New Mexico State is the fave but...

It's close despite the recent blowout but we feel New Mexico State currently has the edge over Utah State as the fave to win the WAC (and before the Boise State fans pile on Parsing The Wac, yes, the Broncos could sneak in there but we just see it as a very difficult road to leapfrog over both NMSU and Utah State).

However, we are not just the sole entity with concerns about behavior down Las Cruces way.

Shawn Harrison details (see below) some previously unknown instances of plain unprofessionalism and disrespect that should be alien to an institution of higher education.

Just what is the athletic administration there thinking?

Thoughts after leaving the PAC
Shawn Harrison
Logan Herald Journal
Janaury 30, 2008

As I left the Pan American Center on the campus of New Mexico State last Saturday night, I was a bit confused.

Obviously, there were a lot of things to scratch your head about. Why would players jeopardize their team’s winning streak by breaking team rules? How many coaches would fly athletes home for what most people would call a minor offense? Where was that NMSU team last Thursday when Nevada visited Las Cruces? How do players who have been suspended for a number of major offenses ­ check the police blotter in Las Cruces and the hometowns of several NMSU players ­ suddenly get eligible? But my biggest question was: Is anything ever going to be done about the actions of fans at New Mexico State?

OK, there was a fan ejected Jan. 19 from the PAC for “continuous obscenities toward officials,” Western Athletic Conference commissioner Karl Benson said. I had to wonder if it was the guy who always sits behind the Utah State bench when the Aggies visit the other Aggies. That guy is a real tool.

If it was that foul-mouthed male, he was back and at it again last Saturday. It got to the point that on two occasions USU complained to the head game management person at New Mexico State and even the host Aggies athletic director.

What did they do? Nothing.

In fact, they told the visiting Aggies to worry about doing their own jobs. So much for following the new sportsmanship rules given out by the WAC.

I’m all for fans having a fun time and being able to heckle the visiting team. It’s part of being a fan. But when a person is seated right behind the visitors’ bench and can be heard calling out a player and challenging him to a fight outside the arena after the game, that is crossing the line...

Go here for the remainder.