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Here is something I learned this week that I probably should have known years ago: Mexico has College Football.
Not soccer. Football. Helmets, shoulder pads, quarterbacks, marching bands, school colors and rivalries that can become every bit as serious as the ones north of the border.
And this is hardly some recent American import.
University football has been part of Mexican sports culture for generations. UNAM and the Instituto Politécnico Nacional were playing each other by 1936, creating what became one of the country’s great collegiate rivalries. When Mexico City’s Estadio Olímpico Universitario (Olympic University Stadium) opened in 1952, one of its first landmark events was a football game between UNAM and IPN. Pumas won 20-19 before an enormous crowd.
Today, the top level is Liga Mayor (Major League) of ONEFA, the Organización Nacional Estudiantil de Fútbol Americano (National Student Organization of American Football). Think of it as Mexico’s version of major College Football, although without trying too hard to make NCAA comparisons.
And the timing for discovering it couldn’t be better. The 2026 season kicked off last week with 14 teams in the top conference, including Pumas CU, IPN’s Águilas Blancas and Burros Blancos, UANL’s Auténticos Tigres, and five Borregos teams from Tecnológico de Monterrey campuses. Yes, Guadalajara has one.
The defending champions are UANL’s Auténticos Tigres, who beat Borregos Monterrey 33-30 for the 2025 championship. They opened their title defense Friday by routing Águilas Blancas 49-7. Pumas CU won its opener 34-28 over Leones Anáhuac Norte, while our Guadalajara connection had a rougher beginning, losing 36-0 to Borregos Puebla.
This isn’t recreational intramural football, either. Programs recruit seriously, train seriously, and play in purpose-built stadiums before passionate university followings.
For a few players, Mexico’s college fields have even become a path toward the NFL. Monterrey native Isaac Alarcón played offensive line for Borregos Monterrey before entering the NFL’s International Player Pathway program and joining the Dallas Cowboys organization. Other former Borregos have also reached NFL camps and rosters.
And following the sport is getting easier. Máximo Avance and Estadio Deportes have partnered to produce and stream 15 ONEFA regular-season games in 2026 involving UNAM, UVM, and UDLAP, with games available through Estadio Deportes (www.estadiodeportes.mx) digital platforms.
For expat fans wanting an easy place to start, Claro Sports offers regular ONEFA coverage and broadcasts, including Pumas CU home games and selected Borregos matchups. Receptor (receptor.com.mx) and BN Sports RedZone (ligamayor.bnsports.com.mx) are also excellent online sources for schedules, results, and deeper coverage.
Maybe that’s what surprised me most. American football in Mexico isn’t a curiosity trying to establish itself.
It has history. It has champions. It has rivalries handed down through generations.
And this month, while millions of Americans are settling in for another Saturday of College Football, Mexican students are strapping on helmets and doing exactly the same thing.
I just didn’t know it.
Now I do.
