NCAA-sanctioned post-season college football bowl game
College football bowl game
The New Mexico Bowl is an NCAA -sanctioned post-season college football bowl game that has been played annually since 2006 at University Stadium , on the campus of the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, New Mexico . Owned and operated by ESPN Events , it has typically been scheduled as one of the first games of the bowl season. The bowl has tie-ins with Conference USA and the Mountain West Conference .
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic , the 2020 New Mexico Bowl was moved to Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas .[ 2]
History
The New Mexico Bowl trophy is a 20-inch (51 cm) piece of Zia Pueblo pottery, painted with Pueblo symbols, the New Mexico Bowl logo, football players, and the logos of the competing teams. The Zia sun symbol , a Zia Pueblo symbol that is used in the state flag , is incorporated into the bowl game logo. The most valuable player trophies are crafted from traditional leather shields.[ 3]
From 2011 to 2017, the bowl was sponsored by clothing manufacturer Gildan and was officially known as the Gildan New Mexico Bowl. In 2019, the bowl announced a sponsorship with DreamHouse Productions, a local film studio. However, in October 2019, the company was quietly dropped as sponsor, coinciding with investigations by a local sports website, EnchantmentSports.com,[ 4] that alleged DreamHouse Productions was tied to a scam artist and questioned the company's legitimacy.[ 5] [ 6]
The 2021 edition of the game was sponsored by PUBG Mobile .[ 7] In September 2023, the Isleta Pueblo , an operator of resorts and casinos, was named the new title sponsor of the bowl.[ 8]
Game results
Date
Winning team
Losing team
Attend.
Notes
December 23, 2006
San Jose State
20
New Mexico
12
34,111
notes
December 22, 2007
New Mexico
23
Nevada
0
30,223
notes
December 20, 2008
Colorado State
40
Fresno State
35
24,735
notes
December 19, 2009
Wyoming
35
Fresno State
28 (2OT)
24,898
notes
December 18, 2010
BYU
52
UTEP
24
32,424
notes
December 17, 2011
Temple
37
Wyoming
15
25,762
notes
December 15, 2012
Arizona
49
Nevada
48
24,610
notes
December 21, 2013
Colorado State
48
Washington State
45
27,104
notes
December 20, 2014
Utah State
21
UTEP
6
28,725
notes
December 19, 2015
Arizona
45
New Mexico
37
30,289
notes
December 17, 2016
New Mexico
23
UTSA
20
29,688
notes
December 16, 2017
Marshall
31
Colorado State
28
26,087
notes
December 15, 2018
Utah State
52
North Texas
13
25,387
notes
December 21, 2019
San Diego State
48
Central Michigan
11
18,823
notes
December 24, 2020
Hawaii
28
Houston
14
2,060
notes
December 18, 2021
Fresno State
31
UTEP
24
16,422
notes
December 17, 2022
BYU
24
SMU
23
22,209
notes
December 16, 2023
Fresno State
37
New Mexico State
10
30,822
notes
December 28, 2024
TCU
34
Louisiana
3
22,827
notes
Source:[ 9]
MVPs
2006 offensive MVP James Jones
Source:[ 10]
Most appearances
Updated through the December 2024 edition (19 games, 38 total appearances).
Teams with multiple appearances
Teams with a single appearance
Won (6): Hawaii , Marshall , San Diego State , San Jose State , TCU , Temple
Lost (8): Central Michigan , Houston , Louisiana , New Mexico State , North Texas , SMU , UTSA , Washington State
Air Force , Boise State and UNLV are the only current Mountain West Conference members that have not appeared in the bowl.
Appearances by conference
Updated through the December 2024 edition (19 games, 38 total appearances).
The WAC no longer sponsors FBS football.
Independent appearances: BYU (2022)
Game records
Team
Performance vs. Opponent
Year
Most points scored (one team)
52 , shared by: BYU vs. UTEP Utah State vs. North Texas
2010 2018
Most points scored (losing team)
48 , Nevada vs. Arizona
2012
Most points scored (both teams)
97 , Nevada vs. Arizona
2012
Fewest points allowed
0 , New Mexico vs. Nevada
2007
Largest margin of victory
39 , Utah State vs. North Texas
2018
Total yards
659 , Nevada vs. Arizona
2012
Rushing yards
404 , Nevada vs. Arizona
2012
Passing yards
410 , Washington State vs. Colorado State
2013
First downs
39 , Nevada vs. Arizona
2012
Fewest yards allowed
200 , New Mexico State vs. Fresno State
2023
Fewest rushing yards allowed
–12 , BYU vs. UTEP
2010
Fewest passing yards allowed
47 , BYU vs. SMU
2022
Individual
Player, Team
Year
All-purpose yards
375 , Gartrell Johnson (Colorado State)
2008
Points scored
30 , Connor Halliday (Washington State)
2013
Rushing yards
285 , Gartrell Johnson (Colorado State)
2008
Rushing touchdowns
3 , shared by 4 players: Ka'Deem Carey (Arizona) Kapri Bibbs (Colorado State) Jared Baker (Arizona) Lamar Jordan (New Mexico)
2012 2013 2015 2015
Passing yards
410 , Connor Halliday (Washington State)
2013
Passing touchdowns
6 , Connor Halliday (Washington State)
2013
Receiving yards
182 , Cayleb Jones (Arizona)
2015
Receiving touchdowns
3 , shared by: Kris Adams (UTEP) Cody Hoffman (BYU)
2010 2010
Tackles
18 , Matt Castelo (San Jose State)
2006
Sacks
2 , shared by: Brett Madsen (New Mexico) Mitch Unrein (Wyoming) Cory James (Colorado State) Scooby Wright III (Arizona) Tipa Galeai (Utah State) Khoury Bethley (Hawai'i) Jeremiah Pritchard (Hawai'i)
2007 2009 2013 2015 2018 2020 2020
Interceptions
2 , shared by: Andrew Rich (BYU) D.J. Williams (Utah State)
2010 2018
Long Plays
Player, Team
Year
Touchdown run
90 yds. , Tyler King (Marshall)
2017
Touchdown pass
92 yds. , Lamar Jordan to Delane Hart–Johnson (New Mexico)
2015
Kickoff return
92 yds. , Calvin Turner (Hawaii)[ 11]
2020
Punt return
43 yds. , JD Falslev (BYU)
2010
Interception return
76 yds. , Ben Bywater (BYU)
2022
Fumble return
56 yds. , Damaja Jones (San Jose State)
2006
Punt
67 yds. , Ryan Rehkow (BYU)
2022
Field goal
53 yds. , John Sullivan (New Mexico)
2007
Source:[ 12] : 10–13
ESPN College Football holds the rights to televise the New Mexico Bowl. In 2006, the inaugural edition of the bowl, the game was carried on ESPN2 , from 2007 to 2021 the game was carried on ESPN , In 2022, the game was carried on ABC .[ 13]
References
^ "2019 Bowl Schedule" . collegefootballpoll.com . Retrieved December 13, 2019 .
^ Kelley, Kevin (November 24, 2020). "2020 New Mexico Bowl to be played in Frisco, Texas" . fbschedules.com . Retrieved November 24, 2020 .
^ Korte, Tim (December 20, 2006). "Native American Artists Create Unique N.M. Bowl Trophy" . Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved December 24, 2006 .
^ Smith, Mark (October 11, 2019). "Dream or Nightmare? New Mexico Bowl's New Title Sponsor Called a 'Scam Artist!' " . Enchantment Sports . Retrieved November 25, 2020 .
^ Heild, Colleen. "Questions raised about status of new NM Bowl sponsor" . www.abqjournal.com . Retrieved October 25, 2019 .
^ May, Jake. "ESPN Drops New Mexico Bowl Title Sponsor After Three Weeks" . Sports Illustrated . Retrieved October 25, 2019 .
^ Rondina, Steven (December 6, 2021). "Yes, PUBG Mobile is actually sponsoring an NCAA football game" . win.gg . Retrieved October 30, 2023 .
^ Hofheimer, Bill (September 22, 2023). "Isleta Named New Title Sponsor of the New Mexico Bowl" . ESPN Press Room U.S . Retrieved October 30, 2023 .
^ "New Mexico Bowl Presented By Progressive" (PDF) . Bowl/All Star Game Records . NCAA. 2020. p. 15. Retrieved January 3, 2021 – via NCAA.org.
^ "History: Outstanding Offensive Player Honorees & Outstanding Defensive Player Honorees" . newmexicobowl.com . Retrieved December 28, 2024 .
^ "Hawaii vs. Houston - Box Score" . ESPN.com . December 24, 2020. Retrieved December 24, 2020 .
^ "New Mexico Bowl Record Book" (PDF) . newmexicobowl.com . 2019. Retrieved December 21, 2019 .
^ Kelly, Doug (ed.). "2019–20 Football Bowl Association Media Guide" (PDF) . footballbowlassociation.com . p. 38. Retrieved January 4, 2020 .
External links