LAS CRUCES, N.M. - The generosity of Aggie Nation has been on full display through what was a 2020-21 season fraught with adversity for the NM State men's and women's basketball teams.
In an announcement made Tuesday, NM State athletics has revealed that through its Donate-4-State giving initiative, $182,365 has been raised as a result of the donations of 560 Aggie supporters. That dollar amount vastly exceeded the Aggies' initial goal of $100,000 which was announced at the beginning of the campaign.
NM State's Donate-4-State initiative started in late November of 2020, a little less than a week after the Aggies' men's and women's basketball team relocated to various locations in the state of Arizona for the start of their respective 2020-21 seasons. At the time, New Mexico's COVID-Safe Practices for Intercollegiate Sports guidelines prohibited college teams from conducting full practices and hosting games of any kind in the state. Those restrictions led to both the Aggies' men's and women's basketball teams relocating out-of-state in order to prepare for and play games in the early stages of their respective 2020-21 campaigns.
In order to help offset the cost of lodging, meals, transportation and other incidentals, Aggie fans were encouraged to give to the Donate-4-State program.
"Aggie Nation responded to our call for assistance in a phenomenal way," said NM State Director of Athletics Mario Moccia. "Fiscal responsibility and accountability have been expectations from NM State athletics since my arrival and we have seen to that by balancing our budget in 11 of the last 12 academic years.
"When we were allowed to prepare and train out of state, Deputy AD Chet Savage created the "Donate4State" concept and though our partners at Caring Cent and our amazing donors we were able to far exceed our original goal," Moccia continued. "I have no doubt that our leadership, as well as members of our state legislature, appreciate the fact that NM State athletics proactively took this approach in order to accomplish our primary mission which is to give our student-athletes their best chance to compete for championships as their counterparts across the nation were."
On January 19, 2021, the state of New Mexico amended its COVID-Safe Practices for Intercollegiate Sports in a way which allowed college teams to conduct full practices in-state once again. Upon learning of the news, both the Aggies' men's and women's basketball teams moved back to Las Cruces from Phoenix, Ariz. NM State's men's basketball team lived and practiced at the Arizona Grand in Phoenix while the Aggies' women's basketball team also found it necessary to practice and live in Arizona.
Though able to practice in-state following the state's decision in mid-January, the Aggies were still unable to play games within state lines. As a result, NM State played its remaining "home" games for the 2020-21 season at Eastwood High School in El Paso, Texas. A 50-minute drive from the Pan American Center in Las Cruces, Eastwood High School recently underwent a multi-million dollar renovation which made it one of Texas' premier prep athletics facilities.
NM State's men's basketball team finished the 2020-21 campaign with a 12-8 record which featured a 7-6 showing in Western Athletic Conference (WAC) play. The Aggies secured the third seed for the 2021 WAC Tournament and advanced to the championship game against Grand Canyon.
The Aggies' women's basketball team generated a 9-12 record, including a 6-6 mark in WAC action. NM State was the fourth seed for the 2021 WAC Tournament and moved on to the semifinal round of the league's postseason tournament where they fell to top-seeded and eventual tournament champion California Baptist.
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