
North Dakota State to play at UNM after schedule shuffle
The Bison will play the Lobos, Rebels and Rainbow Warriors on the road in their first season as MW members
Published
Modified
The Mountain West's newest member is coming to Albuquerque.
New Mexico’s updated conference schedule was released Tuesday with one notable change: North Dakota State will play the Lobos at University Stadium, setting up the first-ever matchup between the two programs.
The Mountain West announced Feb. 9 that the Bison would join the league ahead of this season as a football-only member, completing a long-awaited jump from FCS to FBS. They replace Northern Illinois — another incoming football-only member — on UNM’s previously-announced conference schedule.
Dates for all conference games are expected to be released soon.
In addition to playing the Lobos on the road, NDSU will play at UNLV, Hawaii and Air Force. The Lobos, Rebels and Rainbow Warriors are all expected to contend for a Mountain West title with reigning champion Boise State, San Diego State, Colorado State, Utah State and Fresno State leaving for the new-look Pac-12 this summer.
NDSU will also host Nevada, Northern Illinois, UTEP and Wyoming in its first season as a Mountain West member. The Bison previously played in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, winning 12 league titles and 10 national championships in 18 seasons of membership.
Per NCAA bylaws, NDSU is currently ineligible for any postseason play — including the Mountain West title game — due to its impending status as a first-year FBS member. But the school is petitioning for a waiver allowing them to qualify for the postseason with the backing of the league, according to CBS Sports.
The rest of UNM’s conference schedule remains unchanged from the Mountain West's original announcement in December: UNM will host Air Force, UNLV and UTEP, and travel to Hawaii, Nevada, San Jose State and Wyoming.
In the nonconference, the Lobos will host Central Michigan (Sept. 5) and FCS Mercyhurst (Sept. 12) before traveling to Oklahoma (Sept. 19) and rival New Mexico State (Sept. 26).
Sean Reider covers college football and other sports for the Journal. You can reach him at sreider@abqjournal.com or via X at @lenaweereider.
