The

New Mexico State University New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public land-grant research university based primarily in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest public institution of higher education in New Mexico and one of the state's ...

teams are called the Aggies, a nickname derived from the university's agricultural beginnings. The mascot is known as "

Pistol Pete Pistol Pete may refer to: People *Frank Eaton (1860–1958), American scout, Indian fighter and cowboy *Peter Handscomb (born 1991), Australian cricketer *Pete Loncarevich (born 1966), American former bicycle (BMX) racer *Pete Maravich (1947–1988) ...

". NMSU's colors are crimson and white. Since 2005 the Aggies have competed in the

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington, and Texas. Due to mos ...

in all men's and women's sports with the exception of football in which the Aggies have been

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

since 2018. New Mexico State sponsors six men's and ten women's teams in

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

sanctioned sports. The athletic director is

Mario Moccia Mario Moccia is the current director of athletics for New Mexico State University. He previously served as athletic director for Southern Illinois University Carbondale from 2006 to 2014, as an associate athletic director at the University of Misso ...

, who has held the position since January 2015.

Nickname

The "Aggies"

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

derives from the university's agricultural roots and status as a

land grant A land grant is a gift of real estate—land or its use privileges—made by a government or other authority as an incentive, means of enabling works, or as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service. Grants ...

institution. Prior to 2000 the women's intercollegiate athletic teams were known as the Roadrunners, placing NMSU among the handful of NCAA Division I schools which had separate nicknames and mascots for its men's and women's programs. By the late 1990s sentiment began to grow for the university to adopt a single, uniform mascot for all its athletic teams, and during the 1999–2000 academic year the school's female student athletes voted to adopt the "Aggies" moniker. NMSU's women's teams officially became the Aggies at the start of the 2000–2001 academic year.

History

Conference history

The NMSU Aggies have had various conference affiliations, listed below with the year of change: * 1931 – Border Conference * 1962 –

* 1971 – Missouri Valley * 1983 –

Big West The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The conference was originally formed on July 1, 1969, as the Pacifi ...

(formerly Pacific Coast Athletic Association) * 2001 – Sun Belt * 2005 – WAC ** Football: Independent (

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

), Sun Belt (

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

–

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

), Independent (

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...

) * 2023 - Conference USA NMSU maintains major rivalries with the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25,400 ...

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

, called the "

Rio Grande Rivalry The Rio Grande Rivalry is the name given to the New Mexico–New Mexico State football rivalry and known as the Battle of I-25. It is an intercollegiate rivalry between The University of New Mexico and New Mexico State University. The rivalry be ...

," and with the

University of Texas at El Paso The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public research university in El Paso, Texas. It is a member of the University of Texas System. UTEP is the second-largest university in the United States to have a majority Mexican American stud ...

, called "

The Battle of I-10 The Battle of I-10 is the name given to the New Mexico State–UTEP football rivalry. It is a college rivalry game between New Mexico State University (NMSU) and the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). It is called the Battle of I-10 because ...

." The winner of the NMSU-UTEP football game receives the Silver Spade trophy. Since a major reconfiguration of the WAC in 2013, NMSU has also developed a rivalry with

Grand Canyon University Grand Canyon University (GCU) is a private for-profit Christian university in Phoenix, Arizona. Based on student enrollment, Grand Canyon University was the largest Christian university in the world in 2018, with 20,000 attending students on c ...

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the on ...

, as two of the conference's more passionate fan bases and successful programs. The Big West Conference discontinued its sponsorship of football after the

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

season, and the WAC dropped it following the

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

season. On November 5, 2021, an offer to join Conference USA was accepted with a start date of July 2023.

Sports sponsored

Baseball

New Mexico State's first baseball team was fielded in 1907. The team plays its home games at Presley Askew Field.

Basketball

NMSU Basketball has seen much success throughout the years, highlighted by an

Final Four appearance in 1970. The Aggies basketball program has seen 19 NCAA tournament appearances, 5 NIT Tournament appearances and 16 conference championships. The Aggies have won the WAC four years straight, and have made the NCAA

tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

in five of the last six years, but have won no NCAA tournament games in over 25 years. The current head coach is

Chris Jans Christopher Paul Jans (born April 12, 1969) is the American college basketball head coach for Mississippi State. Jans previously coached at New Mexico State, where he led the Aggies from 2017 to 2022. Jans is a graduate of Loras College, and hails ...

Football

The Aggies won the Sun Bowl in 1959 and 1960 under coach Warren B. Woodson and continued to do well until he was let go in 1967. Since then the Aggies have had only 4 winning seasons and 2 conference championships in 1976 and 1978. The 1976 championship was shared with

Tulsa Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

. NMSU usually plays two big rivalry games each year with non-conference opponents

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...

and

UTEP The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public research university in El Paso, Texas. It is a member of the University of Texas System. UTEP is the second-largest university in the United States to have a majority Mexican American stu ...

is located just 45 miles to the south on I-10. This rivalry is often referred to as

. UNM is less than 250 miles to the north on I-25. This rivalry was traditionally called The Battle of I-25 until it officially became the

in 2007 as part of a points system that includes all varsity sports competitions between the two schools.

Men's golf

The men's golf team has won 17 conference championships: *

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the third-oldest collegiate athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the midwest. History The MVC was established ...

(5): 1973, 1976, 1980–81, 1983 *

Big West Conference The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The conference was originally formed on July 1, 1969, as the Pacific ...

(3): 1987^, 1995, 2000^ * Sun Belt Conference (1): 2004 *

(8): 2006, 2008–11, 2013–15 ''^ Co-champions'' Aggies who have won at the professional level include

Rich Beem Richard Michael Beem (born August 24, 1970) is an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and is best known for his upset victory at the 2002 PGA Championship. Beem was born in Phoenix, Arizona, grew up in El Paso, Texas, and pla ...

(three

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also ...

wins including

2002 PGA Championship The 2002 PGA Championship was the 84th PGA Championship, held August 15–18 at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota, a suburb southwest of Minneapolis. Rich Beem won his only major title, one stroke ahead of runner-up Tiger Woods. ...

Bart Bryant Barton Holan Bryant (November 18, 1962 – May 31, 2022) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and PGA Tour Champions. Early life Bryant was born in Gatesville, Texas, the son of a Baptist pastor. He attended New Mexi ...

(three PGA Tour wins), Tom Byrum (one PGA Tour win), and Steve Haskins (two

Web.com Tour The Korn Ferry Tour is the developmental tour for the U.S.-based PGA Tour, and features professional golfers who have either not yet reached the PGA Tour, or who have done so but then failed to win enough FedEx Cup points to stay at that level. Th ...

wins).

Softball

The Aggie softball team has appeared in one

Women's College World Series The Women's College World Series (WCWS) is the final portion of the NCAA Division I softball tournament for college softball in the United States. Eight teams participate in the WCWS, which begins with a double-elimination tournament. In other wo ...

in 1981.

Former varsity sports

Equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or Riding in British English) Examples of this are: * Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes i ...

- At the time of disbandment in 2017, equestrian was recognized by the NCAA as an "emerging sport" for women, but did not yet have an NCAA-sponsored team championship. The equestrian team formerly competed as a member of the United Equestrian Conference and the National Collegiate Equestrian Association, but was considered by the NCAA to be an Independent.

Athletic facilities

Aggie Memorial Stadium Aggie Memorial Stadium is an outdoor football stadium in the southwestern United States, located on the campus of New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, New Mexico. It is the home field of the FBS independent New Mexico State Aggies. ...

– Football * Pan American Center – Men's and women's basketball, Volleyball * Presley Askew Field – Baseball *

New Mexico State University Golf Course The New Mexico State University Golf Course is an 18–hole golf course within the campus of New Mexico State University, in the city of Las Cruces, New Mexico. The golf course was established in 1963 and is opened to the public. It features 4 set ...

– Men's and women's golf, Men's and women's cross country *NM State Soccer Athletic Complex – Women's soccer *NM State Softball Complex – Softball *NM State Swimming and Diving Complex – Women's swimming and diving *NM State Tennis Center – Men's and women's tennis *NMSU Track and Field Complex – Women's outdoor track and field

New Mexico State traditions

Fight song

NMSU's "Aggie Fight Song" is based on a popular turn-of-the-century song titled "Oh Didn't He Ramble." The music and lyrics are similar to songs used by several other universities, most notably Cal ("California Drinking Song") and

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

("I Wanna Go Back to Ohio State"). However, only NMSU uses it as the primary school song. The fight song's lyrics have evoked some controversy in recent years due to the reference to drinking, but a vast majority of students and alumni support preserving the traditional lyrics. Additionally, during the time that NMSU's women's teams were known as the Roadrunners, an arrangement of the theme song from the

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

" Road Runner" cartoons was used as the unofficial women's fight song. However, since the adoption of the Aggies nickname by the women's teams, this practice has fallen from use and the "Road Runner" song is no longer used.

Logo

For many years, NMSU's athletics

logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name it represents as in a wo ...

was a caricature of gunfighter Frank "Pistol Pete" Eaton which is identical to the logo used by

Oklahoma State Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

. A block "NM STATE" logo was introduced in 2007 as a universal logo. The current athletics logo was initially designed in 2005 as part of a plan to remake the university's image on the national stage; Pete's pistol was replaced with a lasso, and his name was briefly officially abbreviated to simply "Pete". In addition to the new logo, the costumed mascot seen at games was also given a new look, losing his six shooters and holster belt in favor of a lasso. The disarming of Pete led to a massive uproar among students, alumni and outsiders demanding the return of Pete's guns. The most popular nickname given to the widely unpopular new mascot was "Lasso Larry". After one year the university changed the mascot in favor of a real student dressed in more traditional cowboy attire, carrying a holster belt and six shooters, and wearing nothing on his head but a black cowboy hat. The "Pistol Pete" name was also restored. In 2007, NMSU modified the "Lasso Larry" logo to remove the lasso and once again depict Pistol Pete carrying pistols, and this is now the official athletics logo.

Notable former Aggie athletes and coaches

Football *

Davon House Davon Thomas House (born July 10, 1989) is a former American football cornerback. He played college football at New Mexico State, and was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the fourth round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He has also played for the Ja ...

, current

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...

cornerback * Jonte Green, former Detroit Lions cornerback * Taveon Rogers, former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver, currently playing with the LA KISS of the

AFL AFL may refer to: Sports * American Football League (AFL), a name shared by several separate and unrelated professional American football leagues: ** American Football League (1926) (a.k.a. "AFL I"), first rival of the National Football Leagu ...

* Jeremy Harris, current

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

cornerback * Kemonte Bateman, former

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...

wide receiver, currently playing with the Edmonton Eskimos of the

CFL The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

* Donte Savage, former Green Bay Packers linebacker * Carl Nicks, former

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...

offensive lineman * Chris Williams, former

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

wide receiver, currently playing with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the

Buck Pierce Buck James Pierce (born November 15, 1981) is the offensive coordinator of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and a retired professional quarterback who played nine seasons for the BC Lions and Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League. H ...

, former player of and current QB coach with the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fie ...

of the

* Leo Barker former NFL linebacker, played in

Super Bowl XXIII Super Bowl XXIII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Cincinnati Bengals and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champ ...

with the Cincinnati Bengals; *

Courtney Bryan Courtney Jamaal Bryan (born October 2, 1984) is a former American football safety. He was born in San Jose, California, and played college football at New Mexico State. He was signed by the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent in 2007. He ...

, NFL safety; *

Nick Cole Nicholas Darnell Cole (born July 28, 1984) is a former American football guard and center. He was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent in 2006. He played college football at New Mexico State. College career Cole played c ...

, current

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

offensive lineman; *

Roy Gerela Roy Gerela (born April 2, 1948 in Sarrail, Alberta) is a Canadian former professional football player who was a placekicker in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). He won three Super Bowls with the Pittsburgh Ste ...

, former NFL kicker, won three Super Bowls with the Pittsburgh Steelers; *

Duriel Harris Duriel LaDon Harris, Jr. (born November 27, 1954) is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the Miami Dolphins, Cleveland Browns, and Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at New Mexico State Uni ...

, former NFL receiver; *

Charley Johnson Charley Lane Johnson (born November 22, 1938) is a former American football quarterback and retired professor of chemical engineering. He played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 years with three teams: the St. Louis Cardinals, Houst ...

, former NFL quarterback, only football player in school history to have his uniform number (33) retired, member of Denver Broncos Ring of Fame; *

Kenton Keith Kenton Jermaine Keith (born July 14, 1980) is a former American football running back. He was signed by the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL) in 2003 Then the National Football League Colts (NFL) in 2007. He played ...

, NFL and

running back ( Indianapolis Colts, Hamilton Tiger-Cats); *Donald Malloy, former NFL, CFL, and Arena Football League strong safety; *Denvis Manns, former NFL Europa running back, third player in NCAA history to rush for 1,000 years in four consecutive seasons; *Joe Pisarcik, former NFL and CFL quarterback; *Siddeeq Shabazz, former NFL and CFL safety; *Troy Sienkiewicz, former NFL San Diego Chargers offensive lineman; *Danny Villanueva, former NFL punter and placekicker, later became a prominent television executive and was instrumental in founding Univision; *Tony Wragge, current San Francisco 49ers guard; *Fredd Young, former NFL linebacker Seattle Seahawks; Men's basketball *Randy Brown (basketball), Randy Brown, former NBA guard, won three NBA Championships with Chicago Bulls, former assistant coach of Chicago Bulls; *Steve Colter, former NBA guard with Portland, LA, Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington, Sacramento and Cleveland *Jimmy Collins (basketball), Jimmy Collins, former American Basketball Association, ABA and NBA guard, member of 1970 Final Four team, former head coach at University of Illinois, Chicago, UIC; *Charlie Criss, former American Basketball Association, ABA and NBA guard, member of 1970 Final Four team; *Lou Henson, former player and head coach, currently sixth-winningest coach in NCAA history with 779 career wins; *Reggie Jordan, former NBA guard, Los Angeles Lakers, Atlanta Hawks, Portland Trail Blazers, Minnesota Timberwolves and Washington Wizards. *Sam Lacey, former NBA All-Star center, member of 1970 Final Four team; *Reggie Theus, former head men's basketball coach; former NBA Head coach of Sacramento Kings; *John Whisenant, former National Basketball Association, NBA guard, former coach of WNBA's Sacramento Monarchs, 2005 WNBA Coach of the Year; Former Assistant Coach at the University of New Mexico *John Williamson (basketball, born 1951), "Super John" Williamson, former ABA and NBA guard, number retired by New Jersey Nets *Pascal Siakam, NBA forward, won an NBA Finals with Toronto Raptors, 2019 NBA Most Improved Player Women's basketball *Anita Maxwell, former WNBA forward for the Cleveland Rockers, only basketball player (male or female) in school history to have her uniform number (40) retired.

References

External links

* {{New Mexico Sports New Mexico State Aggies,