Rivalry renewed: UNM to open Mountain West play against former WAC rival UTEP 

New Mexico’s first conference game in the new-look Mountain West will be against a former rival from the classic WAC.

The Mountain West released its 2026 conference schedule Monday, lending dates to the Lobos’ eight league games and the renewal of its regional rivalry with UTEP. 

UNM will open league play against the Miners on Oct. 3, the first matchup between the two programs since 2022. The Lobos previously played UTEP every year as WAC members from 1968 to 1998, a stretch that saw UNM win 17 straight games over the Miners.

UNM has battled New Mexico State (115 games) and UTEP (80 games) the most times throughout its 131 seasons of play. The Lobos lead the all-time series against the Miners 44-33-3, winning four of their last 10 matchups against UTEP since the Lobos left for the Mountain West in 1999.

UNM’s conference opener will be followed by the program’s lone open date of the season (Oct. 10) ahead of a pivotal game at Hawaii (Oct. 17). The Lobos will then host another league newcomer in North Dakota State (Oct. 24) before a two-game road swing at San Jose State (Oct. 31) and Nevada (Nov. 7).

UNM is set to return to University Stadium for another key matchup against likely league favorite UNLV (Nov. 14) before closing the regular season with a road game at Wyoming (Nov. 21) and a home game against Air Force (Nov. 28).

Kickoff times and network assignments for each game will be released throughout the summer. The Mountain West’s television partners — FOX Sports, CBS Sports and CW Network — could move select games from Saturday to Friday ahead of the season.

In 2025, UNM went 9-4 — 6-0 at home — and made an appearance in the Rate Bowl.

Sean Reider covers college football and other sports for the Journal. You can reach him at sreider@abqjournal.com or via X at @lenaweereider.