The New Mexico State Aggies have added games against the Kentucky Wildcats and the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors to their future football schedules, FBSchedules.com has learned.
Copies of contracts for games against Kentucky and Hawaii were obtained from New Mexico State University via a state public records request.
New Mexico State and Kentucky will play a single-game at Kroger Field in Lexington on Nov. 20, 2021. The Wildcats will pay the Aggies a $1.2 million guarantee for the game, according to a copy of the contract.
In their first and only meeting on the gridiron on Sept. 17, 2016, Kentucky defeated New Mexico State 62-42.
New Mexico State, which competes as an FBS Independent, now has 10 games scheduled for the 2021 season. The Aggies will play Kentucky the week after they play Alabama in Tuscaloosa (Nov. 13).
Kentucky is scheduled to open the 2021 season at home against ULM on Aug. 31. The Wildcats are also slated to host Chattanooga (date TBA; was Nov. 20) and Louisville on Nov. 27. A previously reported home contest against Akron in 2021 has been moved to a later season.
New Mexico State and Hawaii are currently scheduled to play a home-and-home series in 2020 in Honolulu and 2021 in Las Cruces. The two schools have added an additional series for 2023 and 2024.
In the first game of the series, New Mexico State will travel to face Hawaii at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu on Sept. 23, 2023. The Aggies will host the Rainbow Warriors the following season at Aggie Memorial Stadium in Las Cruces on Aug. 24, 2024 (Week Zero).
New Mexico State and Hawaii first met on the gridiron in 1978 and have played eight times overall. The Rainbow Warriors won the most recent matchup in 2011, 45-34, and currently lead the series with the Aggies 8-0.
The addition of Hawaii gives New Mexico State five scheduled games in 2023 and three games in 2024.
Hawaii is scheduled to open the 2023 season in Week Zero on Aug. 26 at Vanderbilt. The Rainbow Warriors are also scheduled to host UAlbany on Sept. 2 and travel to Oregon on Sept. 16, one week before hosting NMSU.
After opening at the Aggies in 2024, Hawaii is slated to host Wisconsin (Aug. 31), play at BYU (Sept. 14), host Oregon (Sept. 21), and host Army (Nov. 30).
Football Schedules