The football stadium at the University of New Mexico is located at 1111 University Blvd. It seats 39,224. Why do I tell you this? It’s to distinguish University Stadium from the countless other stadiums associated with universities, because the name isn’t doing that for me.
I start this by confessing that I don’t know a lot about sports. I’ve tried, at several points, to get into basketball, baseball or football, just for the sake of school spirit. No avail. All too often, I find sports confusing at best and boring at worst.
That said, I know about entertainment. I love wow-factor and branding. And, despite my difficulty getting into sports, I have always loved the iconography around UNM sports.
Lobo Louie is hands down one of the most fun college mascots there is. I could write a whole article on how much I like that wolf — in fact, I practically have. I think the UNM logo is great. I think the UNM cheer is great. Everyone IS a Lobo.
For a team with such great branding in every other spirit sector, why is the name of our stadium just “University Stadium?”
If you travel to Louisiana State University, you’ll see a stadium nicknamed Death Valley. At the University of Florida, you will encounter the Gators playing at The Swamp.
My pitch — wrong sport, I know — is that University Stadium ought to be renamed to “The Wolf Den,” or “The Den,” colloquially. It fits better with the otherwise-strong wolf motif of the University and creates a picture that is both menacing and comforting.
No opponent would want to enter The Wolf Den; they’d know they were in trouble. And yet, it would be a place where the Lobos instantly knew they were home.
University Stadium has a branding problem, yes. But more importantly: It has an attendance problem.
We haven’t filled all of those 39,224 seats in about 20 years, according to a list detailing its most attended games. The opening game of this season against Montana State University sold only about 12,500 tickets, according to the Albuquerque Journal. Something has to change.
I know a rename may not save us — but hey, it can’t hurt. A new name or nickname can go a long way in shining a positive light on the team and getting fans in those seats. So go Lobos, and see you at The Den. See, doesn’t that have a nice ring to it?
Addison Fulton is the culture editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at culture@dailylobo.com or on X @dailylobo
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
