(This is the third of a four-part series looking at an overview of the four new Conference USA teams joining the league July 1).
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New Mexico State University
Location: Las Cruces, New Mexico
Mascot: Aggies
Enrollment: approximately 14,500
Founded: 1888
Former Conference: Independent
Notable Alums: Rich Beem (PGA golfer), Lou Hensen (men’s college basketball coach), Pascal Siakam (NBA champion with Toronto Raptors)
NCAA Sponsored Men’s Programs (6): Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Football, Golf, Tennis
NCAA Sponsored Women’s Programs (10): Basketball, Cross Country, Golf, Soccer, Softball, Swimming & Diving, Tennis, Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field, Volleyball
Notes: Former Louisiana Tech Assistant AD Amber Burdge is a Senior Associate AD at NMSU … Chile Peppers developed by NMSU have been grown in space … NMSU was one of the first Universities to have an officially licensed beer, wine, whiskey and seltzer … Aggies head football coach Jerry Kill was the head coach at Northern Illinois when Louisiana Tech defeated the Huskies in the 2008 Independence Bowl … New Mexico State canceled its men’s basketball season on Feb. 12 after allegations surfaced about three players ganging up on a teammate in what a police report said included a possible incident of criminal sexual contact … Two days later, the school fired head coach, Greg Heiar … The program will resume this year …
Athletic Budget: $31,000,000
About New Mexico State University (from NMSU.edu): New Mexico State University (main campus) sits on a 900-acres and enrolls more than 14,000 students from across the U.S. and 89 foreign countries. NMSU is a NASA Space-Grant College and home to the very first Honors College in New Mexico. A Hispanic-Serving Institution, NMSU serves a multi-cultural population of students and community members across the state at four campuses, a satellite learning center in Albuquerque, cooperative extension offices located in each of New Mexico’s 33 counties, and 12 agriculture research and science centers. Plus, distance education programs give students maximum flexibility.
