GORDON: Home for the Holidays No More; UNM Football Should Aim To Take Fans Bowling on the Road
Photo: Chris Rodarte/Game Pass Media
The University of New Mexico football team and the New Mexico Bowl are certainly familiar acquaintances since the bowl’s inception in 2006.
UNM played in the first two New Mexico Bowls in 2006-2007 and had another repeat in 2015-16.
The Lobos haven’t played in their backyard bowl game – or any bowl game – since, but they are tied for the most appearances in it since its inception. (Fresno State and UNM both have four appearances).
The Rate Bowl in Phoenix on Dec. 26 will be the Lobos’ first non-New Mexico Bowl appearance since 2004.
Coach Jason Eck and the Lobos have trod new ground this year. For the program, going to the New Mexico Bowl would be like going to your grandma’s house on Christmas Eve.
We need to continue to break tradition.
I love University Stadium, but I don’t think recruits are dreaming of hoisting the New Mexico Bowl Trophy at the end of a long season.
Despite being six hours away, the day after a major holiday, the Rate Bowl seems to be attracting a lot of Lobo fans to buy tickets for the game against Minnesota at Chase Field next week.
“We need to have a great turnout. From our fans, from our alums,” Eck said. “I’m calling for 10,000 Lobos to be in the stands for this game, which would be tremendous.”
The Pit Press comment section on social media looks like an RSVP section these days, and Lobos jerseys and T-shirts are all over town.
Hell, there’s even a fan bus that will shuttle Lobo diehards to Phoenix for the game.
Healthy home-game attendance, fan support and the hunger for bigger and better bowl games are uncharted territory for this program. Expectations are going to be higher for Eck and the Lobos in 2026.
“When we look at where we are as an athletic department these next three to five years are really crucial for us,” UNM athletic director Fernando Lovo said in a press conference earlier this month. “There’s no secret that football drives the boat as far as where we’re headed.”
The bottom line is this: Would it have been great for the Lobos to play at home in front of the home crowd once again in the New Mexico Bowl? Yes.
Will playing in the Rate Bowl actually be more beneficial for the long-term health of the program and recruiting moving forward?
Also, yes.
“I was hoping to have an opponent, which I think we got [Minnesota], that would really give us credit nationally, beat them and hopefully give you a chance to move up in the rankings,” Eck said. “So, I was fortunate how it all came together.”
The Lobos are heading into an all-new Mountain West next season with many of their key stars returning. Boise State, San Diego State, Fresno State, Utah State and Colorado State are leaving for the Pac-12. I’m not a Vegas bookmaker, but the odds of New Mexico not playing in the New Mexico Bowl next year have to be high right now.
So, this is as good a time as any to get out of our comfort zone concerning UNM football. We’re not spending Christmas at grandma’s house anymore.
This football season has been anything but ordinary, and it’s only fitting for the Lobos to end the season bringing their fans on a Christmas road trip.
Let’s get used to new holiday traditions.
