COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. --- Out with the old new, and in with the newer new.
With North Dakota State football joining the Mountain West for the 2026 season, the league has announced its updated schedule matrix. The Lobo home and road opponents are virtually unchanged, with one notable exception: UNM will now host the Bison of NDSU instead of NIU.
With 10 teams, each league school will miss one opponent, and UNM will not play NIU in 2026. Along with North Dakota State, the Lobos will host Air Force, UNLV, and UTEP. The Lobos will play road games at Hawai’i, Nevada, San José State, and Wyoming.
UNM will host UNLV in a game featuring two of the four teams that tied for first place in the Mountain West. UNLV played in the championship game, losing to Boise State for a third straight year.
The Lobos defeated the Rebels in Las Vegas, 40-35, in a game that clinched bowl eligibility for UNM. The Lobos also beat Air Force in Colorado 20-3, ending a 25-year losing skid at the Academy.
UNM will host UTEP for a second straight time, following their 2022 meeting, which UNM won 27-10. The 2026 meeting will be the first time New Mexico and UTEP have played a conference game since 1998, when UTEP defeated New Mexico 22-19 in Albuquerque. UNM and UTEP were both members of the Western Athletic Conference from 1968 to 1998, and both were members of the Border Conference from 1935 to 1950.
UNM and North Dakota State have not met on the gridiron, as this will be the first meeting between the two schools.
For UNM’s four road contests, UNM will travel to San José for a second straight season to take on the Spartans. The Lobos will be looking to avenge last year’s 35-28 loss to the Spartans. New Mexico has lost eight straight road games to San José State, last winning in 1969.
The Lobos will also visit Hawai’i for a second straight time, with the Lobos losing 38-31 in Honolulu in the final game of the 2024 season.
UNM defeated Nevada 22-20 in 2025 at University Stadium, and UNM will be looking for its first win in Reno in what will be its sixth attempt. UNM is 0-4-1 in Reno. UNM and Wyoming did not meet in 2025, and UNM's last win in Laramie was in 2021, a 14-3 victory.
UNM's non-conference opponents are unchanged as well, hosting Central Michigan and Mercyhurst, and traveling to Oklahoma and New Mexico State.
The Lobos will open Spring Practice on Friday, March 27, with the Spring Game slated for Saturday, April 25. The Lobos' current spring roster sits at 102 players after announcing 59 new players. UNM returns several big names, including the Mountain West Coach of the Year in Jason Eck and the Mountain West Co-Defensive Player of the Year in Jaxton Eck.