New Mexico State, Wyoming schedule football series for 2018, 2024

By Kevin Kelley -

The New Mexico State Aggies and the Wyoming Cowboys have scheduled a home-and-home football series for 2018 and 2024, both schools announced on Monday.

In the first game of the series, New Mexico State will host Wyoming at Aggie Memorial Stadium in Las Cruces on Aug. 25, 2018. The Aggies will then travel to face the Cowboys at War Memorial Stadium in Laramie on Sept. 21, 2024.

The 2018 game will be played the weekend before Labor Day weekend, dubbed “week zero” by most people. This is allowed under a new NCAA exception for teams that play at Hawaii, which Wyoming does in 2018.

In their first and only meeting back in 1953, Wyoming defeated New Mexico State 47-0 in Laramie.

“Deputy AD Braun Cartwright and I have put in an enormous amount of time on football scheduling with the focus on securing games with regional Group of 5 opponents,” NMSU Director of Athletics Mario Moccia said. “Unlike in 2013 when we played four Power 5 conference programs, which had ripple effects on future year’s schedules, we have really focused on the home-and-home model.”

New Mexico State will be playing their final season as a member of the Sun Belt Conference in 2017. The Aggies will then compete in 2018 and beyond as an FBS Independent.

The only other game the Aggies have currently announced for 2018 is a previously scheduled trip to Minnesota on Aug. 30. As an independent, New Mexico State will have to schedule 10 more games to get to a total of 12.

“We are diligently working to finalize our schedule, which as an independent is one of the more difficult tasks I have found in intercollegiate athletics,” Moccia said.

Wyoming has now tentatively completed their 2018 non-conference schedule. Other games for the Cowboys include vs. Washington State (Sept. 1), at Missouri (Sept. 8), and vs. Wofford (Sept. 15).

Football Schedules

Comments (33)

Have you sent a FOIA request to New Mexico State to find out if they have scheduled other 2018 football games?

I can confirm it is the reason. I contacted Moccia to ask when fans could expect the schedule, and he said sooner rather than later, and added a reporter filed a FOIA, so he contacted the schools to let them know he will be releasing the schedule. By January your FOIA will be moot.

NMSU delayed their response to “on or before Jan. 4.” So likely we will see schedule info trickle out until then or there will be a single release.

Geez. Poor NMSU. Only having weeks 0 through 2 scheduled seems like a bad spot. And a bad spot to negotiate reasonable contracts from. Hopefully UTEP and UNM will be good rivals and help fill later season dates in. Good luck to NMSU.

Wouldn’t there still be a New Mexico game each year? Kevin, you have annual games listed on UNM’s main page going far into future years.

UTEP? Seems to be a good home and home for UTEP’s fans, to just go north up I-10.

Regionally, “fellow” independent BYU still needs two games in ’18. The other major independent with no locked games, UMass, doing a pretty darn good job filling their schedules, already has 11 games.

They have a November advantage — in a way — offering any northern climate G5 or P5 school a chance to play in warmer climes in Las Cruces, for what it’s worth. Now that the Sun Belt doesn’t control those weeks late in the season, one might think a MAC or northern AAC team would go for a home and home if the trip to LC is near the season’s end.

I have to agree with you. I think Army tends to play 2 fcs teams a year. They can replace 1 fcs team with New Mexico state. I think unms should have 5-8 games a year roughly planned out a year. They could play the following schedule roughly each year:
UTEP
New Mexico
Army
Umass
BYU
2 money games
FCS team

If nmsu wants they can try and schedule more money games. I know some SEC teams schedule late season cupcake teams. I doubt at least at this point that nmsu is much harder then a fcs team. Though they have the added benefit of being a fbs team. Most of the teams mentioned can be scheduled late in the season. Army, umass, and BYU are independent and in theroy schedule the games in November. One of the 2 money games could be the SEC late season ooc game.

BIggs,

NMSU only plays P5 teams in September for the most part, so no, the SEC could not add them on as a “cupcake” in November. Try playing some of the FCS schools, they’re not as easy as you think.

Day,
I was mentioning or thinking that nmsu is easier then some FCS teams. Nmsu will be independent in 2018 and on for now so they can be used as a November cupcake game. Though like you mentioned most P-5 conferences don’t have late season season open dates. I was thinking they could try and schedule the other independents during November. They could schedule umass, byu, and army for November. For the Army games it could be on a 3 game rotation home and home and neutral site. They could use the last November match-up against a Sec teams in the years a Sec teams needs a late season game. They could have a bye week or like dbrunstheworld mentioned they could be a team that teams use the Hawaii exemption on.
The only reason I bring up the Sec is that they use a late season open dates to not play a rivalry game
Usually that is. I’m sure they maybe able to play a package 12 team in October.

Correct on BYU. Conferences are going more and more to try to protect the last two weeks pre-championship for conference games. BYU will need games the week before travelling to USC and Stanford most years. Las Cruces much closer than Foxborough.

If Army, NMSU, UMass and BYU could plan together in scheduling, which is unlikely, they could have games the last three weeks of November versus one another. That round-robin would enable a championship game between the four the first week of December under current rules. That might be what is needed to lure UConn the remainder of the way toward Big East/Indy. But that doesn’t add a fifth team, that likely leads to more trickle-down changes when the American needs a team…Oh well.

“I know some SEC teams schedule late season cupcake teams.”

Biggs,

Try not to incite a whine-fest from O-Da-Doo-Da-Day and Billy Joe Bob with that comment. Then again, they only spew their idiotic platitudes about the SEC kingdom when the SEC is mentioned. So, they probably won’t even view this discussion.

As for Army. They are an Independent Service Academy. Hard to schedule for that. They need the East Coast games to negate travel toll on the players, in addition to one or two FCS games, plus a few vs. Power 5 Schools.

But with Monken on board now, they may be able to recruit up and be able to schedule a little tougher down the road.

You are so butthurt its not even funny. Can you go one day without talking about the SEC? This is why no one likes you on this website. Hang yourself.

Jackstriker,

” Then again, they only spew their idiotic platitudes about the SEC kingdom when the SEC is mentioned.”
You always spew your SEC bashing even when an article is not about the SEC like this one.
Butthurt is right.

The article did not mention the SEC, but a comment did, so I commented on that. Nice try, ladies.

jackstriker.

I would have no problem with your comment if it had any relevance to the conversation. Biggs was talking about scheduling and when he mentioned the SEC, you chime in with the dull meaningless “all SEC football fans are dumb”. I’m an ohio state fan and i by no means like the SEC, but you simply are a biased whiny child with no critical abilities whatsoever.

Le Brown Jimmy,

Go back and quote on any other article where I posted, “All SEC fans are dumb.” I have never said that. I was attacked by SEC fans for posting thoughtful and statistically sound rebuttals to their arguments about the SEC being the best conference the bar none. I only reply with facts.

Cold hard facts. I just shrug off the insults due to the fact that they are so childish and actually now revel in the fact that you girls get your panties in a bunch every time I reply. if any of you actually responded with sound arguments it would be fun to discuss but since you are only intellectually able to tell people to hump their moms or sisters you get wheat you get.

Ironically, LeBrown………..

You are probably some white teenager using a screen name as LeBron James and actually used, “Hang yourself.” as an end point to an argument.

You are so historically and verbally challenged in a catastrophic sense that it pains me to actually read what you type……..

Jackstriker,

You are kidding right? 1st, thanks for this comment:
” I was attacked by SEC fans for posting thoughtful and statistically sound rebuttals to their arguments about the SEC being the best conference the bar none. I only reply with facts.”
Thoughtful & statistically sound rebuttals ………Lmao!
No SEC fan attacked you, this started a couple of years ago when you were bashing Patrick Ryan about him defending the SEC & being a Clemson fan (don’t think I don’t know). Go back & see some of the comments you used to leave, talk about being childish & calling people names. I think your are the white teenager with all the add-ons & changing of people’s names, that is what an insult is, calling the SEC the SECLeast is an insult. I truly don’t think you are old enough to figure this out yet. To many people see through you by now, its to late to start (trying) to sound smart.

jackstriker.

First off, i’m not white. What does that have to do with anything? Second, you claim that you don’t attack SEC fans. We all know that’s bullshit. You claim that when i used “hang yourself” that was part of my argument. I only said that because it’s a known fact that Shep and Maverick are the only people on this website that even remotely like you. Why do you even hate the SEC anyway?

Day

To be honest with you, the SEC east is trash no argument there. However, the SEC west has been the best division for years until now. The SEC has also been the best conference for the past ten years. The SEC this year is mediocre at best. The BIG 10 s just starting to rise again, and we don’t even know if its really as good as it seems to be.

While NMSU’s biggest need is November games, this is great use by NMSU of Wyoming’s Hawaii exemption to play in August. Shifts the whole schedule ahead a week if Nov 17 & Nov 24 games cannot be found.

Bingo! Using the week zero exception was brilliant.

As for Independents, BYU might do a 2 for 1 deal, like they have done in the recent past with NMSU. If so you can pencil in October 13th or 20th in Provo. UMass also needs a home game, and a frigid November 24th is open … maybe better to end the season on the 10th.

November 10th and 17th are SEC patsy weeks before they play rivals. Ole’ Miss has the 10th open and my WAG is NMSU will be that patsy. Look for an FCS school in early November as well.

By the time NMSU starts their independence they could sign a deal with NBCSN to air their home games which could prompt moving many of their home games to weeknights to better facilitate TV coverage

NBCSN currently only has the Ivy League and the Bayou Classic as part of their college football coverage, wouldn’t hurt them to sublicense some Sun Belt games from ESPN and add UMass home games either.

Wyoming can schedule a fifth non-conference game (most likely a home game) because they play at Hawaii in 2018

A question for Kevin and others who’ve studied the Week Zero and Hawai’i/Alaska exemptions. Would it include playing games in Mexico? NMSU would be a natural to shift a game down to Mexico City or Monterrey the same weekend the NFL is playing a game down there. An international game would work well paired with the NFL game….

As the rule is currently written, it only applies to Hawaii:

17.10.3.1 Exception—Institutions That Compete in Hawaii. [FBS/FCS] An institution that is scheduled to play a regular-season game in Hawaii may play its first permissible contest with outside competition on the Saturday prior to the Thursday preceding Labor Day. If the institution’s first opponent of the season is not a member institution located in Hawaii, the institution’s first opponent of the season may also play its first contest (game or scrimmage) with outside competition on the Saturday prior to the Thursday preceding Labor Day. (Adopted: 4/28/16 effective 8/1/16)