New Mexico State Aggies football
Encyclopedia
The New Mexico State Aggies football team represents New Mexico State University
in National Collegiate Athletic Association
(NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) college football
competition as a member of the Western Athletic Conference
(WAC).
Jerry Hines
began coaching the Aggies in 1929, and was also coach of the men's basketball team. Hines’ teams competed well in the new Border Conference. Between 1934 and 1938, the football record was 31-10-6, and the team was invited to the first Sun Bowl
in 1936 where they tied the powerful Hardin-Simmons Cowboys 14-14. Hines' coaching career ended with his induction into military service during World War II
.
Future Hall of Fame
inductee Warren B. Woodson
took over as head coach in 1958. He previously had success at the Conway Teachers College
(now Central Arkansas) and Hardin-Simmons. In his second season at New Mexico State, Woodson's team defeated North Texas
in the 1959 Sun Bowl
. The following year, Woodson guided the Aggies to an 11–0 finish, the only perfect season in school history. That year, New Mexico State defeated Utah State
, 20–13, in the 1960 Sun Bowl
, and attained a final AP Poll
ranking of 17th. Quarterback Charley Johnson
won the bowl MVP
honors both years becoming the first and still only player in NCAA history to win the MVP award from the same bowl game in back-to-back years. Johnson went on to play in the NFL
for 15 years with the St. Louis Cardinals
, Houston Oilers, and Denver Broncos
. During his NFL career he managed to complete a Doctorate in Chemical Engineering making him one of only a handful of NFL player to earn a PhD. Dr. Charles Johnson is now a professor and department head of the Chemical Engineering school at NMSU.
The Aggies continued to fare well under Woodson through the 1967 season. However at the end of that season university administration, with whom Woodson had a contentious relationship throughout his career, invoked a clause requiring state employees to retire at age 65. Thus Woodson, who would turn 65 that offseason, was essentially forced out despite a 7-2-1 1967 campaign that ended with a 54-7 shellacking of archrival New Mexico. Since his departure Aggie football has spiraled into an abyss of perennial futility that some Aggie fans have begun to refer to as the "Woodson Curse." In the 40 seasons since Woodson's firing, NMSU has amassed just four winning seasons and two conference titles in 1976 and 1978, while failing to appear in a single bowl game. The Aggies' current 49-year bowl drought is the longest in Div-1A/FBS. The Aggies once again failed to accrue enough victories to be bowl eligible for the 2009 postseason.
Between 1995 and 1998, running back Denvis Manns
became the third college football player to rush for 1,000 yards each of his four seasons. At that time the only other backs that had accomplished the feat at that time were Tony Dorsett
(University of Pittsburgh
) and Amos Lawrence (University of North Carolina
). As of the end of the 2008 season, there are six players to have accomplished the feat.
On September 18, 1999 the Aggies traveled to Tempe
under coach Tony Samuel
and upset the #22 ranked Arizona State Sun Devils by a shocking 35-7 score.
At the end of the 2008 season the Aggies ended their fourth season under Hal Mumme
at 3-9 (1-7 WAC) with a disappointing 47-2 loss to the Utah State Aggies. The following Tuesday, December 2, Mumme was fired. Mumme's record at NMSU over 4 seasons was 11-38. The former quarterback and 15-year NFL veteran Charley Johnson, who was then a chemical engineering
professor at New Mexico State, was appointed as interim head coach during the search for a replacement. Former UCLA Defensive Coordinator DeWayne Walker was name NMSU's head coach on December 31, 2008 signifying a new direction for the pass offense-oriented squad.
Despite some impressive single game wins and individual player stats, the Aggies have struggled as a team in the days since coach Woodson. In November 1990, the 106th ranked team managed to snap their 27 game losing streak, the longest active losing streak at the time, when they defeated 105th ranked Cal State Fullerton
43-9. Fullerton dropped its football program following the 1992 season. The 27 game losing streak puts NMSU tied with Eastern Michigan
for the fourth longest all time losing streak among current FBS schools. The 1988-90 NMSU team is ranked the ninth worst college football team of all time by ESPN. The Aggies were also featured in the August 31, 1992 issue of Sports Illustrated in a piece that chronicles a tradition of losing games. The longest active losing streak in Division I-A football is a title the Aggies have owned multiple times in recent decades. http://cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/div_ia/wac/new_mexico_state/index.php
| valign="top" |
{| cellpadding="1" border="1" cellspacing="0" width="75%"
!bgcolor="#882345"| Year
!bgcolor="#882345"| Conference
!bgcolor="#882345"| Coach
!bgcolor="#882345"| Overall record
!bgcolor="#882345"| Conference record
|- align="center"
| 1938 || Border Intercollegiate Athletic Association
|| Jerry Hines
|| 7–2 || 4–1
|- align="center"
| 1960 || Border Intercollegiate Athletic Association || Warren Woodson || 11–0 || 4–0
|- align="center"
| 1976 || Missouri Valley Conference
|| Jim Bradley || 4–6–1 || 2–1–1
|- align="center"
| 1978 || Missouri Valley Conference || Gil Krueger || 6–5 || 5–1
|}
New Mexico State University
New Mexico State University at Las Cruces , is a major land-grant university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States...
in National Collegiate Athletic Association
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
(NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
competition as a member of the Western Athletic Conference
Western Athletic Conference
The Western Athletic Conference is an American collegiate athletic conference, which was formed on July 27, 1962, making it the sixth oldest of the 11 college athletic conferences currently participating in the NCAA's Division I FBS...
(WAC).
History
One of New Mexico State's earliest football games was the first match-up against in-state rival New Mexico on January 1, 1894.Jerry Hines
Jerry Hines
Gerald H. "Jerry" Hines was an American football and basketball player, coach and athletic director at New Mexico A&M, now New Mexico State University. Hines led the Aggies to multiple successful football and basketball seasons during the 1930s....
began coaching the Aggies in 1929, and was also coach of the men's basketball team. Hines’ teams competed well in the new Border Conference. Between 1934 and 1938, the football record was 31-10-6, and the team was invited to the first Sun Bowl
Sun Bowl
The Sun Bowl is an annual U.S. college football bowl game that is usually played at the end of December in El Paso, Texas. The Sun Bowl, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Orange Bowl are the second-oldest bowl games in the country, behind the Rose Bowl...
in 1936 where they tied the powerful Hardin-Simmons Cowboys 14-14. Hines' coaching career ended with his induction into military service during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Future Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
inductee Warren B. Woodson
Warren B. Woodson
Warren Brooks Woodson was an American football and basketball coach. He served as the head football coach at Arkansas State Teachers College, now the University of Central Arkansas, , Hardin–Simmons University , the University of Arizona , New Mexico State University , and...
took over as head coach in 1958. He previously had success at the Conway Teachers College
University of Central Arkansas
The University of Central Arkansas is a state-run institution located in the city of Conway, the seat of Faulkner County, north of Little Rock and is the fourth largest university by enrollment in the U.S. state of Arkansas, and the third largest college system in the state. The school is most...
(now Central Arkansas) and Hardin-Simmons. In his second season at New Mexico State, Woodson's team defeated North Texas
North Texas Mean Green football
The North Texas Mean Green football team represents the University of North Texas in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I-FBS college football and competes as a member of the Sun Belt Conference. The Mean Green have attained several conference championships, including four...
in the 1959 Sun Bowl
Sun Bowl
The Sun Bowl is an annual U.S. college football bowl game that is usually played at the end of December in El Paso, Texas. The Sun Bowl, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Orange Bowl are the second-oldest bowl games in the country, behind the Rose Bowl...
. The following year, Woodson guided the Aggies to an 11–0 finish, the only perfect season in school history. That year, New Mexico State defeated Utah State
Utah State Aggies football
The Utah State Aggies are a college football team that competes in the Western Athletic Conference of the Football Bowl Subdivision of NCAA Division I, representing Utah State University. The Utah State college football program began in 1892 and has played home games at Romney Stadium since 1968...
, 20–13, in the 1960 Sun Bowl
Sun Bowl
The Sun Bowl is an annual U.S. college football bowl game that is usually played at the end of December in El Paso, Texas. The Sun Bowl, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Orange Bowl are the second-oldest bowl games in the country, behind the Rose Bowl...
, and attained a final AP Poll
AP Poll
The Associated Press College Poll refers to weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling sportswriters across the nation...
ranking of 17th. Quarterback Charley Johnson
Charley Johnson
Charley Lane Johnson is a former quarterback in the NFL. During his 15-year career he played for 3 teams; the St. Louis Cardinals, Houston Oilers, and Denver Broncos. During his collegiate career at New Mexico State he became the only person to date to be named Most Valuable Player of the Sun Bowl...
won the bowl MVP
Most Valuable Player
In sports, a Most Valuable Player award is an honor typically bestowed upon the best performing player or players on a specific team, in an entire league, or for a particular contest or series of contests...
honors both years becoming the first and still only player in NCAA history to win the MVP award from the same bowl game in back-to-back years. Johnson went on to play in the NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
for 15 years with the St. Louis Cardinals
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
, Houston Oilers, and Denver Broncos
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. During his NFL career he managed to complete a Doctorate in Chemical Engineering making him one of only a handful of NFL player to earn a PhD. Dr. Charles Johnson is now a professor and department head of the Chemical Engineering school at NMSU.
The Aggies continued to fare well under Woodson through the 1967 season. However at the end of that season university administration, with whom Woodson had a contentious relationship throughout his career, invoked a clause requiring state employees to retire at age 65. Thus Woodson, who would turn 65 that offseason, was essentially forced out despite a 7-2-1 1967 campaign that ended with a 54-7 shellacking of archrival New Mexico. Since his departure Aggie football has spiraled into an abyss of perennial futility that some Aggie fans have begun to refer to as the "Woodson Curse." In the 40 seasons since Woodson's firing, NMSU has amassed just four winning seasons and two conference titles in 1976 and 1978, while failing to appear in a single bowl game. The Aggies' current 49-year bowl drought is the longest in Div-1A/FBS. The Aggies once again failed to accrue enough victories to be bowl eligible for the 2009 postseason.
Between 1995 and 1998, running back Denvis Manns
Denvis Manns
Denvis Manns was the third ever NCAA running back to rush for 1,000 yards in four consecutive seasons after Tony Dorsett and Amos Lawrence ....
became the third college football player to rush for 1,000 yards each of his four seasons. At that time the only other backs that had accomplished the feat at that time were Tony Dorsett
Tony Dorsett
Anthony "Tony" Drew Dorsett is a former American football running back in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos.-Early years:...
(University of Pittsburgh
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
) and Amos Lawrence (University of North Carolina
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
). As of the end of the 2008 season, there are six players to have accomplished the feat.
On September 18, 1999 the Aggies traveled to Tempe
Tempe, Arizona
Tempe is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, USA, with the Census Bureau reporting a 2010 population of 161,719. The city is named after the Vale of Tempe in Greece. Tempe is located in the East Valley section of metropolitan Phoenix; it is bordered by Phoenix and Guadalupe on the west, Scottsdale...
under coach Tony Samuel
Tony Samuel
Tony Samuel is an American football coach and former player. He is the current head football coach at Southeast Missouri State University, a position he has held since the 2005 season. Samuel's previous head coaching position was with New Mexico State University from 1997 to 2004...
and upset the #22 ranked Arizona State Sun Devils by a shocking 35-7 score.
At the end of the 2008 season the Aggies ended their fourth season under Hal Mumme
Hal Mumme
Hal Clay Mumme is an American college football coach. He is currently the head coach at McMurry University.- Playing career :...
at 3-9 (1-7 WAC) with a disappointing 47-2 loss to the Utah State Aggies. The following Tuesday, December 2, Mumme was fired. Mumme's record at NMSU over 4 seasons was 11-38. The former quarterback and 15-year NFL veteran Charley Johnson, who was then a chemical engineering
Chemical engineering
Chemical engineering is the branch of engineering that deals with physical science , and life sciences with mathematics and economics, to the process of converting raw materials or chemicals into more useful or valuable forms...
professor at New Mexico State, was appointed as interim head coach during the search for a replacement. Former UCLA Defensive Coordinator DeWayne Walker was name NMSU's head coach on December 31, 2008 signifying a new direction for the pass offense-oriented squad.
Despite some impressive single game wins and individual player stats, the Aggies have struggled as a team in the days since coach Woodson. In November 1990, the 106th ranked team managed to snap their 27 game losing streak, the longest active losing streak at the time, when they defeated 105th ranked Cal State Fullerton
Cal State Fullerton Titans football
The Cal State Fullerton Titans football team represented California State University, Fullerton from the 1970 through 1992 seasons. The Titans originally competed as a member of the California Collegiate Athletic Association from 1970-1973 before moving to the Pacific Coast Athletic Association in...
43-9. Fullerton dropped its football program following the 1992 season. The 27 game losing streak puts NMSU tied with Eastern Michigan
Eastern Michigan Eagles football
The Eastern Michigan Eagles are a college football program at Eastern Michigan University. They compete in Division I Football Bowl Subdivision and the Mid-American Conference...
for the fourth longest all time losing streak among current FBS schools. The 1988-90 NMSU team is ranked the ninth worst college football team of all time by ESPN. The Aggies were also featured in the August 31, 1992 issue of Sports Illustrated in a piece that chronicles a tradition of losing games. The longest active losing streak in Division I-A football is a title the Aggies have owned multiple times in recent decades. http://cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/div_ia/wac/new_mexico_state/index.php
All-time Bowl Results
| Date | Bowl | W/L | Opponent | PF | PA |
| January 1, 1936 | Sun Bowl Sun Bowl The Sun Bowl is an annual U.S. college football bowl game that is usually played at the end of December in El Paso, Texas. The Sun Bowl, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Orange Bowl are the second-oldest bowl games in the country, behind the Rose Bowl... |
T | Hardin-Simmons | 14 | 14 |
| December 31, 1959 | Sun Bowl Sun Bowl The Sun Bowl is an annual U.S. college football bowl game that is usually played at the end of December in El Paso, Texas. The Sun Bowl, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Orange Bowl are the second-oldest bowl games in the country, behind the Rose Bowl... |
W | North Texas North Texas Mean Green football The North Texas Mean Green football team represents the University of North Texas in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I-FBS college football and competes as a member of the Sun Belt Conference. The Mean Green have attained several conference championships, including four... |
28 | 8 |
| December 31, 1960 | Sun Bowl Sun Bowl The Sun Bowl is an annual U.S. college football bowl game that is usually played at the end of December in El Paso, Texas. The Sun Bowl, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Orange Bowl are the second-oldest bowl games in the country, behind the Rose Bowl... |
W | Utah State Utah State Aggies football The Utah State Aggies are a college football team that competes in the Western Athletic Conference of the Football Bowl Subdivision of NCAA Division I, representing Utah State University. The Utah State college football program began in 1892 and has played home games at Romney Stadium since 1968... |
20 | 13 |
| Total | 3 bowl games | 2-0-1 | 62 | 35 |
Conference championships
{| border="0" width="100%"| valign="top" |
{| cellpadding="1" border="1" cellspacing="0" width="75%"
!bgcolor="#882345"| Year
!bgcolor="#882345"| Conference
!bgcolor="#882345"| Coach
!bgcolor="#882345"| Overall record
!bgcolor="#882345"| Conference record
|- align="center"
| 1938 || Border Intercollegiate Athletic Association
Border Intercollegiate Athletic Association
The Border Conference , was an NCAA-affiliated college athletic conference founded in 1931 that disbanded following the 1961-1962 season...
|| Jerry Hines
Jerry Hines
Gerald H. "Jerry" Hines was an American football and basketball player, coach and athletic director at New Mexico A&M, now New Mexico State University. Hines led the Aggies to multiple successful football and basketball seasons during the 1930s....
|| 7–2 || 4–1
|- align="center"
| 1960 || Border Intercollegiate Athletic Association || Warren Woodson || 11–0 || 4–0
|- align="center"
| 1976 || Missouri Valley Conference
Missouri Valley Conference
The Missouri Valley Conference is a college athletic conference whose members are located in the midwestern United States...
|| Jim Bradley || 4–6–1 || 2–1–1
|- align="center"
| 1978 || Missouri Valley Conference || Gil Krueger || 6–5 || 5–1
|}