Lobos Add Four to Future Football Schedules

Auburn Contract | Oklahoma Contract | Oregon State Contract

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The University of New Mexico and Director of Athletics Eddie Nuñez have announced that the Lobos have added four games against autonomous five conference schools to future schedules, including one home-and-home slate.
 
The additions to the schedule are as follows:
 
9/14/2024          at Auburn
9/19/2026          at Oklahoma
9/11/2027          at Oregon State
9/9/2028            Oregon State
 
The additions mean that UNM now has at least one autonomous five opponent scheduled in each year through 2028.  Next year the Lobos will play two such opponents in USC and Mississippi State.
 
The meeting with Auburn will be the first between the two programs.  The Tigers went 9-3 this season, and 5-3 in the SEC East including a 48-45 win over Alabama in the Iron Bowl.  The Tigers, coached by Gus Malzahn, will face off with Minnesota on New Year’s Day in the Outback Bowl in Tampa, Florida.  The game will be played at Pat Dye Field at Jordan-Hare Stadium, which holds 87,451 fans.
 
New Mexico has played Oklahoma twice before, going 0-2 with both games in the 1930s.  Oklahoma won 47-0 in Norman in 1930, and then 25-0 in Norman in 1935.  Oklahoma, coached by Lincoln Riley, went 12-1 this year, winning the Big XII title in overtime, 30-23 against Baylor.  The Sooners are the No. 4 seed in the College Football Playoff, and they will face No. 1 LSU in the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl on December 28 for the right to play for the national championship.  The game will be played at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium at Owen Field, which holds 86,112.
 
The home-and-home series with Oregon State will be the fifth and sixth meetings between the two teams, with Oregon State leading the series 3-1.  New Mexico won the first meeting 35-16 in Albuquerque in 1979, and the two teams had a previous home-and-home in 2000 and 2004.  In 2000, Oregon State won 28-20 in Albuquerque, and the Beavers won the rematch 17-7 in Corvallis.  In between the two teams met in the 2003 Las Vegas Bowl with Oregon State winning 55-14.
 
Oregon State is coached by Jonathan Smith, and it went 5-7 overall and 4-5 in the Pac-12.  The game will be at Reser Stadium which holds 43,154 fans.  The Beavers will be the first Pac-12 team to play a game against UNM in Dreamstyle Stadium in the regular season since Arizona State in 2014.  The Lobos did play Arizona in the 2015 Gildan New Mexico Bowl at Dreamstyle Stadium.
 
NOTES:  The contract guarantee for the game with Auburn is $1.9 million, and UNM will also receive 500 complementary tickets with the option to purchase 2,000 more on consignment … the contract guarantee for Oklahoma is $1.6 million, with $250,000 to be paid for the 2020-21 academic year (4/1/21) … UNM will also receive 400 complementary tickets and an option to sell 1,100 more … there is no guarantee for either team in the Oregon State series, and each team will receive 300 tickets.

Future Schedules
2020     
8/29      Idaho State
9/5        at Mississippi State
9/12      at USC
9/19      at New Mexico State
10/3      UMass
 
2021
9/4        Houston Baptist
9/11      New Mexico State
9/18      at Texas A&M
9/25      at UTEP
 
2022
9/10      at LSU
9/17      UTEP
TBA       at New Mexico State
 
2023
9/2        at Texas A&M
9/23      at UMass
TBA       New Mexico State
 
2024
9/14      at Auburn
TBA       at New Mexico State

2025
9/13      at UCLA
TBA       New Mexico State
 
2026     
9/19      at Oklahoma
TBA       at New Mexico State
 
2027     
9/11      at Oregon State
TBA       New Mexico State
 
2028     
9/9        Oregon State
TBA       at New Mexico State