The steel chandeliers in the lobby of the Nativo Lodge hang low over the second balcony but it’s dim. Dim enough for New Mexico State athletic director Mario Moccia, 55, to need a set of reading glasses for the list of topics he held.
“When I was the AD in 2015, I didn’t need cheaters,” he said, a crowd gathered around him. “Now I do.”
A caravan up from Las Cruces to Albuquerque for fans and alumni isn’t a new thing. But ever since quarterback Diego Pavia iced a 24-19 win in the Quick Lane Bowl for New Mexico State with a run up the middle, things have been different.