New Mexico Bowl kick moves to 5:30 p.m. MT on ABC

ESPN Events has flexed the kickoff times and networks of the New Mexico Bowl and SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 17 during the upcoming college football bowl season. 

The New Mexico Bowl, which will match BYU against SMU at University Stadium in Albuquerque, will move to 7:30 p.m. ET | 5:30 p.m. MT window on ABC.

The Las Vegas Bowl, which will feature the Oregon State Beavers and Florida Gators at Allegiant Stadium in the first scheduled bowl matchup of Pac-12 and SEC programs in 33 years, will move to an earlier kickoff at 2:30 p.m. ET | 11:30 a.m. PT on ESPN.

The time change is a result of the Las Vegas Raiders NFL game on Sunday, Dec. 18 being flexed to an earlier time, leaving a shorter window to prepare Allegiant Stadium for the NFL game following the Las Vegas Bowl.  

ESPN Events Flexes Times and Networks for SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl and New Mexico Bowl Games on Dec. 17

• Las Vegas Bowl moves to 2:30 p.m. ET | 11:30 a.m. PT on ESPN
• New Mexico Bowl shifts to 7:30 p.m. ET | 5:30 p.m. MT on ABC
  • Gates will open at 4 p.m. MT and the Pregame Fan Fest will run from 1:30-5:30 p.m. MT

 “The SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl and New Mexico Bowl are both owned and operated by ESPN Events, so this change is a solution that works for all parties,” said Clint Overby, Vice President, ESPN Events. “We are accustomed to flexibility and we anticipated having to maneuver our event schedules based on the possibility of the Raiders game being flexed.”

The New Mexico Bowl and SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl are part of ESPN Events’ 17-game college football schedule for the 2022 Bowl Season announced on Sunday.