Battle of I-10

New Mexico State – UTEP rivalry
"The Battle of I-10"
(1914–present)
Teams New Mexico State Aggies
UTEP Miners
Sponsor FirstLight Federal Credit Union

Basketball Series NMSU leads 107–101 (NMSU records)

NMSU leads 106–103 (UTEP records)

Last Winner NMSU (2014)
Current Win Streak 1 – NMSU – (2014)

Football Series UTEP leads 56–35–2
Last Winner UTEP (2015)
Current Win Streak 7 – UTEP – (2009–2015)

New Mexico State UTEP
New Mexico State University
University of Texas at El Paso
Locations of NMSU and UTEP

The Battle of I-10 is a college rivalry between The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) and New Mexico State University (NMSU). It is called the Battle of I-10 because the two universities are located along Interstate 10 connecting El Paso and Las Cruces.

Football

The 101-year-old series between the UTEP Miners and the NMSU Aggies has had many exciting finishes in its storied history. Although UTEP holds the series lead at 56–35–2, largely due to dominance in the series from the 1920s to the 1960s, UTEP's advantage is 7-0 since 2009.

The winner of the annual matchup receives a pair of traveling trophies. The older of the two is known as the Silver Spade. It is a replica of an old prospector's shovel found in an abandoned mine in the Organ Mountains near Las Cruces and has been traded between the schools since 1955. A second trophy, officially titled the Mayor's Cup but commonly nicknamed the Brass Spittoon, was added in 1982.

Due to the close proximity of the campuses it was natural for a rivalry to develop. The Texas College of Mines played its first ever game against a collegiate opponent versus New Mexico A&M in 1914 and, with few exceptions, including during World War I and World War II, the teams would meet again every year. Following World War II the series resumed on an annual basis from 1946 until 2001, when UTEP's administration made the controversial decision to cancel their scheduled trip to Las Cruces in favor of scheduling an additional home contest against a Division I-AA opponent. The schools agreed to meet again in 2002 (a 49–14 NMSU win, their biggest blowout of the Miners since 1922), but did not play again until 2004 in El Paso when the Miners exacted revenge for their blowout loss two years prior with a 45–0 pasting of the Aggies, the most lopsided result in the series in 55 years. The blowout marked the beginning of a three game winning streak for UTEP in the rivalry. The tide of the series then seemingly turned back in the Aggies' favor, as NMSU defeated UTEP the next two years, their first back-to-back wins over UTEP since 1994 and 1995. The Aggies edged the Miners 34–33 on September 20, 2008 at the Sun Bowl for their first win in El Paso since 1994. However, the most recent three games in the series have gone back to the Miners, with UTEP defeating NMSU at Aggie Memorial Stadium 38–12 on September 19, 2009 (only their second win in the Mesilla Valley since 1991), topping the Aggies 42–10 at the Sun Bowl on September 18, 2010, and again defeating the Aggies 16–10 on September 17, 2011 in Las Cruces for their first back-to-back road wins in the series since winning four straight games in Las Cruces between 1986 and 1991.

Notable statistics

Game results

NMSU victories are shaded in ██ crimson. UTEP victories are shaded in ██ blue.

Note: UTEP was known as the Texas School of Mines and Metallurgy prior to 1949 and Texas Western College from 1949–1967, and NMSU was known as New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts prior to 1960. Both schools are listed under their modern abbreviations for all games.

Year Site Winning team Losing team Series
1914 Las Cruces, NM NMSU19 UTEP0 NMSU 1–0
1915 Las Cruces, NM NMSU33 UTEP0 NMSU 2–0
1916 Las Cruces, NM UTEP6 NMSU3 NMSU 2–1
1920 El Paso, TX NMSU12 UTEP7 NMSU 3–1
1921 El Paso, TX NMSU13 UTEP0 NMSU 4–1
1922 Las Cruces, NM NMSU64 UTEP0 NMSU 5–1
1923 El Paso, TX NMSU23 UTEP2 NMSU 6–1
1924 El Paso, TX NMSU19 UTEP0 NMSU 7–1
1925 El Paso, TX NMSU6 UTEP6 NMSU 7–1–1
1926 El Paso, TX NMSU10 UTEP8 NMSU 8–1–1
1927 El Paso, TX UTEP19 NMSU7 NMSU 8–2–1
1928 El Paso, TX UTEP6 NMSU0 NMSU 8–3–1
1929 El Paso, TX UTEP8 NMSU0 NMSU 8–4–1
1930 Las Cruces, NM UTEP25 NMSU8 NMSU 8–5–1
1931 El Paso, TX UTEP20 NMSU0 NMSU 8–6–1
1932 Las Cruces, NM UTEP31 NMSU6 NMSU 8–7–1
1933 El Paso, TX UTEP9 NMSU0 Tied 8–8–1
1935 Las Cruces, NM NMSU7 UTEP0 NMSU 9–8–1
1936 El Paso, TX UTEP27 NMSU7 Tied 9–9–1
1937 Las Cruces, NM NMSU14 UTEP0 NMSU 10–9–1
1938 El Paso, TX NMSU13 UTEP9 NMSU 11–9–1
1939 Las Cruces, NM UTEP34 NMSU0 NMSU 11–10–1
1940 El Paso, TX UTEP40 NMSU26 Tied 11–11–1
1941 El Paso, TX UTEP24 NMSU13 UTEP 12–11–1
1942 El Paso, TX UTEP61 NMSU6 UTEP 13–11–1
1946 El Paso, TX NMSU14 UTEP6 UTEP 13–12–1
1947 El Paso, TX UTEP26 NMSU0 UTEP 14–12–1
1948 El Paso, TX UTEP92 NMSU7 UTEP 15–12–1
1949 El Paso, TX UTEP69 NMSU7 UTEP 16–12–1
1950 El Paso, TX UTEP40 NMSU0 UTEP 17–12–1
1951 El Paso, TX UTEP41 NMSU7 UTEP 18–12–1
1952 Las Cruces, NM NMSU20 UTEP20 UTEP 18–12–2
1953 El Paso, TX UTEP39 NMSU10 UTEP 19–12–2
1954 Las Cruces, NM UTEP12 NMSU7 UTEP 20–12–2
1955 El Paso, TX UTEP41 NMSU6 UTEP 21–12–2
1956 Las Cruces, NM UTEP51 NMSU7 UTEP 22–12–2
1957 El Paso, TX UTEP42 NMSU12 UTEP 23–12–2
1958 Las Cruces, NM NMSU17 UTEP16 UTEP 23–13–2
1959 El Paso, TX UTEP20 NMSU15 UTEP 24–13–2
1960 Las Cruces, NM NMSU27 UTEP15 UTEP 24–14–2
1961 El Paso, TX NMSU42 UTEP6 UTEP 24–15–2
1962 Las Cruces, NM UTEP21 NMSU0 UTEP 25–15–2
1963 El Paso, TX UTEP14 NMSU13 UTEP 26–15–2
1964 Las Cruces, NM NMSU13 UTEP7 UTEP 26–16–2
1965 El Paso, TX UTEP21 NMSU6 UTEP 27–16–2
1966 El Paso, TX UTEP28 NMSU14 UTEP 28–16–2
1967 El Paso, TX UTEP46 NMSU24 UTEP 29–16–2
1968 Las Cruces, NM UTEP30 NMSU14 UTEP 30–16–2
1969 El Paso, TX NMSU41 UTEP38 UTEP 30–17–2
1970 El Paso, TX UTEP21 NMSU14 UTEP 31–17–2
1971 Las Cruces, NM UTEP14 NMSU7 UTEP 32–17–2
1972 El Paso, TX UTEP21 NMSU20 UTEP 33–17–2
1973 Las Cruces, NM NMSU27 UTEP23 UTEP 33–18–2
1974 Las Cruces, NM NMSU14 UTEP13 UTEP 33–19–2
1975 El Paso, TX NMSU31 UTEP24 UTEP 33–20–2
1976 Las Cruces, NM NMSU13 UTEP10 UTEP 33–21–2
1977 El Paso, TX UTEP23 NMSU21 UTEP 34–21–2
1978 Las Cruces, NM NMSU35 UTEP32 UTEP 34–22–2
1979 El Paso, TX NMSU14 UTEP13 UTEP 34–23–2
1980 Las Cruces, NM NMSU6 UTEP3 UTEP 34–24–2
1981 El Paso, TX NMSU14 UTEP7 UTEP 34–25–2
1982 Las Cruces, NM UTEP20 NMSU17 UTEP 35–25–2
1983 El Paso, TX UTEP20 NMSU9 UTEP 36–25–2
1984 Las Cruces, NM NMSU27 UTEP16 UTEP 36–26–2
1985 El Paso, TX NMSU22 UTEP20 UTEP 36–27–2
1986 Las Cruces, NM UTEP47 NMSU33 UTEP 37–27–2
1987 El Paso, TX UTEP37 NMSU0 UTEP 38–27–2
1988 Las Cruces, NM UTEP42 NMSU9 UTEP 39–27–2
1989 Las Cruces, NM UTEP29 NMSU27 UTEP 40–27–2
1990 El Paso, TX UTEP27 NMSU24 UTEP 41–27–2
1991 Las Cruces, NM UTEP22 NMSU21 UTEP 42–27–2
1992 El Paso, TX NMSU30 UTEP24 UTEP 42–28–2
1993 Las Cruces, NM NMSU31 UTEP14 UTEP 42–29–2
1994 El Paso, TX NMSU23 UTEP22 UTEP 42–30–2
1995 Las Cruces, NM NMSU45 UTEP17 UTEP 42–31–2
1996 El Paso, TX UTEP14 NMSU7 UTEP 43–31–2
1997 El Paso, TX UTEP24 NMSU16 UTEP 44–31–2
1998 Las Cruces, NM NMSU33 UTEP24 UTEP 44–32–2
1999 El Paso, TX UTEP54 NMSU23 UTEP 45–32–2
2000 El Paso, TX UTEP41 NMSU31 UTEP 46–32–2
2002 Las Cruces, NM NMSU49 UTEP14 UTEP 46–33–2
2004 El Paso, TX UTEP45 NMSU0 UTEP 47–33–2
2005 Las Cruces, NM UTEP34 NMSU17 UTEP 48–33–2
2006 El Paso, TX UTEP44 NMSU38 UTEP 49–33–2
2007 Las Cruces, NM NMSU29 UTEP24 UTEP 49–34–2
2008 El Paso, TX NMSU34 UTEP33 UTEP 49–35–2
2009 Las Cruces, NM UTEP38 NMSU12 UTEP 50–35–2
2010 El Paso, TX UTEP42 NMSU10 UTEP 51–35–2
2011 Las Cruces, NM UTEP16 NMSU10 UTEP 52–35–2
2012 El Paso, TX UTEP41 NMSU28 UTEP 53–35–2
2013 Las Cruces, NM UTEP42 NMSU21 UTEP 54–35–2
2014 El Paso, TX UTEP42 NMSU24 UTEP 55–35–2
2015 Las Cruces, NM UTEP50 NMSU47 UTEP 56–35–2

[2]

Basketball

The NMSU and UTEP men's basketball programs share remarkably similar histories and have played an extremely competitive series of games against one another. The programs both experienced their greatest national prominence in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when both schools were led by young up-and-coming coaches who would eventually win more than 700 games (Don Haskins at UTEP, Lou Henson at NMSU) and appeared in the NCAA Tournament's Final Four within four years of each other. UTEP (then still known as Texas Western) won the 1966 national title while NMSU advanced to the 1970 national semifinal before falling to UCLA, but won the consolation game to finish the season third in the nation. Both programs returned to national prominence in the early 1990s with the Aggies and Miners both advancing to the NCAA Tournament's "Sweet Sixteen" in 1992. NMSU has appeared in the NCAA Tournament 18 times to UTEP's 17 appearances, and NMSU has advanced to the Sweet Sixteen five times to UTEP's four (although three of NMSU's appearances in the early 1990s, including the 1992 Sweet Sixteen run, have since been vacated by the NCAA due to rules violations). Most recently, both schools won conference titles and advanced to the NCAA tournament in 2010.

There is some discrepancy between the two schools on the all-time series record as well as the number of all-time meetings between the schools. Entering the 2011–12 season NMSU records show that the schools have met 200 times, with NMSU holding a 102–98 all time advantage,[3] while UTEP records show 201 meetings with NMSU's advantage at 101–100.[4] Uniquely among non-conference rivalries, the schools traditionally play a two game home-and-home series each season, unlike most other non-conference rivalry series where a single meeting per season is the norm. UTEP swept the 2010–11 series between the schools, winning 73–56 on November 23, 2010 in El Paso and 74–72 on November 30, 2010 in Las Cruces. The Aggies defeated the Miners 89–73 in the first meeting of the 2011–12 season series on November 19, 2011 at the Pan American Center in Las Cruces. And later in the second meeting of 2011–12 basketball season the Miners defeated the Aggies 73–69 on December 11, 2011 at the Don Haskins Center in El Paso, TX to split the season series.

References

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