PHOENIX - The city of Phoenix will officially start out as the home base for four Western Athletic Conference basketball teams in 2021.

In an announcement made Wednesday by NM State athletics, both the Aggies' men's and women's basketball teams will begin their respective WAC seasons by playing their designated league home games on the campus of Grand Canyon University.

NM State's men's squad is set to start its slate of WAC home games at GCU's Antelope Gymnasium while the Aggies' women's basketball team will begin its WAC home schedule at GCU's Canyon Activity Center. The Aggie women's basketball team's first WAC home games of 2021 are set to take place on Friday-Saturday, Jan. 8-9, 2021 while the NM State men's basketball team's first WAC home games are set for Friday-Saturday, Jan. 22-23, 2021. 

In all, the Aggie men's basketball team may play a maximum of six WAC "home" games in Phoenix while the NM State women's basketball team may play their entire 2020-21 WAC home schedule (eight games) on GCU's campus. As it stands currently, the Aggie women's basketball team will play its regularly scheduled "home" games with GCU at GCU Arena and their remaining six WAC "home" games at the Canyon Activity Center (CAC). 

Both of NM State's basketball teams have relocated out-of-state for the 2020-21 season as a result of in-state COVID-19 restrictions in New Mexico which make practicing or playing games at the Pan American Center impossible. Under the state of New Mexico's "Red to Green" public health plan released on Nov. 30, 2020, all counties in the state are categorized into one of three groups - red, yellow or green - based on their current COVID-19 incident rate. Should Doña Ana County - New Mexico State's county - successfully transition to a "green" county, it is possible the Aggies would return to the Pan Am Center. Currently, Doña Ana County is classified as a "red" county. 

"While we would love to be practicing in Las Cruces and preparing to play in the Pan American Center that is not the reality we are currently dealing with," commented NM State director of athletics Mario Moccia. "Our men's and women's basketball staffs and Deputy AD Braun Cartwright reviewed a multitude of venues in and around the Phoenix area and Grand Canyon University's facilities worked best for us."

Antelope Gymnasium opened in 1994 and currently serves as a secondary indoor venue for GCU athletics. The former home of GCU's men's and women's basketball teams, the 1,500-seat arena is a practice facility for GCU's men's and women's volleyball teams and hosts occasional games when GCU Arena is unavailable.

A 136,000-square-foot athletic facility that houses 10 full-size basketball and volleyball courts, the Canyon Activity Center was opened in 2019 and serves as GCU's club and intramural sports hub.

"I would be remiss if I didn't express my gratitude and that of Aggie Nation's to GCU President Brian Mueller, Interim VP of Athletics Jamie Boggs and her entire staff for making this happen," continued Moccia. "To have our rivals open their facilities to us when we needed it speaks volumes of GCU's character."

For complete coverage of Aggie men's and women's basketball throughout the 2020-21 season, visit NMStateSports.com - the official home of NM State athletics - and follow the teams on Facebook (NM State Men's Basketball and NM State Women's Basketball), Twitter (@NMStateMBB and @NMStateWBB) and Instagram (@NMStateMBB and @NMStateWBB).

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