There is a golden opportunity awaiting Aggie fans that want to support the team and have their name or message placed as a permanent part of the Pan American Center. Dave Holly at the Aggie Athletic Fund has an idea that is a golly, darned dandy.

Aggie faithful can buy a brick that will make up the new Legacy Plaza at the front of the Pan Am. The bricks are $150 and will have your name, slogan or tribute imprinted permanently on it. This is something to show your friends or just feel good about when you come to see the Aggies play.

Now, Holly is one smart hombre, he saw a similar idea to the west in Tucson, Ariz., and knew it would be a big hit here in Las Cruces. I don’t know of many fans that wouldn’t want to have their support of their team visible for all to see. The great thing is that you don’t have to be a member of the Winners Circle or a six figure donor, all you have to be is an Aggie!

The double bonus is the money raised will help provide scholarships for your team. It also creates a nice link for the growing number of Aggie fans who are joining the ranks. Myself, I have purchased bricks at the Mesilla Valley Hospice for loved ones, it was something I wanted to do for my kin and because of the great feeling it left me with.

If you want to buy more than one, they will take care of you there too. When the first 1,000 bricks are purchased, then the first area of the plaza will be installed. The idea is to have the entire entrance to the Pan Am as part of the Legacy area.

Holly put it this way. "The paving stones will symbolize our friends' steadfast commitment to making New Mexico State University the best it can be."

The Aggie Athletics Fund goal is to sell 5,000 stones, which would raise more than $500,000. All of the proceeds will be used to support student-athletes. You can put your order in now, come by the AAF office in the Pan Am or call them at 575-646-5151. Checks, money orders and credit cards are welcome to pay for your part of the Pan Am.

Through the many decades that ole Pete has been around here in the Mesilla Valley, I have met so many fans who wear their Crimson and White proudly and have been itching to be a part of the team, but don’t live in Las Cruces and feel removed from the action. No more my friends, this idea lets fans from all coasts and all nations put their name in concrete for the world to see.