COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. --- The Lobos, coming off a 9-4 season and a share of first place in the Mountain West a season ago, had eight games selected for national television, with potentially a ninth game selected. The Mountain West, along with most conferences, announced its television schedule today.
Additionally, seven game times have been announced, three at home. UNM’s three unannounced game times should be announced very soon.
The Lobos have three of four non-conference games on national television, including both road contests, and at least five Mountain West matchups, including three on the road.
In non-conference action, UNM’s games at home to open the schedule against Central Michigan, along with road games at Oklahoma and New Mexico State, were selected. The 2026 season opener against Central Michigan will air on FS1, with kickoff at 8 pm in Albuquerque, allowing fans to fully enjoy Louie Lane for the much-anticipated opener. That game is UNM’s first season opener at home against an FBS opponent since 2014, when the Lobos opened at home with UTEP.
New Mexico’s first-ever meeting with the Oklahoma Sooners will take place at 5:30 pm Mountain Time, and it will be UNM’s only appearance on ESPN2. Last year, the Sooners finished No. 10 in the country and lost 34-24 as the No. 8 seed to No. 9 Alabama in the opening round of the College Football Playoff.
UNM’s other non-conference road game is the following week on Saturday, September 26, at New Mexico State. The 116th edition of the Rio Grande Rivalry will be a rare day matchup in Las Cruces, with the game on CBS Sports Network at 1:30 pm. The game marks the first originating from a national network. The last time the Rio Grande Rivalry was played on a national stage was in 2011, when the game was broadcast on The Mtn., which was then available only on DirecTV in certain packages.
The Lobos have at least two home games on national TV, with the potential for a third. The two games that are on the schedule for certain will be a key matchup with UNLV on Saturday, November 14, at 5:30 pm, and the regular season finale, which was moved to the day after Thanksgiving, hosting Air Force on Friday at 2:30 pm. Both of those games will be on The CW. Additionally, UNM’s Homecoming matchup with North Dakota State on October 24 may also be on The CW, with the time to be announced later.
Last year, UNM defeated UNLV in a wild affair 40-35 in Las Vegas, and UNM won 20-3 at Air Force, the first win over the Falcons at the Academy since 2000. UNM hosted San Diego State in the season finale a year ago at home on the Friday after Thanksgiving in the same time slot and drew a crowd of over 30,000.
Three of UNM’s four conference road games are on national television, starting with UNM’s October 17 matchup at Hawai’i. That will be on either Fox, FS1, or FS2, with the time and TV designation to be announced on October 5. UNM’s other two nationally televised games have been moved to Friday night. The first, on November 6, will be on CBS Sports Network at Nevada, at 7 pm Mountain Time. The second, on November 20, will be on FS1, at Wyoming, also at 7 pm.
Games not selected for national broadcasts (hosting Mercyhurst on September 12, hosting UTEP on October 3, and at San Jose State on October 31) will be broadcast on MW+, the league’s new subscription platform that helps generate revenue for each school. MW+, powered by Kiswe, will feature expanded access to Mountain West athletics, live games, behind-the-scenes content, original storytelling, and campus-driven programming. The future home of MW+ will be launched in July. Sign up for a subscription through GoLobos.com