++NM State ++

– New Mexico State Director of Athleticshas started the search for the next men's head basketball coach at NM State.Moccia met with the media at a news conference on Monday to discuss replacing Marvin Menzies who left after nine years to become the head coach at UNLV."I certainly want to wish Marvin well," said Moccia. "He did a lot of tremendous things here in nine years and he won an awful lot of games, WAC Championships, NCAA Tournament appearances, you have to tip your hat to somebody that worked really hard and some tremendous success."Menzies was the third winningest coach in NM State history and left the Aggies with a 198-111 record. He directed the team to three regular season WAC Championships, five WAC Tournament Championships, five NCAA Tournament berths and one NIT berth.Moccia said in opening the search that some of the qualities he will be looking for in a new head coach: continuing to maintain a focus on academics, keep the good, solid social responsibility of the student-athletes, have an ability to recruit at a high level, and understanding the game from an X's and O's standpoint."I'm looking for someone to demonstrate a plan to who can increase our competitiveness in our non-conference games," Moccia added. "I think this is critical."Moccia is also forming a small committee to help him conduct the search.There is no announced timetable for filling the position.