Rio Grande Rivalry to remain once a year for Lobos, Aggies

It's like the break up never happened. While Utah State is one of the five schools moving on this summer from the Mountain West to the new version of the Pac-12, the Aggies and UNM Lobos on Thursday morning gave a jointly-scheduled announcement of a two-year home-and-home series for the men's basketball rivalry to continue in a nonconference form. And for the Lobos, that means two sets of Aggies are coming to the Pit this fall as the NM State Aggies will also play in the Pit as part of a new two-year home-and-home series — a decision to stick, for now, to the once-a-year series and not the twice-a-year format the rivalry featured for most of the past century.

As for Utah State, and recently-hired Ben Jacobson, the Logan-based Aggies will play in the Pit on Nov. 29. The Lobos will return the favor and play in Utah on a yet-to-be-determined date in the 2027-28 season.

The teams combined to win the past three Mountain West championships — Utah State in 2024 and 2026 and UNM in 2025. Both teams have lived life around the NCAA Tournament bubble the past few years and have both been vocal — regardless of coach at either program — about the need, and difficulty in finding quality nonconference games. This past season, Utah State's final NET ranking of 25 meant they were a Quad 1 level matchup for the Lobos in both meetings.

UNM's 46 final NET ranking meant they were a Quad 1 win for Utah State in the Pit and a Quad 2 game in Logan. Securing Quad 1 and 2 games has proven very difficult for both. The new 10-team format of the Mountain West conference will feature an 18-game league schedule — nine home games and nine on the road against every league opponent.