The New Mexico State football team reached a deal with ESPN Events that solidifies the Aggies’ potential bowl future, NM State Director of Athletics Mario Moccia announced Friday in Albuquerque.

“New Mexico State University and our football program are excited to enter into an agreement with the New Mexico Bowl from 2020 through 2025,” Moccia said. “The proximity of the game from our campus as well as Albuquerque and the surrounding areas having the largest population of NM State alumni in the country outside of Doña Ana County is a perfect opportunity for our football program and Aggie Nation.”

Starting next year, NM State will be eligible for election into the New Mexico Bowl, played at Dreamstyle Stadium in Albuquerque, as well as any of the other 15 bowl games owned by ESPN Events, should the team achieve bowl eligibility.

The announcement comes as NM State’s current agreement with the Nova Home Loans Arizona Bowl expires at the end of the 2019 bowl season.

The deal keeps potential postseason hopes for the Aggies alive for the foreseeable future — something that is all the more elusive for independent schools like New Mexico State — while providing the incentive to play in the program’s home state.

“Our program is thrilled to have an opportunity to play a bowl game in our home state,” Aggie head football coach Doug Martin said in a press release Friday. “The New Mexico Bowl is a great goal for our team and hopefully a great reward for our fans.”