Former, current Miners and Aggies reflect on UTEP-NMSU rivalry before it pauses after 2025
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When Jamar Cotton joined New Mexico State in 2005, he’d always hear about UTEP. He heard little about their rivalry before arriving and wondered why it never left the minds of many.
Cotton soon figured out why when a sold-out crowd of 30,343 packed into Aggie Memorial Stadium to watch the game.
“I just think about one of the biggest traditions in southern New Mexico and West Texas history,” said Cotton, an NM State linebacker from 2005-09. “No matter what, people always came out to see those games. When you think about it, especially in New Mexico, it was almost like that was a bowl game for us.”
The game became an important part of the Borderland’s culture for Cotton, as it already was for many. The idea of it not being played was unheard of, but that’s exactly what will soon happen.
The Battle of I-10 is, for now, coming to an end when UTEP leaves Conference USA for the Mountain West Conference in 2026. It won’t be played next season, as KTSM first reported in July, and there’s uncertainty beyond that.
The Aggies (3-7) and Miners (2-8) meet on Saturday, Nov. 22, in El Paso, TX, before the pause. Both are struggling, but there’s more at stake than a get-right victory.
UTEP coach Scotty Walden called it the Miners’ “bowl game”, while NM State safety Naeten Mitchell says it’s “personal” after last season’s 42-35 defeat. Both sides also know one thing: The rivalry’s uncertain future means the spoils earned will feel eternal.
“You don’t want to lose the last one that we’ve played for a while,” said Cory Lucas, an NM State player from 1995-98. “You hold on to that bragging right for a little bit longer.”
Best moments
One joyful moment for NM State in the rivalry came after a 33-24 win in 1998, when the 32,993-person crowd at Aggie Memorial Stadium rushed the field. A recent moment came when Jason Huntley produced a 200-yard, three-touchdown performance to drive a 44-35 win in 2019.
Former NM State running back Larry Rose III’s favorite play came in 2017. He was met by two UTEP defenders in the backfield on a handoff, but made the first one miss before ducking under the second. Rose III then broke a tackle before scoring a 28-yard run, his second of three touchdowns in a 41-14 win.
He also remembers UTEP quarterback Mack Leftwich taking a brutal hit from Aggies defensive lineman Derek Ibekwe in 2015.
“He knocked him out of the game,” Rose III said. “That was a pretty sick moment, because Derek just hit him so hard. That’s one of the hardest hits that I’ve ever seen live.”
There have been great UTEP moments, too. The Miners earned the rivalry’s largest victory with a 92-7 win in 1948 and a 50-47 overtime win in 2015 in the rivalry’s second-highest scoring game.
The Miners also have the upper hand, as they lead 60-39-2 all-time and own the rivalry’s longest winning streak at eight in a row from 2009-16.
Importance to the Borderland
11 of the 20 biggest crowds at Aggie Memorial Stadium, including the three biggest, were when the Miners rolled in. NM State drew UTEP’s second-largest crowd at the Sun Bowl at 52,247 fans in 1999. The 2005 and 2016 editions at the Sun Bowl also rank among the Miners’ top 15 biggest crowds.
On both sides, it shows that the game matters more than most.
“This is always a big game for everybody involved in El Paso, everyone involved in the program, and everyone who cares about our program,” former UTEP coach Dana Dimel said ahead of the 2019 game.
Las Cruces and El Paso also share similar landscapes, cultural heritages, and a media market. You can find many El Pasoans or UTEP alumni in Las Cruces, and the same is true for Las Crucens or NM State alumni in El Paso.
That battle for regional supremacy is part of what makes it special.
“We’re so close to UTEP that it makes it that much more intense,” Lucas said. “There are a lot of people who graduated from UTEP who work in Las Cruces, and a lot of people who graduated from NMSU who work in El Paso, so those ties run deep between both.”
Talks to resume
There are currently no significant updates on an agreement. NM State AD Joe Fields only told the Las Cruces Sun-News on Nov. 17 that he’s had conversations with UTEP and is “hopeful” the game can be played annually.
UTEP AD Jim Senter said his school’s MWC move shouldn’t prevent the rivalry from being played, while announcing the school’s move to the MWC in October 2024, and expressed a strong desire to the Sun-News to continue it.
“I know that we want to play the Aggies every year and continue our rivalry,” Senter said. “This football game makes so much sense, and I believe both communities and fan bases want us to play the game. We have openings… but scheduling the games needs to work for both of us. I know that Joe is working to figure that out on his end.”
Walden hopes for the same.
“We’re not taking no for an answer,” Walden said in a Nov. 18 press conference. “We want to find a way to keep this game on the schedule. When you go through a conference transition, these are some of the things that are unfortunate repercussions of that.
“We need to do everything in our power to play this. Any time, anywhere. We’ll meet in a parking lot and figure out how to do this thing.”
Sanchez hopes it returns “sooner than later” after 2025, but that finances and its out-of-conference rivalry with New Mexico make it difficult.
“You have got to work some things out. It’s got to make sense,” Sanchez said during a Nov. 17 press conference. “It’s hard when you have two rivalry games that are both out of your conference and chew up 50% of your non-conference schedule, which is very unique.”
Many can’t imagine an NM State or UTEP season without the rivalry. Such is the assumption that it’ll be played annually, regardless of circumstances, that multiple people contacted for this story were unaware of its imminent pause until being contacted.
That’s how much the Battle of I-10 is woven into the Borderland’s fabric, and that’s what drives confidence of a return very soon after 2025.
“I don’t personally see both universities not making it happen, because that’s just how much it means to both schools,” Rose III said. “I honestly think that somebody will make it happen, so that’s definitely what I’m hoping for.”
This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Miners and Aggies reflect on NMSU-UTEP rivalry, mourn pause after 2025
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