New Mexico State Aggies

Conference USALas Cruces, NMAggie Memorial Stadium

2026: 2–⁠4 (1–⁠1 Conference USA). Last: lost at Florida International 22–⁠3. Next: at Sam Houston, Wednesday, Oct 21, 8 p.m. ET.

  1. L 17–⁠34at Florida State
  2. W 51–⁠14Mercyhurst
  3. L 19–⁠29at Hawai’i
  4. L 18–⁠42New Mexico
  5. W 34–⁠13Western Kentucky
  6. L 3–⁠22at Florida International
  7. Oct 21at Sam Houston
  8. Oct 28Jacksonville State
  9. Nov 7Liberty
  10. Nov 14at Missouri State
  11. Nov 21Delaware
  12. Nov 28at Middle Tennessee
  • Outfitted by Adidas

New Mexico State has played football since 1893 and is 345–⁠632–⁠14 in the 991 games on record here, which start in 1931. Their best finish in the final AP poll is No. 17, in 1960. They have won two Missouri Valley Conference titles (the last in 1978) and two Border Conference titles, counting shared titles. Since 1948, the NFL Draft has taken 34 players from here in its first seven rounds, 0 of them in the first round. The AFL draft also took one player from here. The College Football Hall of Fame holds 1 player and 1 coach from New Mexico State. Warren Woodson (1958–⁠1967) won more games here than any other coach: 63. The most-played rival is New Mexico: 116 meetings, New Mexico leads 76–⁠35–⁠5. This season, under Tony Sanchez, they’re 2–⁠4.

Résumé

All-time record
462–⁠689–⁠30 official; 345–⁠632–⁠14 on file; how we count
Postseason
4–⁠1 bowls, title games, playoff
AP No. 1 finishes
0
Weeks at No. 1
0 of 5 ranked
Elo now
1367 126th of 138 FBS
Computer rankings
Massey No. 122 · Composite No. 127 in FBS, Oct 17; up 1 since Oct 11. From Massey Ratings
Best season by Elo
1960 rated 1670
Conference titles
4 last in 1978
Bowl record
4–⁠1–⁠1 official, bowls only
Seasons
93 since 1931, 991 games

Identity

Apparel
Adidas

2026 season 2–⁠4

RosterFull 2026 season

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

This season, game by game

New Mexico State’s Elo through 2026: 1384 going into the opener, 1367 after the latest game.135013751400Elo 1384 going in; lost to Florida State 34–17Elo 1367 going in; beat Mercyhurst 51–14Elo 1381 going in; lost to Hawai’i 29–19Elo 1367 going in; lost to New Mexico 42–18Elo 1347 going in; beat Western Kentucky 34–13Elo 1385 going in; lost to Florida International 22–3Now: Elo 1367 after the latest game1367
Elo going into each game, then after the latest. Filled dots: wins; open: losses.

Future schedule

2027–⁠34
20272 games: 1 home, 1 away, non-conference only
20281 game: 1 away, non-conference only
20301 game: 1 away, non-conference only
20321 game: 1 away, non-conference only
20341 game: 1 away, non-conference only

New Mexico State’s announced games beyond the seasons on our schedule, as its Wikipedia article lists them (announced schedules as of December 1, 2025). Schedules change; a season shows only the games named so far, and many articles list non-conference games only. Future schedules: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).

On the 2026 team

Program greats See all

Heisman finalists, College Football Hall of Famers, consensus All-Americans, national award winners and first-round picks, for what they did at New Mexico State.

Around the program

Apparel
Adidas · Official source
Mascot
Pistol Pete · Official source
Radio flagship
KXPZ · Official source

Found by several AI researchers searching the web, then kept only where the page loads and says so in words naming the program; every quote is checked again each time the data is rebuilt. Official source: the school’s own page. All of them.

The apparel deal

Adidas, from July 2026. Multi-year; length not published. Replaced Under Armour on July 1, 2026, with Game One as the dealer.

  • NM State Athletics, Dec 16, 2025: Multi-year agreement with adidas and Game One taking effect July 1, 2026

Before: Under Armour, July 2016 through June 2026.

Apparel deals: Field Drip. Terms as the outlets reported them; checked Oct 3, 2026.

Program strength since 1931

Best seasons ever
New Mexico State end-of-season Elo from 1931 to 2026, best in 1960 at 1670.1300150017001900194019601980200020201960 peak: Elo 1670
End-of-season Elo. Dashed line: 1500, an average FBS team.

More coverage

Found through the GDELT Project, which indexes news sites worldwide. Each link opens the story on the outlet’s own site; each picture is that outlet’s own preview of its story, shown from its site and credited to it.

Head coaches

CoachYearsRecord
Tony Sanchez2024–⁠20269–⁠21
Jerry Kill2022–⁠202317–⁠11
Doug Martin2013–⁠202125–⁠74
DeWayne Walker2009–⁠201210–⁠40
Hal Mumme2005–⁠200811–⁠38
Tony Samuel1997–⁠200434–⁠57
Jim Hess1990–⁠199622–⁠55
Mike Knoll1986–⁠19894–⁠40
Fred Zechman1983–⁠19858–⁠25
Gil Krueger1978–⁠198217–⁠37–⁠1
Jim Bradley1973–⁠197723–⁠31–⁠1
Jim Wood1968–⁠197221–⁠30–⁠1
Warren Woodson1958–⁠196763–⁠36–⁠3
Tony Cavallo1955–⁠19577–⁠23
James Patton1953–⁠19542–⁠16
Joe Coleman1951–⁠19523–⁠15–⁠1
Vaughn Corley1948–⁠19509–⁠20
Raymond Curfman1946–⁠19478–⁠11
Julius Johnston1940–⁠19426–⁠21
Gerald Hines1931–⁠193946–⁠31–⁠7

Most-played series

All rivalries
OpponentGamesNMSU record
New Mexico11635–⁠76–⁠5 ‡
UTEP10240–⁠60–⁠2 ‡
Utah State408–⁠32
West Texas3911–⁠26–⁠2
North Texas339–⁠22–⁠2
Arizona State296–⁠22–⁠1
Idaho248–⁠16
Northern Arizona2417–⁠6–⁠1

Official records. † Without wins the NCAA vacated. ‡ The rivalry’s own count, where it differs from the games on file. Each series page gives both.

Rivals the program names: New Mexico, UTEP.

The trophy it holds: Silver Spade (UTEP). Who holds each comes from the games on file; the trophies from Wikipedia.

Every opponent (154)

Every program New Mexico State has played, A to Z, with New Mexico State’s record against it. Each links to the series, game by game.

Official records. † Without wins the NCAA vacated, or with forfeits counted. ‡ The rivalry’s own count, where it differs from the games on file.

Conference titles

4, counting shared titles
Missouri Valley Conference 2
1976 (shared), 1978
Border Conference 2
1938 (shared), 1960

As the program counts them in its Wikipedia article, shared titles included, and listed under each conference’s current name (a Western Conference title of the 1900s counts as a Big Ten title); season pages use the name the conference had that year. A title the article files under a conference the team wasn’t in that season is listed under the one it was. Division titles include years the team tied for its division.

Conferences

  1. Independent 1893–⁠1930
  2. Border Conference 1931–⁠1943 and 1946–⁠1961
  3. Independent 1962–⁠1970
  4. PCAA 1984–⁠1987
  5. Big West 1988–⁠2000
  6. Sun Belt Conference 2001–⁠2004
  7. Independent 2013
  8. Sun Belt Conference 2014–⁠2017
  9. Independent 2018–⁠2022
  10. Conference USA since 2023
  • 1962Went independent from the Border Conference. Source
  • 2001Joined the Sun Belt Conference from the Big West. Source
  • 2005Joined the WAC from the Sun Belt Conference. Source
  • 2013Went independent from the WAC in football. Source
  • 2014Joined the Sun Belt Conference from independence in football, announced March 27, 2013. Source
  • 2018Went independent from the Sun Belt Conference in football. Source
  • 2023Joined Conference USA from independence in football, announced November 5, 2021. Source

New Mexico State’s football conferences by season, from CollegeFootballData.com’s memberships (renamed conferences keep the name of the time). The moves and their announcement dates from Wikipedia’s lists of NCAA Division I conference changes; the year is the first season in the new conference. Conference realignment: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).

Led the nation 13

2006Chris Williams receiving yards (1,425 yds)
2000Kenton Keith yards per carry (7.8)
1995Cody Ledbetter total offense (3,724 yds)
1992Fred Montgomery kickoff return average (32.6)
1991Fred Montgomery kickoff return average (29.4)
1975Donnie Ross punt return average (16.1)
1967Mike Carroll yards per catch (24.1)
1967Sal Olivas passing yards (2,225 yds), total offense (2,184 yds)
1962Preacher Pilot rushing yards (1,247 yds), rushing touchdowns (15 TD)
1961Preacher Pilot rushing yards (1,278 yds), points (138 pts), points per game (13.80)
1960Bob Gaiters rushing yards (1,338 yds), rushing touchdowns (23 TD), points (145 pts), points per game (14.50)
1959Charley Johnson passing touchdowns (18 TD), passer rating (135.7)
1959Pervis Atkins rushing yards (971 yds), rushing touchdowns (13 TD), points (107 pts), punt return yards (241 yds)

The NCAA’s official national leaders since 1937, from Wikipedia’s yearly leader lists.

In the Hall of Fame

Every inductee
Players
1
Coaches
1
2009Pervis Atkins RB
1989Warren B. Woodson coach here, 1958–⁠1967

In the draft

By college
NFL picks, rounds 1–⁠7
34 since 1948
First-round picks
0
AFL picks
1 1962

Who came and went in the 2026 transfer portal, and every portal year.

The school

New Mexico State University-Main Campus
Enrollment
15,408 12,507 undergraduates, fall 2024
Where
Las Cruces, New Mexico
Public or private
Public Research 1
Founded
1888
Graduates’ median earnings
$39,067 10 years after starting

Enrollment, place and Carnegie research tier from the National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS, public domain). Earnings from the US Department of Education’s College Scorecard (CC BY 4.0): the median for students who received federal aid and were working, not in school. Founding year from Wikidata. Every school’s in the data.

Official accounts

Football
X @NMStateFootballInstagram @nmstatefbFacebook NMStateFootball
Athletics department
X @NMStateAggiesInstagram @nmstateaggiesFacebook NMSUAthletics

Official accounts: the schools’ athletics websites: the ones nmstatesports.com lists for its football program and athletics department, as of Oct 12, 2026.

Season by season

National champions
SeasonRecordConf.AP preAP finalCoachEloSP+
20262–⁠41–⁠1Tony Sanchez1367-13.7
20254–⁠82–⁠6Tony Sanchez1325-15.5
20243–⁠92–⁠6Tony Sanchez1346-19.0
202310–⁠57–⁠1Jerry Kill1533-1.8
20227–⁠6Jerry Kill1444-15.4
20212–⁠10Doug Martin1278-24.2
20201–⁠1Doug Martin1317-31.5
20192–⁠10Doug Martin1289-22.0
20183–⁠9Doug Martin1314-20.2
20177–⁠64–⁠4Doug Martin1423-9.4
20163–⁠92–⁠6Doug Martin1280-17.2
20153–⁠93–⁠5Doug Martin1261-18.6
20142–⁠101–⁠7Doug Martin1189-23.3
20132–⁠10Doug Martin1207-35.1
20121–⁠110–⁠6DeWayne Walker1199-33.3
20114–⁠92–⁠5DeWayne Walker1308-18.7
20102–⁠101–⁠7DeWayne Walker1225-29.4
20093–⁠101–⁠7DeWayne Walker1240-28.5
20083–⁠91–⁠7Hal Mumme1264-21.7
20074–⁠91–⁠7Hal Mumme1297-18.7
20064–⁠82–⁠6Hal Mumme1341-10.2
20050–⁠120–⁠8Hal Mumme1247-29.2
20045–⁠63–⁠2Tony Samuel1409-4.4
20033–⁠92–⁠5Tony Samuel1357-17.7
20027–⁠55–⁠1Tony Samuel1449-12.4
Every season back to 1931 (68 more)
SeasonRecordConf.AP preAP finalCoachEloSP+
20015–⁠74–⁠2Tony Samuel1407-15.3
20003–⁠81–⁠4Tony Samuel1355-11.3
19996–⁠53–⁠2Tony Samuel1423-11.3
19983–⁠81–⁠4Tony Samuel1268-17.0
19972–⁠90–⁠5Tony Samuel1202-32.9
19961–⁠100–⁠5Jim Hess1236-29.1
19954–⁠73–⁠4Jim Hess1360-16.1
19943–⁠82–⁠5Jim Hess1287-21.1
19935–⁠64–⁠3Jim Hess1357-17.5
19926–⁠53–⁠3Jim Hess1371-16.7
19912–⁠92–⁠5Jim Hess1241-22.8
19901–⁠101–⁠6Jim Hess1191-33.3
19890–⁠110–⁠7Mike Knoll1170-32.6
19881–⁠100–⁠7Mike Knoll1207-35.6
19872–⁠90–⁠7Mike Knoll1198-35.8
19861–⁠101–⁠6Mike Knoll1173-25.5
19851–⁠100–⁠7Fred Zechman1200-25.0
19842–⁠90–⁠6Fred Zechman1279-28.1
19835–⁠63–⁠2Fred Zechman1362-12.8
19823–⁠81–⁠4Gil Krueger1319-14.6
19813–⁠81–⁠5Gil Krueger1289-21.3
19803–⁠7–⁠11–⁠4–⁠1Gil Krueger1338-11.6
19792–⁠91–⁠5Gil Krueger1282-22.2
19786–⁠55–⁠1Gil Krueger1396-10.0
19774–⁠73–⁠2Jim Bradley1339-12.8
19764–⁠6–⁠12–⁠1–⁠1Jim Bradley1345-16.7
19755–⁠62–⁠2Jim Bradley1345-18.5
19745–⁠62–⁠3Jim Bradley1382-9.0
19735–⁠63–⁠2Jim Bradley1342-17.0
19722–⁠91–⁠3Jim Wood1289-25.9
19715–⁠5–⁠14–⁠0Jim Wood1400-14.6
19704–⁠6Jim Wood1349-18.9
19695–⁠5Jim Wood1418
19685–⁠5Jim Wood1443
19677–⁠2–⁠1Warren Woodson1564
19667–⁠3Warren Woodson1544
19658–⁠2Warren Woodson1525
19646–⁠4Warren Woodson1423
19633–⁠6–⁠1Warren Woodson1319
19624–⁠6Warren Woodson1431
19615–⁠4–⁠12–⁠1Warren Woodson1520
196011–⁠04–⁠017Warren Woodson1670
19598–⁠32–⁠2Warren Woodson1504
19584–⁠61–⁠3Warren Woodson1269
19573–⁠70–⁠4Tony Cavallo1244
19561–⁠90–⁠4Tony Cavallo1195
19553–⁠70–⁠4Tony Cavallo1213
19540–⁠90–⁠4James Patton1109
19532–⁠71–⁠4James Patton1209
19522–⁠6–⁠11–⁠2–⁠1Joe Coleman1175
19511–⁠91–⁠4Joe Coleman1128
19502–⁠71–⁠4Vaughn Corley1230
19494–⁠61–⁠4Vaughn Corley1259
19483–⁠70–⁠4Vaughn Corley1187
19473–⁠61–⁠4Raymond Curfman1257
19465–⁠51–⁠4Raymond Curfman1274
19421–⁠80–⁠6Julius Johnston1148
19412–⁠70–⁠6Julius Johnston1194
19403–⁠61–⁠4Julius Johnston1277
19393–⁠61–⁠4Gerald Hines1338
19387–⁠24–⁠1Gerald Hines1489
19377–⁠24–⁠1Gerald Hines1442
19366–⁠4–⁠13–⁠2Gerald Hines1403
19357–⁠1–⁠24–⁠1Gerald Hines1491
19344–⁠1–⁠30–⁠1–⁠3Gerald Hines1392
19332–⁠60–⁠4Gerald Hines1287
19324–⁠5–⁠11–⁠2–⁠1Gerald Hines1368
19316–⁠41–⁠2Gerald Hines1445

Officially 462–⁠689–⁠30 since 1893 (per Wikipedia, rechecked weekly); game by game here, 345–⁠632–⁠14 (991 of its 1,181 games are on file). Our file starts in 1931; the program began in 1893. Some games are missing from our source.

No season on file for 1943–⁠45: wartime seasons, when many programs didn’t play.

Records are computed from every game on file at CollegeFootballData.com, whose coverage of the earliest seasons can be incomplete. Elo is this site’s own rating; see how it works on the records page.