LAS CRUCES, N.M. - It may not be the home the NM State men's and women's basketball teams are used to, but it's still a home for the remaining 2020-21 season.
Monday afternoon, NM State athletics announced that Eastwood High School in El Paso, Texas, is set to serve as the host site for the remainder of the Aggies' men's and women's basketball "home" games for the 2020-21 season. No decision has been made in regards to in-person attendance for the Aggies' remaining slate of home games.
"We found a tremendous location in Eastwood High School. Our staff who toured their facility were amazed not only by the aesthetics inside the bowl but also the back-of-house infrastructure needed to host NCAA Division I teams," commented NM State Director of Athletics Mario Moccia.
"[Eastwood HS Director of Athletics] Julio Lopez and the entire school laid out the red carpet for us, and Aggie Nation is very appreciative," Moccia continued.
Both the Aggies' men's and women's basketball teams returned to Las Cruces in late January following the Jan. 20 announcement by the governor's office which allowed all collegiate teams to conduct full practices within the state of New Mexico once again.
While the Aggies are now able to hold practices within the state, New Mexico's amendments to the COVID-19 Policies for Intercollegiate Athletics do not permit collegiate teams to host any games within the state of New Mexico. As a result, Aggie athletics officials met with a number of potential host sites in the city of El Paso, Texas, last week to find a suitable location to host the Aggies' men's and women's basketball teams.
"Thanks to the community's generous support of our bond program, the Ysleta Independent School District is fortunate to be in a position where we can accommodate New Mexico State University's request to use the state-of-the-art athletic facilities at Eastwood High School," said Ysleta ISD Superintendent of Schools Dr. Xavier De La Torre.
"Given that many Ysleta ISD graduates choose to attend NMSU to pursue a post-secondary education, it is our pleasure to assist the Aggies in their efforts to find a suitable venue to host athletic home games and provide a renewed sense of normalcy for their students and overall college experience," Dr. De La Torre added.
As it stands right now, Eastwood will host the Aggie men's team for a total of four games (Feb. 5-6 and Feb. 19-20) as well as the Aggie women's team for four games (Feb. 12-13 and Feb. 26-27).
"It's not every day that you get the chance to host Division I, NCAA tournament-caliber programs in your gym," said Julio Lopez, athletic coordinator at Ysleta ISD's Eastwood High School. "We are ecstatic at the opportunity to host NMSU's athletic programs in our facility, and we look forward to seeing the Aggies in our gym, making a run at another NCAA tournament."
A former college football player, Lopez spent part of his collegiate career competing for the Aggies.
Boasting one of the newest and most state-of-the-art gyms in both the state of Texas and the nation, Eastwood High School's newly-renovated 2,000-seat venue was completed just prior to the start of the 2019-20 school year. The Troopers' dreams for a newly-renovated facility started in 2015 when the Ysleta Independent School District received a $430 million bond in 2015.
Eastwood High School's premier facility has been used as a practice site for UTEP's annual Sun Bowl Classic men's basketball tournament.
For complete coverage of NM State men's and women's basketball throughout the rest of the 2020-21 season and beyond, visit NMStateSports.com - the official home of Aggie athletics - and follow the Aggies 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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