Viva Lobo Vegas: UNM fans cheer the cherry

LAS VEGAS, Nev. — “Man, these people are really getting into it!”

Such was the reaction of two passersby taking a stroll down the Las Vegas Strip on Wednesday.

What drew their attention in a place well known for its sensory overload? A raucous crowd of several hundred University of New Mexico basketball fans gathered in and around a sports tavern near New York-New York Hotel and Casino.

“Hey, go Lobos!” fans chanted in time as Soundpack, UNM’s pep band, performed on the adjacent sidewalk. The school's cheer squad and mascot, Lobo Louie, followed by starting up the ever-popular chant, “Everyone’s a Lobo — woof, woof, woof.”

Wednesday’s fan rally marked the beginning of what's become an annual pilgrimage of UNM fans to Las Vegas for the Mountain West Men’s Basketball Championship, which tipped off nearby at UNLV’s Thomas & Mack Center — affectionately called Pit West by those clad in cherry and silver — earlier in the day. The third-seeded Lobos, who finished the regular season 22-9 and earned a first-round bye in the tournament, will play a late quarterfinal Thursday at 9:30 p.m. (MDT).

New Mexico fans are naturally hoping for an extended run to Saturday’s championship game, where a win would secure their team a berth in the NCAA Tournament. But many who arrived in Las Vegas this week, whether longtime fans or relatively new supporters, believe the 2025-26 season has already been something to celebrate.

Albuquerque’s Frank Lucero and his sister, Elizabeth Wilson, have been attending UNM’s conference tournaments since well before the Mountain West Conference’s first season in 2000.

“We go way back,” Lucero said, “We were at the first Lobo game at the Pit. I used to ride my bike to games as a kid.” That first Lobo game at the Pit? Dec. 1, 1966.

Lucero and Wilson say they’ve enjoyed watching the current Lobos come together under first-year coach Eric Olen.

“I think Olen’s done a spectacular job,” Lucero said. “Rebuilding this team from nothing in one year, I don’t know how he's done it. It’s been amazing to watch.”

The Lobos are one of three Division I teams that started the season with an entirely new roster of players and coaches than the previous year.

Albuquerque fans J.T. Schneider and Esther Benavidez can’t match the longevity of Lucero and Wilson. Both attended their first Mountain West tournament in 2020, just before the onset of the COVID pandemic. They haven’t missed one since.

“It started out as a girls’ trip and now it’s an annual event,” Schneider said. “It’s different every year but it’s always a lot of fun, and Lobo fans come out strong no matter what. This year’s been unexpected with a new coaching staff and a whole new team, but they've been awesome to watch. We’re really looking forward to (Thursday) night.”

Corrales residents Beth Murphy and Kirk Thrasher are more recent Lobo converts, having moved to New Mexico seven years ago from Indiana. This will be Mountain West tournament No. 2 for Murphy and Thrasher, and they’re hoping it caps what’s been a spectacular college sports year.

“Yeah, Indiana winning a football championship was awesome,” Thrasher said, “and we’re all-in for the Lobos now. Boise State (the Lobos’ likely opponent on Thursday) has me a little worried because it feels like they’ve kind of had our number, but if we can just get by that first game, I think we’ve got a great chance.”

This week’s tournament will be the last with longtime UNM rivals San Diego State, Colorado State, Boise State, Utah State and Fresno State. Those schools will depart for the rebuilt Pac-12 next season, and several Lobo fans said they’d love to send some of those rivals out with a loss. Lucero takes a more pragmatic approach.

“I don’t care who we play,” he said, “just beat whoever’s in front of you. That’s what we did two years ago, four wins in four days, and it was incredible. Hopefully, we can get three wins (in the tournament) this year.”

Schneider agreed.

“We’ll play anyone,” she said, “and this team will battle to the very end. That’s what the Lobos are all about, and that’s why so many fans come out here to support them.”