NMSU Earns First Over-the-Air Appearance in Five Decades

The 2020s are shaping out to be the best for New Mexico State since the 1960s. The long-moribund program boasts two bowl appearances, a bowl win, a 10-win season, a Power Four win, and a conference championship game appearance with four years remaining in the decade. Now, they can add a national over-the-air television appearance.

The CW selected New Mexico State’s Week Zero trip to Tallahassee for broadcast as part of Wednesday’s widespread early-season selections. This marks the first time in over five decades, aside from occasional syndication and locally produced broadcasts, that the Aggies will appear on over-the-air (antenna) television.

Long known for being New Mexico State’s only bowl appearance from 1960-2016, the Sun Bowl was also the Aggies’ first television appearance. Surprisingly, ABC only broadcast the game regionally. The viewers that tuned in saw 10-0 New Mexico State beat 9-1 Utah State 20-13.

The Aggies’ first regular-season appearance on over-the-air television came in 1969, when ABC decided before the season to air its road game against West Texas A&M on October 25th. West Texas A&M was the main attraction, fresh off an 8-2 campaign and two seasons removed from a Junior Rose Bowl win over Valley State in 1967. The Aggies finished with a respectable 5-5 record the year prior.

ABC aired the game regionally throughout Arizona, New Mexico, and parts of Texas alongside Michigan State-Iowa, Texas Tech-SMU, and LSU-Auburn. The regional audience saw a thrilling 17-16 West Texas A&M win decided by a failed New Mexico State two-point conversion in the final minute. Future 1st-round NFL Draft pick Duane Thomas carried a West Texas A&M offense that passed for only three yards by rushing for 187. Fellow future NFL running back Ron “Po” James performed admirably for New Mexico State with 131 rushing yards.

Four years later, New Mexico State returned to the ABC airwaves when the network aired the marquee Missouri Valley Conference matchup between the Aggies and Tulsa. Both schools came into their 1973 meeting with identical 2-0 records in conference play. This game fulfilled ABC’s obligation to air one MVC game per year. Originally, the North Texas-Drake game was supposed to fulfill this obligation, until Tulsa’s 44-7 win over Drake caused ABC to reverse course.

Luckily for New Mexico State, only 16 stations across Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, parts of Kansas, and other MVC markets, comprising five percent of the country, saw the Aggies lose 52-14. The Aggies lost thanks to allowing 321 passing yards. The Aggies still received $70,000 of the $320,000 the MVC received for New Mexico State and Tulsa’s appearance on a regional slate that included Alabama-Tennessee, Harvard-Cornell, and BYU-Arizona State.

Tulsa’s 52-14 thrashing of New Mexico State left ABC unfazed. In 1974, the network once again selected the game for regional telecast. Once again, ABC intended to air a different MVC game, this time Wichita State-Louisville earlier in the season. However, both teams had a combined 0-7 record before their meeting, causing ABC to fulfill its MVC obligation later in the season. New Mexico State had a 5-4 record, while Tulsa was 5-3 with a 4-0 mark and a share of the conference title already clinched entering their meeting.

The game would be part of a regional slate that included Ohio State-Michigan State, Vanderbilt-Kentucky, and BYU-Arizona State. This time, New Mexico State and Tulsa both earned $66,000 of the $320,000 the MVC received from this television appearance.

While the result was closer than in 1973, New Mexico State still lost 28-7. Tulsa’s Jeb Blount threw for 308 yards and three touchdowns, while Jessie Green caught seven passes for 153 yards and a young Steve Largent added 69 yards of his own.

This was New Mexico State’s last non-syndication or local TV over-the-air appearance until this year’s Florida State game. No matter the result, an appearance on The CW is a landmark moment for a program and fanbase long known for enduring misery.