Battle of I-10 football game will not be played in 2026

EL PASO, Texas - This year the football game between UTEP and NMSU will be the last as Conference USA rivals.

However, it appears it will also be the last Battle of I-10 for a while.

Because of UTEP's departure to the Mountain West Conference (MWC) next year, the football matchup will not be played in 2026.

A source confirmed the news to ABC-7 Monday evening.

The problem is UTEP and NMSU's non-conference football schedules for 2026 are already in place.

The schedules were set before UTEP announced they were leaving Conference USA for the MWC, so there's no room to add the rivalry game as a non conference game next season.

This year's Battle of I-10 is scheduled for November 22 at the Sun Bowl.

The last time a football game between the Miners and Aggies was not played was in 2020 when NMSU postponed fall sports due to Covid-19.

Prior to that, 2003 was the last year the Battle of I-10 wasn't played on the gridiron.