New Mexico State University will be a busy and exciting place as March Madness comes to campus, with NMSU hosting the 2007 Western Athletic Conference Basketball Tournament March 6-10.

“What a great reason for alumni to come back and visit the university and see improvements to the Pan American Center,” says Maria Roth, assistant NMSU athletics director. “We’re very excited about what this means for New Mexico State as well as the city of Las Cruces.”

Eighteen basketball teams, thousands of fans, and media from across the U.S. will be in Las Cruces for the tournament. This is the first time NMSU has hosted a conference basketball tournament.

“It really shows the confidence the WAC has in NMSU,” Roth says.

NMSU will host both the 2007 and 2008 WAC Tournaments. All nine schools will be represented by both their men’s and women’s teams. This will include competition between WAC foes such as Nevada, Hawaii and Utah State to name a few.

“Alumni and other fans who show up to the tournament are going to see a lot of great basketball, in addition to enjoying the friendly southern New Mexico hospitality,” Roth says. “Both our men’s and women’s teams are very competitive this year, and our fans won’t have to travel to see them compete.”

Teams playing on their home court traditionally have an advantage over other teams who have to travel to the conference tournament. The winner of the WAC Tournament also gets an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Roth says fans also will be impressed with the newly renovated Pan American Center.

“It’s now a first-class facility with state-of-the-art features and the ability to accommodate a large number of fans,” she says. “We’re looking forward to the opportunity to showcase the city of Las Cruces, and it’s our goal for this to be the best tournament the WAC has ever experienced.”