"I think this vindicates a bunch of young people," head coach Rocky Long said yesterday afternoon. "We're the second place team and the second best team in the conference. Our kids are really excited."
The Las Vegas Bowl had the second choice in picking a bowl eligible team from the Mountain West Conference.
It was earlier believed that Air Force Academy may be selected for the Las Vegas Bowl, but the strong play of UNM in November proved to be enough to earn the invitation to Las Vegas.
The Lobos will play either UCLA, Oregon State University or the University of Washington from the Pacific-10 Conference. UNM's opponent will be officially announced Sunday.
This will be the Lobos second trip to a bowl game in the last five years. UNM, played the University of Arizona in the 1997 Insight.com Bowl in Tucson, Ariz. The Wildcats won the game 20-14.
UNM Athletic Director Rudy Davalos vowed to provide every full-time student a free ticket. Further details on the free tickets will be announced at a later time.
Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Dec. 25 at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev.
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