Jerry Kill says New Mexico tried to deny Aggies access to practice field - ESPN

New Mexico State coach Jerry Kill criticized New Mexico athletic director Eddie Nunez after Saturday's Isleta New Mexico Bowl, saying Nunez attempted to deny NMSU access to practice facilities in retaliation for an incident earlier this year.

Kill, whose team lost to Fresno State 37-10 at New Mexico's University Stadium in Albuquerque, ended his news conference by saying New Mexico State had a great bowl experience but faced «all kinds of stuff» with its attempts to practice at New Mexico, where the event has been played since 2006.

A New Mexico spokesman told ESPN that New Mexico State used New Mexico's indoor facility on each day it wanted to practice, as contracted through the bowl game.

Kill told ESPN on Saturday night that New Mexico State would have had to practice at a local high school field if New Mexico Bowl executive director Jeff Siembieda had not intervened and pushed for the use of New Mexico's facility. When NMSU showed up Thursday, as snow fell in the Albuquerque area, four police officers were at the New Mexico facility to monitor the Aggies' practice.

«The police officers kind of laughed. They said, 'There's a lot of stuff going on in Albuquerque, I don't know why we're here watching the logo,'» Kill said. «It's a great bowl game, but here's the deal: They were going to make us practice on a high school field and let Fresno practice in the indoor, and that particular day, it snowed. But Jeff busted his butt and had to argue with their people to get us on the thing.»

Kill added that no police were present when New Mexico State practiced in the facility Friday.

Kill said Nunez had «better be disciplined by this state» for how he allegedly treated NMSU. Kill also referenced an incident involving New Mexico