https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqaKxVQdlgs&feature=youtu.be
NMSU Athletics came to a halt last March due to the COVID 19 Pandemic. With all sports being delayed to the spring season, Athletic Director Mario Moccia says the department has been working hard to ensure safety for practice and competition.
“We thought things would get better, and it would allow our student athletes to do what we promised them to do, practice and have the ability to compete. As we move into the spring, we have a unique situation where all of our sports will be playing at the same time, that never happens,” said Moccia.
NMSU athletes were originally not allowed to practice in Las Cruces due to the state of New Mexico’s COVID 19 restrictions. This forced men and women’s basketball to spend 9 weeks in Arizona for practice and games. The teams were able to return to New Mexico on January 20th due to amendments in the COVID restrictions.
“We recently received the okay to practice in Las Cruces, and compete outside of the state. This was huge, but now we have to find venues to compete in,” said Moccia.
Even though the teams can’t compete at home, the news of being able to return to the Pan American Center was enough for the Aggies according to Women’s Basketball Head Coach Brooke Atkinson.
“We’ll just take anything, just to be able to sleep at home in our own beds and being able to practice in the comforts of the Pan Am or the practice gym, we were super excited, we just didn’t know when it was gonna happen. It was our actual off day when we found out, and we were so excited. We couldn’t get back soon enough,” said Atiknson.
Players like Aaliyah Prince were also ready to come back to Las Cruces.
“Everyone was super excited to come home. Just the idea of being away from home just wasn’t setting right with us, and being out of our comfort zone. That was a big thing,” said Prince.
There were many uncertainties and obstacles during the past few months according to Men’s Basketball Head Coach Chris Jans.
“Now that we’re in the midst of it, it’s all came true. We’ve had postponements and cancelations left and right, so we have had more than our fair share of that and we’re hoping for better days ahead,” said Jans.
The Aggies will play their home games at Eastwood High School in El Paso, which is a preferred location for the Aggies, says Jans.
“Being 45-50 minutes rather than 6 hours is much more desirable for us to play our remaining home games of the season,” said Jans.
With the absence of a band, fans, and the overall NMSU spirit, Jans says the Aggies are definitely missing what makes the Pan American Center so special.
“Just that feeling of a home game in the Pan Am and knowing that we have that 6th man behind us and we’ve had so much success on that floor. We definitely miss having the fans and that 6th man and the feel of a college basketball game in Las Cruces. We definitely miss it,” said Jans.
The season may look different, but Atkinson says the Aggies are making the most out of every moment given to them.
“Anytime you’re able to practice, you just have to make the best out of it because you just don’t know if you’re gonna be paused because of a COVID related issue, whether it’s your own team or because you played somebody else. So, this has really made us focus on the moment. You can’t look too far ahead, you can’t even look a couple hours ahead because you just don’t know,” said Atkinson.
The Aggies will continue to persevere through this unprecedented time. Best of luck to all teams this season.
Go Aggies!