Rio Grande Rivalry

The Rio Grande Rivalry is an intercollegiate rivalry between The University of New Mexico and New Mexico State University. The rivalry began in 1894.

For many years the rivalry was often referred to as the "Battle of I-25" in recognition of the campuses both being located along that interstate highway.

Traditions
The University of New Mexico students in collaboration with their student government, ASUNM, celebrates the rivalry with the Red Rally, an annual event which takes place the Thursday evening before that year's rivalry football game, in which an effigy of an Aggie is set on fire.

Football
The rivalry between New Mexico's only two NCAA Division I institutions dates back to Jan. 1, 1894 - eighteen years before New Mexico achieved statehood - when the schools met in a football contest in Albuquerque. While it is clear that New Mexico won that first game, school records seem to disagree on the score. According to New Mexico media guides the final score was 25-5 but according to New Mexico State media guides the score was 18-6. By the time New Mexico entered the union in 1912 UNM and New Mexico A&M (as NMSU was known prior to 1959) had already met on the gridiron six times. Beginning in 1993, the two universities played for the Maloof Trophy, but it was short lived- the trophy was retired in 2000. Until 1937 the series was competitive with the Aggies holding a 15-12-4 lead over the Lobos. Since 1938 the Lobos have dominated the series 54-16-1 except during 1959-1968 when the Aggies won 7 of 10 meetings. The Lobos all-time advantage is 67-31-5, however the rivalry remains spirited. Most recently the Lobos defeated the Aggies 27-14 on September 22, 2012 in Las Cruces. The September 26, 2009 game when the Aggies won 20-17 in Albuquerque was the 100th time the teams had played each other.

''New Mexico victories are shaded ██ Cherry Red. New Mexico State victories shaded in ██ Crimson Maroon.''

Men's Basketball
The men's basketball series between the schools has been much more competitive than football, although UNM holds the all-time advantage in that series as well. Currently Lobos hold a 115-95 advantage all-time over the Aggies. The most recent meeting in the series was a 68-63 Lobo victory at the Pan American Center in Las Cruces on December 19, 2012, the second of two meetings for the 2012-13 season. The December 19, 2007 contest was the 200th all-time meeting between the schools.

The UNM-NMSU series is somewhat unique among non-conference rivalries in that the schools traditionally play a two game home-and-home series each season (another example of such a rivalry is the Nashville mid-major matchup between Belmont and Lipscomb). Most other rivalries in which the schools are not members of the same conference usually only meet once per season. Although a few individuals have proposed cutting the series back to a more conventional single annual meeting, fan sentiment at both schools remains strong for preserving the traditional two meetings per season format.

Women's Basketball
The women's basketball series between UNM and NMSU has been defined by extended streaks of dominance by one program over the other. Prior to the mid-1990s the Roadrunners (as NMSU's women's programs were known prior to 2000) were dominant, winning the first meeting by a 57-53 tally on February 1, 1974 and proceeding to win 24 of the first 35 meetings between the schools. Between 1985 and 1995 NMSU ran off a streak of 16 consecutive wins over their in-state rivals. This stretch also covered a two-year period in which UNM did not field a women's basketball team. However on November 24, 1996 UNM turned the tables on NMSU in a big way. The Lobos' 48-47 win on that day in Las Cruces started a 22-game winning streak by UNM over NMSU that continued unbroken, despite a few close calls, through the 2006-07 season. But on December 2, 2007 the Lady Aggies ended 11 years of frustration against their instate rivals by knocking off the Lady Lobos 58-42 at the Pan Am Center. The all-time series now stands at 47-22 in favor of UNM, after the Lady Lobos beat NMSU 65-60 on December 30, 2010, at The Pit in Albuquerque. Like the men's teams, the UNM and NMSU women also traditionally play two games per year against each other, one game in each city.

Rio Grande Rivalry Championship
The Rio Grande Rivalry is a series between New Mexico and New Mexico State.

(*)=while the competition is still ongoing, the University of New Mexico has an insurmountable lead, thus winning the 2012-2013 Rio Grande Rivalry.