Battle of I-10

The Battle of I-10 is the name given to the New Mexico State–UTEP football rivalry.[1] It is a college rivalry game between New Mexico State University (NMSU) and the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). It is called the Battle of I-10 because the two universities are located along Interstate 10 connecting Las Cruces and El Paso. The teams compete for the Silver Spade Trophy and the Mayor's Cup.

Battle of I-10
New Mexico State Aggies
UTEP Miners
SportFootball
First meetingOctober 31, 1914
New Mexico A&M 19, Texas State M&M 0
Latest meetingOctober 18, 2023
New Mexico State 28, UTEP 7
Next meeting2024
StadiumsAggie Memorial Stadium
Las Cruces, New Mexico, U.S.
Sun Bowl
El Paso, Texas, U.S.
TrophySilver Spade Trophy
Mayor's Cup
Statistics
Meetings total100
All-time seriesUTEP leads 59–39–2 (.600)
Largest victoryTexas State M&M, 92–7 (1948)
Longest win streakUTEP, 8 (2009–2016)
Current win streakNew Mexico State, 1 (2023–present)
🌍
Locations of New Mexico State and UTEP

Football

The 109–year-old series between the New Mexico State Aggies and the UTEP Miners has had many exciting finishes in its storied history. Although UTEP holds the series lead at 59–38–2, largely due to dominance in the series from the 1920s to the 1960s, UTEP's advantage is 13-5 since 2004 and the Miners won eight straight games between 2009 and 2016 and the last two games as of 2023.

The winner of the annual matchup receives a pair of traveling trophies. The older of the two is known as the Silver Spade and dates to 1955. The trophy is a replica of a prospector's shovel from an abandoned mine in the Organ Mountains. The Mayor's Cup was added in 1982 and is nicknamed the Brass Spittoon.[2]

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 New Mexico State 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 New Mexico State 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.

In August 2020, New Mexico State postponed football and fall sports due to COVID-19.[3] However, UTEP and Conference USA proceeded with fall football. As a result, in 2020, the Battle of I-10 had no football game for the first time since 2003.

On November 5, 2021, New Mexico State announced it would be joining UTEP in Conference USA in all sports including football starting in 2023. This will mark the first time in over 60 years that the Battle of I-10 will be played as a conference game; before this, the last time this happened was in 1961, with both schools as members of the now defunct Border Conference.[4]

Notable statistics
  • From 1920 to 1951, UTEP hosted 22 of 28 games.
  • Before 1927, New Mexico State dominated the first 10 games with a record of 8–1–1.
  • From 1927 to 1967, UTEP dominated the series with a record of 29–7–1.
  • New Mexico State's back-to-back victories in 1960–1961 were its first since 1937–1938.
  • As of 2011, UTEP has won on the road 17 times, while New Mexico State has won on the road 16 times.
  • There have been 2 ties in the series, once in El Paso in 1925 and once in Las Cruces in 1952.
  • The September 26, 1998 game at Aggie Memorial Stadium set the all-time attendance record for any football game at the stadium with 32,993 in attendance.
  • The September 25, 1999 game at Sun Bowl set a new attendance record for that stadium with 52,247 which surpasses all Sun Bowl games and NFL Exhibition games ever played there. However, since then 2 regular season UTEP games have surpassed that attendance.[5]
  • The two most record breaking lopsided victories in the rivalry:
    • November 11, 1922 – New Mexico State 64, UTEP 0
    • November 25, 1948 – UTEP 92, New Mexico State 7

Game results

Note: UTEP was known as the Texas School of Mines and Metallurgy prior to 1949 and Texas Western College from 1949–1967 and New Mexico State 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.

New Mexico State victoriesUTEP victoriesTie games
No.DateLocationWinnerScore
1October 31, 1914Las Cruces, NMNew Mexico A&M19–0
2October 30, 1915Las Cruces, NMNew Mexico A&M34–0
3November 25, 1916Las Cruces, NMTexas State M&M6–3
4November 11, 1920El Paso, TXNew Mexico A&M12–7
5November 11, 1921El Paso, TXNew Mexico A&M13–0
6November 11, 1922Las Cruces, NMNew Mexico A&M64–0
7November 11, 1923El Paso, TXNew Mexico A&M23–2
8November 8, 1924El Paso, TXNew Mexico A&M19–0
9November 7, 1925El Paso, TXTie6–6
10November 6, 1926El Paso, TXNew Mexico A&M10–8
11November 12, 1927El Paso, TXTexas State M&M19–7
12November 10, 1928El Paso, TXTexas State M&M6–0
13November 9, 1929El Paso, TXTexas State M&M8–0
14November 15, 1930Las Cruces, NMTexas State M&M25–0
15November 21, 1931El Paso, TXTexas State M&M20–0
16October 29, 1932Las Cruces, NMTexas State M&M31–6
17November 4, 1933El Paso, TXTexas State M&M9–0
18November 28, 1935Las Cruces, NMNew Mexico A&M7–0
19November 26, 1936El Paso, TXTexas State M&M27–7
20September 24, 1937Las Cruces, NMNew Mexico A&M14–0
21November 24, 1938El Paso, TXNew Mexico A&M13–9
22November 30, 1939Las Cruces, NMTexas State M&M34–0
23November 30, 1940El Paso, TXTexas State M&M40–26
24November 22, 1941El Paso, TXTexas State M&M24–13
25November 26, 1942El Paso, TXTexas State M&M61–6
26November 28, 1946El Paso, TXNew Mexico A&M14–7
27November 22, 1947El Paso, TXTexas State M&M26–0
28November 25, 1948El Paso, TXTexas State M&M92–7
29November 25, 1949El Paso, TXTexas Western69–7
30September 23, 1950El Paso, TXTexas Western40–0
31September 29, 1951El Paso, TXTexas Western41–7
32October 18, 1952Las Cruces, NMTie20–20
33October 17, 1953El Paso, TXTexas Western39–0
34October 30, 1954Las Cruces, NMTexas Western12–7
35October 29, 1955El Paso, TXTexas Western41–6
36October 27, 1956Las Cruces, NMTexas Western51–7
37October 26, 1957El Paso, TXTexas Western42–12
38October 25, 1958Las Cruces, NMNew Mexico A&M17–16
39October 24, 1959El Paso, TXTexas Western20–15
40November 26, 1960Las Cruces, NM#15 New Mexico State27–15
41October 28, 1961El Paso, TXNew Mexico State42–6
42November 10, 1962Las Cruces, NMTexas Western21–0
43October 5, 1963El Paso, TXTexas Western14–13
44November 21, 1964Las Cruces, NMNew Mexico State13–7
45October 2, 1965El Paso, TXTexas Western21–6
46November 19, 1966El Paso, TXTexas Western28–14
47November 4, 1967El Paso, TXUTEP46–24
48October 19, 1968El Paso, TXUTEP30–14
49November 8, 1969El Paso, TXNew Mexico State41–38
50October 3, 1970El Paso, TXUTEP21–14
51October 16, 1971Las Cruces, NMUTEP14–7
No.DateLocationWinnerScore
52September 30, 1972El Paso, TXUTEP21–20
53October 6, 1973El Paso, TXNew Mexico State27–23
54October 12, 1974Las Cruces, NMNew Mexico State14–13
55September 13, 1975El Paso, TXNew Mexico State31–24
56September 11, 1976Las Cruces, NMNew Mexico State13–10
57October 1, 1977El Paso, TXUTEP23–21
58September 16, 1978Las Cruces, NMNew Mexico State35–32
59September 15, 1979El Paso, TXNew Mexico State14–13
60September 13, 1980Las Cruces, NMNew Mexico State6–3
61September 5, 1981El Paso, TXNew Mexico State14–7
62September 4, 1982Las Cruces, NMUTEP20–17
63September 3, 1983El Paso, TXUTEP20–9
64October 6, 1984Las Cruces, NMNew Mexico State27–16
65September 21, 1985El Paso, TXNew Mexico State22–20
66September 13, 1986Las Cruces, NMUTEP47–33
67September 5, 1987El Paso, TXUTEP31–0
68October 29, 1988Las Cruces, NMUTEP42–9
69September 16, 1989Las Cruces, NMUTEP29–27
70September 8, 1990El Paso, TXUTEP27–24
71September 14, 1991Las Cruces, NMUTEP22–21
72September 19, 1992El Paso, TXNew Mexico State30–24
73September 18, 1993Las Cruces, NMNew Mexico State31–14
74September 17, 1994El Paso, TXNew Mexico State23–22
75September 2, 1995Las Cruces, NMNew Mexico State45–17
76September 14, 1996El Paso, TXUTEP14–7
77September 27, 1997El Paso, TXUTEP24–16
78September 26, 1998Las Cruces, NMNew Mexico State33–24
79September 25, 1999El Paso, TXUTEP54–23
80September 30, 2000El Paso, TXUTEP41–31
81October 5, 2002Las Cruces, NMNew Mexico State49–14
82October 2, 2004El Paso, TXUTEP45–0
83September 3, 2005Las Cruces, NMUTEP34–17
84September 30, 2006El Paso, TXUTEP44–38
85September 15, 2007Las Cruces, NMNew Mexico State29–24
86September 20, 2008El Paso, TXNew Mexico State34–33
87September 19, 2009Las Cruces, NMUTEP38–12
88September 18, 2010El Paso, TXUTEP42–10
89September 17, 2011Las Cruces, NMUTEP16–10
90September 15, 2012El Paso, TXUTEP41–28
91September 14, 2013Las Cruces, NMUTEP42–21
92September 13, 2014El Paso, TXUTEP42–24
93September 19, 2015Las Cruces, NMUTEP50–47
94September 3, 2016El Paso, TXUTEP38–22
95September 23, 2017Las Cruces, NMNew Mexico State41–14
96September 22, 2018El Paso, TXNew Mexico State27–20
97November 23, 2019Las Cruces, NMNew Mexico State44–35
98August 28, 2021Las Cruces, NMUTEP30–3
99September 10, 2022El Paso, TXUTEP20–13
100October 18, 2023El Paso, TXNew Mexico State28–7
Series: UTEP leads 59–39–2
  • Non-conference games (75: 1914–1933 and 1962–2022)
  • Not played in 10 seasons (1917–1919, 1934, 1943–1945, 2001, 2003 and 2020)

Coaching records

Since first game on October 31, 1914

New Mexico State
Head Coach Team Games Seasons Wins Losses Ties Pct.
Clarence W. RussellNew Mexico A&M31914–1916210.667
John G. GriffithNew Mexico A&M01917000–
No team (1918)
Anthony SavageNew Mexico A&M01919000–
Dutch BergmanNew Mexico A&M31920–19223001.000
R. R. BrownNew Mexico A&M31923–1925201.833
Arthur BurkholderNew Mexico A&M119261001.000
Ted CoffmanNew Mexico A&M21927–1928020.000
Jerry HinesNew Mexico A&M101929–1939370.300
Julius H. JohnstonNew Mexico A&M31940–1942030.000
Maurice MoulderNew Mexico A&M01943000–
No team (1944–1945)
Raymond A. CurfmanNew Mexico A&M21946–1947110.500
Vaughn CorleyNew Mexico A&M31948–1950030.000
Joseph T. ColemanNew Mexico A&M21951–1952011.250
James PattonNew Mexico A&M21953–1954020.000
Tony CavalloNew Mexico A&M31955–1957030.000
Warren B. WoodsonNew Mexico A&M / State101958–1967460.400
Jim WoodNew Mexico State51968–1972140.200
Jim BradleyNew Mexico State51973–1977410.800
Gil KruegerNew Mexico State51978–1982410.800
Fred ZechmanNew Mexico State31983–1985210.667
Mike KnollNew Mexico State41986–1989040.000
Jim HessNew Mexico State71990–1996430.571
Tony SamuelNew Mexico State61997–200424 .333
Hal MummeNew Mexico State42005–200822 .500
DeWayne WalkerNew Mexico State42009–201204 .000
Doug MartinNew Mexico State82013–202135 .375
Jerry KillNew Mexico State22022–present11 .500

UTEP
Head Coach Team Games Seasons Wins Losses Ties Pct.
Tommy Dwyer (a)Texas State M&M31914–1917120.333
No team (1918)
Tommy Dwyer (b)Texas State M&M01919000–
Harry Van SurdamTexas State M&M11920010.000
Thomas C. HollidayTexas State M&M11921010.000
Jack C. VowellTexas State M&M21922–1923020.000
George B. PowellTexas State M&M31924–1926021.167
E. J. StewartTexas State M&M21927–19282001.000
Mack SaxonTexas State M&M121929–1941930.750
Walter MilnerTexas State M&M119421001.000
No team (1943–1945)
Jack CurticeTexas State M&M / Western41946–1949310.750
Mike BrumbelowTexas Western71950–1956601.929
Ben CollinsTexas Western51957–1961230.400
Bum PhillipsTexas Western119621001.000
Warren HarperTexas Western21963–1964110.500
Bobby DobbsTexas Western / UTEP81965–1972710.875
Tommy HudspethUTEP11972–1973010.000
Gil BartoshUTEP31974–1976030.000
Bill MichaelUTEP51977–1981140.200
Billy AltonUTEP01981000–
Bill YungUTEP41982–1985220.500
Bob StullUTEP31986–19883001.000
David LeeUTEP51989–1993320.600
Charlie BaileyUTEP61993–1999330.500
Gary NordUTEP22000–200311 .500
Mike Price (a)UTEP92004–201272 .778
Sean KuglerUTEP52013–201741 .800
Mike Price (b)UTEP0201700 –
Dana DimelUTEP32018–present12 .333
  • Tommy Dwyer's overall record in series was 2–0–0 (1.000)
  • Mike Price's overall record in series is 7–2 (.778)

Basketball

The New Mexico State 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 (Lou Henson at New Mexico State, Don Haskins at UTEP) 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 New Mexico State 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. New Mexico State has appeared in the NCAA Tournament 18 times to UTEP's 17 appearances, and New Mexico State has advanced to the Sweet Sixteen five times to UTEP's four (although three of New Mexico State'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 2017–18 season New Mexico State records show that the schools have met 200 times, with New Mexico State holding a 109–103 all time advantage,[6] while UTEP records show 201 meetings with New Mexico State's advantage at 108–104.[7] 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 to split the season series.

See also

References
  1. "History & Spirit - The University of Texas at El Paso". alumni.utep.edu.
  2. Staff, UTEP (November 22, 2019). "Battle of I-10 between UTEP, NMSU makes its way to the football field". KFOX. The winner of the annual matchup between UTEP and NM State will take home 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 is officially titled the Mayor's Cup, but is commonly referred to as the Brass Spittoon and was added in 1982.
  3. "New Mexico State will not play football in fall due to COVID-19 concerns". Las Cruces Sun-News. August 13, 2020. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  4. "NM State to Join Conference USA on July 1, 2023". New Mexico State University Athletics. Retrieved 2022-10-29.
  5. "2008 Brut Sun Bowl - 75th Anniversary - Largest Crowds at Sun Bowl Stadium". Archived from the original on 2008-12-11. Retrieved 2009-10-20.
  6. "Aggies Host UTEP Saturday at 6 PM". New Mexico State University Athletics.
  7. "Miners Will Have Their Hands Full With Big, Experienced Aggies". utepathletics.com.
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