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Nearly two weeks after announcing a two game per season home-and-home series with Liberty University, New Mexico State came out with another scheduling announcement-they will be playing at BYU in 2018.
According to FBSSchedules.com, BYU will pay the Aggies a $700,000 guarantee for the game, scheduled for November 17 in Provo, Utah. If the Cougars decide to cancel the game, they will be obligated to pay the Aggies a $1 million cancellation fee.
This is a big development for the Aggies for two reasons. The first reason being that it adds a quality opponent to their schedule in the prestigious Cougars, meaning they only have three games left to schedule for the 2018 season. The second reason is because of the payday. The $700,000 guarantee is critical to keeping the program afloat through its first two years of being an independent.
An interesting tidbit about the BYU game is that they moved a previously scheduled matchup with Hawaii out of the November 17 date to accommodate the Aggies. Perhaps this is one independent team helping another out? Let’s only hope because, in my opinion, independent teams are some of the most intriguing to watch in NCAA football and they need to be kept afloat!
ICYMI
The Liberty University Flames and the NMSU Aggies scheduled an in-season series for the 2018 and 2019 seasons, with the first game to be played at Aggie Memorial Stadium in Las Cruces on October 6, 2018. While this schedule is odd, it is extremely important for both teams as they gain their footing as FBS independents. It should also be very competitve according to NMSU head coach Doug Martin:
“We are very excited about having Liberty on our future schedule. Having competed against [Liberty head coach] Turner Gill when we were both head coaches in the MAC, I can assure you they will be a very well coached opponent and these four games will be very exciting.”
I personally think this series will be one of the most interesting in the G5 in 2018 and 2019, and who knows, it might even start a weird cross-country rivalry!
Aggie Extras
Sorry for being so late with this news, but former NMSU center Anthony McMeans signed as an undrafted free agent with the Los Angeles Rams. According to McMeans, the Rams, Kansas City Cheifs and New York Jets were all interested in signing him.
He becomes the second straight Aggies center to sign as an undrafted free agent into the NFL, following Valerian Ume-Ezeoke (signed with the Arizona Cardinals in 2015).