# New Mexico Bowl

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.

## 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.
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, that alleged DreamHouse Productions was tied to a scam artist and questioned the company's legitimacy.
The 2021 edition of the game was sponsored by PUBG Mobile. In September 2023, the Isleta Pueblo, an operator of resorts and casinos, was named the new title sponsor of the bowl.

## Game results

| Date | Winning team | Winning team | Losing 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:

## MVPs

| Year | Offensive MVP | Offensive MVP | Offensive MVP | Defensive MVP | Defensive MVP | Defensive MVP |
| Year | Player | Team | Pos. | Player | Team | Pos. |
| 2006 | James Jones | San José State | WR | Matt Castelo | San José State | LB |
| 2007 | Donovan Porterie | New Mexico | QB | Brett Madsen | New Mexico | LB |
| 2008 | Gartrell Johnson | Colorado State | RB | Tommie Hill | Colorado State | DE |
| 2009 | Austyn Carta-Samuels | Wyoming | QB | Mitch Unrein | Wyoming | DE |
| 2010 | Jake Heaps | BYU | QB | Andrew Rich | BYU | FS |
| 2011 | Chris Coyer | Temple | QB | Tahir Whitehead | Temple | LB |
| 2012 | Matt Scott | Arizona | QB | Marquis Flowers | Arizona | LB |
| 2013 | Connor Halliday | Washington State | QB | Shaquil Barrett | Colorado State | DE |
| 2014 | Kent Myers | Utah State | QB | Zach Vigil | Utah State | LB |
| 2015 | Anu Solomon | Arizona | QB | Scooby Wright III | Arizona | LB |
| 2016 | Lamar Jordan | New Mexico | QB | Dakota Cox | New Mexico | LB |
| 2017 | Tyre Brady | Marshall | WR | Channing Hames | Marshall | DL |
| 2018 | Jordan Love | Utah State | QB | DJ Williams | Utah State | DB |
| 2019 | Jordan Byrd Jesse Matthews | San Diego State | RB WR | Kyahva Tezino | San Diego State | LB |
| 2020 | Calvin Turner | Hawaii | WR | Darius Muasau | Hawaii | LB |
| 2021 | Jordan Mims | Fresno State | RB | Elijah Gates | Fresno State | DB |
| 2022 | Sol-Jay Maiava-Peters | BYU | QB | Ben Bywater | BYU | LB |
| 2023 | Mikey Keene | Fresno State | QB | Levelle Bailey | Fresno State | LB |
| 2024 | Josh Hoover | TCU | QB | Devean Deal | TCU | LB |
Source:

## Most appearances

Updated through the December 2024 edition (19 games, 38 total appearances).

### Teams with multiple appearances

| Rank | Team | Appearances | Won | Lost | Win pct. |
| 1 | New Mexico | 4 | 2 | 2 | .500 |
| 1 | Fresno State | 4 | 2 | 2 | .500 |
| 2 | Colorado State | 3 | 2 | 1 | .667 |
| 2 | UTEP | 3 | 0 | 3 | .000 |
| 3 | Arizona | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1.000 |
| 3 | Utah State | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1.000 |
| 3 | BYU | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1.000 |
| 3 | Wyoming | 2 | 1 | 1 | .500 |
| 3 | Nevada | 2 | 0 | 2 | .000 |

### 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).
| Conference | Record | Record | Record | Record | Appearances by season | Appearances by season |
| Conference | Games | W | L | Win pct. | Won | Lost |
| Mountain West | 17 | 12 | 5 | .706 | 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023 | 2006, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017 |
| C-USA | 7 | 1 | 6 | .143 | 2017 | 2010, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2021, 2023 |
| WAC | 4 | 1 | 3 | .250 | 2006 | 2007, 2008, 2009 |
| Pac-12 | 3 | 2 | 1 | .667 | 2012, 2015 | 2013 |
| MAC | 2 | 1 | 1 | .500 | 2011 | 2019 |
| The American | 2 | 0 | 2 | .000 | | 2020, 2022 |
| Independents | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 2022 | |
| Big 12 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 2024 | |
| Sun Belt | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | | 2024 |
* 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) | 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:$^{:10–13}$

## Media coverage

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.