by Steven Fernandez
Daily Lobo
New Mexico football fans will no longer have to travel long distances to watch a college bowl game.
Gov. Bill Richardson announced Monday at a news conference that the state will partner with ESPN to launch the first New Mexico Bowl. The first bowl game hosted in New Mexico will be held at University Stadium on Dec. 23, at 2:30 p.m.
Richardson said he is thrilled the state, ESPN and the Sports Authority were able to work hard and make the bowl game happen.
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"This is a great day for New Mexico," Richardson said. "A great day for New Mexico sports. The New Mexico college bowl means that New Mexico is now a major player in college athletics."
The New Mexico Bowl will pit members of the Mountain West Conference against schools from the Western Athletic Conference and will be televised by ESPN. The third or fourth team available from the MWC will go head-to-head with the third available team from the WAC.
Richardson said he is excited about the possibility of UNM playing against rival NMSU in the New Mexico Bowl.
"By executive order I am mandating that the first game be between the Lobos and the Aggies," Richardson said. "I guess I can't do that, but I'd love to see that happen someday."
Richardson said he expects the New Mexico Bowl to be a nice fit in Albuquerque and is optimistic about how much the fans will support it.
"I'm confident this game will be a huge success because of New Mexico's enthusiasm for college football," Richardson said. "Our partnership with ESPN I know will help enormously."
ESPN Regional Television will own and operate the New Mexico Bowl, while the city of Albuquerque and the state of New Mexico will keep the sponsorship rights to the title.
Senior vice president and general manager of ESPN Regional Television Pete Derzis said he is happy ESPN can be a part of the New Mexico Bowl.
"We are extremely excited to be bringing postseason college football to the great state of New Mexico," Derzis said. "We know that the rest of the country is going to get a chance to see the tremendous passion that the people that the state of New Mexico have for college football. We're convinced that the New Mexico Bowl will truly be a crown jewel in the college bowl world."
Mayor Martin Ch†vez said he is especially proud that the city will host the game and is expecting positive results.
"This is a wonderful thing for the city of Albuquerque and a wonderful thing for the state of New Mexico," Ch†vez said.
UNM Athletics Director Rudy Davalos said he is thrilled about the bowl game and what it means for UNM and NMSU in particular.
"The reason I'm so pleased with it is that it gives our two state universities an opportunity to participate in bowl games," Davalos said. "Last year we had a great football team, but we got knocked out of it because we don't have enough bowl opportunities. This ensures that our two conferences have a legitimate opportunity - with a good record - to participate in a bowl game. What's special is it's going to be right here in our stadium."
UNM head football coach Rocky Long said fans all over the state should be thrilled with the opportunity to see a postseason game in Albuquerque.
"I want you to know for the University of New Mexico, our community and our state what a wonderful thing this is," Long said.
