Mountain West Basketball: Examining 8 potential candidates for expansion
By Joey Loose
New Mexico State
There is a lot of uncertainty due to conference realignment, and there are a few assumptions we can make for adding each of these schools. No matter which teams have left or joined the Mountain West, New Mexico State is certainly worth a look, but there are also a number of question marks. Before we get into that, it’s important to laud that these Aggies have completely dominated the WAC in basketball since joining in 2005.
However, there’s bad with the good. Football has been a disaster and this program doesn’t seem like they’re suddenly going to be on the cusp of greatness, even if they join the Mountain West. The Aggies have been independent in football for the last four seasons, with a 6-22 mark in that time span. Coach Doug Martin led the team to an Arizona Bowl win in 2017, but you have to go back to 2002 to find their second most recent season over .500.
You also have to wonder if New Mexico would really want to see their in-state rivals join their league, especially when the Aggies didn’t join the Mountain West years ago with former WAC conferences mates like Boise State and Fresno State, among others. There’s also certainly a question about how that basketball program would fare when you ramp up the competition a notch or two. However, New Mexico State has the geography, brings a talented basketball program, and could certainly use this conference to improve football in the coming years.