New Mexico State – UTEP rivalry "The Battle of I-10" (1914–present)
Teams	New Mexico State Aggies New Mexico State Aggies New Mexico State University's teams are called the Aggies, a nickname derived from the university's agricultural beginnings. Since 2005, they have competed in the Western Athletic Conference. The mascot is known as "Pistol Pete". NMSU's colors are crimson and white. The current athletics director... UTEP Miners UTEP Miners The UTEP Miners is the name given to the sports teams of the University of Texas at El Paso. Informally, the UTEP Miners have also been referred to as the Miners, UTEP, or Texas-El Paso. UTEP was a member of the Western Athletic Conference from 1967 to 2005, when they joined Rice, Tulsa, and SMU in...
Basketball Series	NMSU leads (NMSU records) NMSU leads (UTEP records)
Last Winner	NMSU (2011)
Current Win Streak	1 - NMSU - (2011)
Football Series	UTEP leads
Last Winner	UTEP (2011)
Current Win Streak	3 - UTEP - (2009–2011)
New Mexico State	UTEP

The Battle of I-10 is a college rivalry

College rivalry

Pairs of schools, colleges and universities, especially when they are close to each other either geographically or in their areas of specialization, often establish a college rivalry with each other over the years. This rivalry can extend to both academics and athletics, the latter being typically...

 between The University of Texas at El Paso

University of Texas at El Paso

The University of Texas at El Paso is a four-year state university, and is a component institution of the University of Texas System. Its campus is located on the bank of the Rio Grande in El Paso, Texas. The school was founded in 1914 as The Texas State School of Mines and Metallurgy,...

 (UTEP) and New Mexico State University

New Mexico State University

New Mexico State University at Las Cruces , is a major land-grant university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States...

 (NMSU). It is called the Battle of I-10 because the two universities are located along Interstate 10

Interstate 10

Interstate 10 is the fourth-longest Interstate Highway in the United States, after I-90, I-80, and I-40. It is the southernmost east–west, coast-to-coast Interstate Highway, although I-4 and I-8 are further south. It stretches from the Pacific Ocean at State Route 1 in Santa Monica,...

 connecting El Paso

El Paso

El Paso, a city in the U.S. state of Texas, on the border with Mexico.El Paso may also refer to:-Geography:Colombia:* El Paso, CesarSpain:*El Paso, Santa Cruz de TenerifeUnited States:...

 and Las Cruces

Las Cruces

Las Cruces could refer to:* Battle of Monte de las Cruces* Las Cruces, California* Las Cruces, Chile* Las Cruces, New Mexico ** The main campus of New Mexico State University...

.

Football

The 97 year-old series between the UTEP Miners

UTEP Miners

The UTEP Miners is the name given to the sports teams of the University of Texas at El Paso. Informally, the UTEP Miners have also been referred to as the Miners, UTEP, or Texas-El Paso. UTEP was a member of the Western Athletic Conference from 1967 to 2005, when they joined Rice, Tulsa, and SMU in...

 and the NMSU Aggies has had many exciting finishes in its storied history. Although UTEP holds the series lead at 52-35-2, largely due to dominance in the series from the 1920s to the 1960s, UTEP's advantage is just 22-19 since 1969.

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

Organ Mountains

The Organ Mountains are a rugged mountain range in southern New Mexico in the Southwestern United States. They lie east of the city of Las Cruces, in Doña Ana County.-Geography:...

 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

Sun Bowl Stadium

The Sun Bowl is an outdoor football stadium, on the campus of the University of Texas at El Paso. It is home to the UTEP Miners of Conference USA , and the late December college football bowl game, the Hyundai 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

Aggie Memorial Stadium

Aggie Memorial Stadium is an outdoor football stadium on the campus of New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The venue opened in September 1978 and the current seating capacity is 30,343....

 38-12 on September 19, 2009 (only their second win in the Mesilla Valley

Mesilla Valley

The Mesilla Valley is a geographic feature of Southern New Mexico and far West Texas. It was formed by repeated heavy spring floods of the Rio Grande.The fertile Mesilla Valley extends from about Hatch, New Mexico to the west side of El Paso, Texas...

 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.

Interesting facts

• As of 2011, the home team has won 54 of 89 times (.607 winning percentage).

• From 1920 to 1951 UTEP hosted 22 of 28 games.

• Before 1927 NMSU 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.

• NMSU'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 NMSU 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.

• UTEP has played host to 52 games in the series. UTEP has won the game 52 times.

• NMSU has played host to 37 games in the series. NMSU has won the game 35 times.

• The September 26, 1998 game at Aggie Memorial Stadium
  Aggie Memorial Stadium
  Aggie Memorial Stadium is an outdoor football stadium on the campus of New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The venue opened in September 1978 and the current seating capacity is 30,343....
  
   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 Stadium
  Sun Bowl Stadium
  The Sun Bowl is an outdoor football stadium, on the campus of the University of Texas at El Paso. It is home to the UTEP Miners of Conference USA , and the late December college football bowl game, the Hyundai Sun Bowl...
  
   set a new attendance record for that stadium with 52,247 which surpasses all 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...
  
   games and NFL Exhibition games ever played there. However, since then 2 regular session UTEP games have surpassed that attendance.

• The two most lopsided victories in the rivalry occurred in 1922 and 1948.
  • 1922 - NMSU 64, UTEP 0
  • 1948 - UTEP 92, NMSU 7

Game results

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

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	NMSU	19	UTEP	0	NMSU 1-0-0
1915	Las Cruces, NM	NMSU	33	UTEP	0	NMSU 2-0-0
1916	Las Cruces, NM	UTEP	6	NMSU	3	NMSU 2-1-0
1920	El Paso, TX	NMSU	12	UTEP	7	NMSU 3-1-0
1921	El Paso, TX	NMSU	13	UTEP	0	NMSU 4-1-0
1922	Las Cruces, NM	NMSU	64	UTEP	0	NMSU 5-1-0
1923	El Paso, TX	NMSU	23	UTEP	2	NMSU 6-1-0
1924	El Paso, TX	NMSU	19	UTEP	0	NMSU 7-1-0
1925	El Paso, TX	NMSU	6	UTEP	6	NMSU 7-1-1
1926	El Paso, TX	NMSU	10	UTEP	8	NMSU 8-1-1
1927	El Paso, TX	UTEP	19	NMSU	7	NMSU 8-2-1
1928	El Paso, TX	UTEP	6	NMSU	0	NMSU 8-3-1
1929	El Paso, TX	UTEP	8	NMSU	0	NMSU 8-4-1
1930	Las Cruces, NM	UTEP	25	NMSU	8	NMSU 8-5-1
1931	El Paso, TX	UTEP	20	NMSU	0	NMSU 8-6-1
1932	Las Cruces, NM	UTEP	31	NMSU	6	NMSU 8-7-1
1933	El Paso, TX	UTEP	9	NMSU	0	Tied 8-8-1
1935	Las Cruces, NM	NMSU	7	UTEP	0	NMSU 9-8-1
1936	El Paso, TX	UTEP	27	NMSU	7	Tied 9-9-1
1937	Las Cruces, NM	NMSU	14	UTEP	0	NMSU 10-9-1
1938	El Paso, TX	NMSU	13	UTEP	9	NMSU 11-9-1
1939	Las Cruces, NM	UTEP	34	NMSU	0	NMSU 11-10-1
1940	El Paso, TX	UTEP	40	NMSU	26	Tied 11-11-1
1941	El Paso, TX	UTEP	24	NMSU	13	UTEP 12-11-1
1942	El Paso, TX	UTEP	61	NMSU	6	UTEP 13-11-1
1946	El Paso, TX	NMSU	14	UTEP	6	UTEP 13-12-1
1947	El Paso, TX	UTEP	26	NMSU	0	UTEP 14-12-1
1948	El Paso, TX	UTEP	92	NMSU	7	UTEP 15-12-1
1949	El Paso, TX	UTEP	69	NMSU	7	UTEP 16-12-1
1950	El Paso, TX	UTEP	40	NMSU	0	UTEP 17-12-1
1951	El Paso, TX	UTEP	41	NMSU	7	UTEP 18-12-1
1952	Las Cruces, NM	NMSU	20	UTEP	20	UTEP 18-12-2
1953	El Paso, TX	UTEP	39	NMSU	10	UTEP 19-12-2
1954	Las Cruces, NM	UTEP	12	NMSU	7	UTEP 20-12-2
1955	El Paso, TX	UTEP	41	NMSU	6	UTEP 21-12-2
1956	Las Cruces, NM	UTEP	51	NMSU	7	UTEP 22-12-2
1957	El Paso, TX	UTEP	42	NMSU	12	UTEP 23-12-2
1958	Las Cruces, NM	NMSU	17	UTEP	16	UTEP 23-13-2
1959	El Paso, TX	UTEP	20	NMSU	15	UTEP 24-13-2
1960	Las Cruces, NM	NMSU	27	UTEP	15	UTEP 24-14-2
1961	El Paso, TX	NMSU	42	UTEP	6	UTEP 24-15-2
1962	Las Cruces, NM	UTEP	21	NMSU	0	UTEP 25-15-2
1963	El Paso, TX	UTEP	14	NMSU	13	UTEP 26-15-2
1964	Las Cruces, NM	NMSU	13	UTEP	7	UTEP 26-16-2
1965	El Paso, TX	UTEP	21	NMSU	6	UTEP 27-16-2
1966	El Paso, TX	UTEP	28	NMSU	14	UTEP 28-16-2
1967	El Paso, TX	UTEP	46	NMSU	24	UTEP 29-16-2
1968	Las Cruces, NM	UTEP	30	NMSU	14	UTEP 30-16-2
1969	El Paso, TX	NMSU	41	UTEP	38	UTEP 30-17-2
1970	El Paso, TX	UTEP	21	NMSU	14	UTEP 31-17-2
1971	Las Cruces, NM	UTEP	14	NMSU	7	UTEP 32-17-2
1972	El Paso, TX	UTEP	21	NMSU	20	UTEP 33-17-2
1973	Las Cruces, NM	NMSU	27	UTEP	23	UTEP 33-18-2
1974	Las Cruces, NM	NMSU	14	UTEP	13	UTEP 33-19-2
1975	El Paso, TX	NMSU	31	UTEP	24	UTEP 33-20-2
1976	Las Cruces, NM	NMSU	13	UTEP	10	UTEP 33-21-2
1977	El Paso, TX	UTEP	23	NMSU	21	UTEP 34-21-2
1978	Las Cruces, NM	NMSU	35	UTEP	32	UTEP 34-22-2
1979	El Paso, TX	NMSU	14	UTEP	13	UTEP 34-23-2
1980	Las Cruces, NM	NMSU	6	UTEP	3	UTEP 34-24-2
1981	El Paso, TX	NMSU	14	UTEP	7	UTEP 34-25-2
1982	Las Cruces, NM	UTEP	20	NMSU	17	UTEP 35-25-2
1983	El Paso, TX	UTEP	20	NMSU	9	UTEP 36-25-2
1984	Las Cruces, NM	NMSU	27	UTEP	16	UTEP 36-26-2
1985	El Paso, TX	NMSU	22	UTEP	20	UTEP 36-27-2
1986	Las Cruces, NM	UTEP	47	NMSU	33	UTEP 37-27-2
1987	El Paso, TX	UTEP	37	NMSU	0	UTEP 38-27-2
1988	Las Cruces, NM	UTEP	42	NMSU	9	UTEP 39-27-2
1989	Las Cruces, NM	UTEP	29	NMSU	27	UTEP 40-27-2
1990	El Paso, TX	UTEP	27	NMSU	24	UTEP 41-27-2
1991	Las Cruces, NM	UTEP	22	NMSU	21	UTEP 42-27-2
1992	El Paso, TX	NMSU	30	UTEP	24	UTEP 42-28-2
1993	Las Cruces, NM	NMSU	31	UTEP	14	UTEP 42-29-2
1994	El Paso, TX	NMSU	23	UTEP	22	UTEP 42-30-2
1995	Las Cruces, NM	NMSU	45	UTEP	17	UTEP 42-31-2
1996	El Paso, TX	UTEP	14	NMSU	7	UTEP 43-31-2
1997	El Paso, TX	UTEP	24	NMSU	16	UTEP 44-31-2
1998	Las Cruces, NM	NMSU	33	UTEP	24	UTEP 44-32-2
1999	El Paso, TX	UTEP	54	NMSU	23	UTEP 45-32-2
2000	El Paso, TX	UTEP	41	NMSU	31	UTEP 46-32-2
2002	Las Cruces, NM	NMSU	49	UTEP	14	UTEP 46-33-2
2004	El Paso, TX	UTEP	45	NMSU	0	UTEP 47-33-2
2005	Las Cruces, NM	UTEP	34	NMSU	17	UTEP 48-33-2
2006	El Paso, TX	UTEP	44	NMSU	38	UTEP 49-33-2
2007	Las Cruces, NM	NMSU	29	UTEP	24	UTEP 49-34-2
2008	El Paso, TX	NMSU	34	UTEP	33	UTEP 49-35-2
2009	Las Cruces, NM	UTEP	38	NMSU	12	UTEP 50-35-2
2010	El Paso, TX	UTEP	42	NMSU	10	UTEP 51-35-2
2011	Las Cruces, NM	UTEP	16	NMSU	10	UTEP 52-35-2

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 1960's and early 1970's, when both schools were led by young up-and-coming coaches who would eventually win more than 700 games (Don Haskins

Don Haskins

Donald Lee Haskins, nicknamed "The Bear" , was an American collegiate basketball coach and player. He played for three years under legendary coach Henry Iba at Oklahoma A&M...

 at UTEP, Lou Henson

Lou Henson

Lou Henson is a former college basketball coach. He retired as the all time leader in victories at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with 423 victories and New Mexico State with 289 victories...

 at NMSU) and appeared in the NCAA Tournament's Final Four

Final four

Final Four isa sports term that is commonly applied to the last four teams remaining in a playoff tournament, most notably NCAA Division I college basketball tournaments. The term usually refers to the four teams who compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final round...

 within four years of each other. UTEP (then still known as Texas Western) won the 1966 national title

1966 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament

The 1966 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 22 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 7, 1966, and ended with the championship game on March 19 in College Park, Maryland...

 while NMSU advanced to the 1970 national semifinal

1970 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament

The 1970 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 25 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 7, 1970, and ended with the championship game on March 21 in College Park, Maryland...

 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 1990's with the Aggies and Miners both advancing to the NCAA Tournament's "Sweet Sixteen" in 1992

1992 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament

The 1992 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 19, 1992, and ended with the championship game on April 6 in Minneapolis, Minnesota...

. 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 1990's, 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

2010 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament

The first and second round games were played at the following sites:*March 18 / 20*March 25 / 27*March 26 / 28Each regional winner advanced to the Final Four, held on April 3 and 5 in Indianapolis, Indiana at Lucas Oil Stadium, hosted by the Horizon League and Butler University, as per the NCAA's...

.

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, while UTEP records show 201 meetings with NMSU's advantage at 101-100. 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

Pan American Center

The Pan American Center is a multi-purpose arena in Las Cruces, New Mexico, located on the campus of New Mexico State University. The arena has a current seating capacity of 12,482 people....

 in Las Cruces.