Diego Pavia has a personal beef with the New Mexico football. This was a team he had actually wanted to play for, since the quarterback is native to New Mexico. Having been denied that opportunity, Pavia pulled quite the act of retaliation against the Lobos in 2023. Two years since then, New Mexico might be getting to have the last laugh.

While Pavia’s draft future hangs in the balance, New Mexico football is set for a massive upgrade. According to a study conducted by Gensler & Dekker, the program will begin renovations worth $268 million for the University Stadium. The plan is split into five phases over a decade, and will begin with a $58 million upgrade on “accessibility, expanded concourses, concessions, and the venue’s first full-service kitchen.”

The stadium has seen periodic expansions since 1960; this would be the first time that New Mexico’s home field would receive a full-scale renovation. This is all thanks to the massive improvement of Lobos Football, which recorded its first winning season since 2016 last year. The study also found that this growth led to a 58% increase in attendance this past season, which is the year-over-year increase in the FBS. New Mexico football was only one win away from winning the Mountain West Championship, but there is finally some momentum in a program that has longed to catch a break for some time now.

The report mentions that the North Entry Plaza will undergo a $15.9 million renovation and a wider concourse. The stadium would gain 32 more gate lines, allowing quicker entry. 71% of fans are expected to get inside within the first hour with this upgrade, a sharp rise from the 33% currently.

“When we put that many people into a tight environment, tempers flare,” Lobos’ interim athletic director Ryan Berryman said. “The success we had as a football team magnified those issues.”

According to the latest updates, New Mexico is not going to take on the debt for the $268 million renovation. Rather, state funding is going to play a crucial role. But things would not be easy for the program as it does not occupy the upper echelons of college sports’ revenue generators. Phase 1 of these plans will cost 58 million, for which the Lobos had applied for a $50 million loan. The state approved only 28 million of it, but it is the largest donation made to UNM by the state.

New Mexico football has to depend on alternative sources of funding, since ticketing, philanthropy, and other donations still haven’t reached their peak. However, fan attendance should be growing steadily after last season. Potential donors need to have a belief in the growth of this up-and-coming G5 team.

The rebuild will ironically also help fans get over a nasty reminder that the former Vanderbilt QB left on the UNM campus.

Diego Pavia pulled an extremely shameful move to demean New Mexico football

Pavia starred at Volcano Vista High School in Albuquerque. He ended up playing for the other two New Mexico programs, but the call from the Lobos never came. That spurred Pavia to take on UNM as a rival, he said on Bussin’ With the Boys last year. In 2023, he got the chance to do so while playing for New Mexico State. Diego Pavia torched the Lobos by throwing for 203 yards and scoring twice. He also added 98 rushing yards to bolster the Aggies’ attack. But Pavia wasn’t done.

A 2023 video involving the QB stirred controversy after he was filmed urinating on New Mexico’s Lobos logo inside the practice facility. He later showed the middle finger to another logo. “It was no thinking. It was just f— these guys,” he said of his thoughts at the time.

This brash attitude of his landed him in trouble quite a few times. And, it is a reason why Pavia’s draft stocks are low. While at Vanderbilt, he caused yet another uproar with his harsh dig at Alabama in 2024 and his comments towards the Heisman voting panel in 2025.  

New Mexico is starting afresh and is actually in a prime spot to become a strong competitor in the conference. These new renovations will allow the program to host more fans, build more hype, and take a massive step forward. Diego Pavia’s future, on the other hand, might not even involve the NFL.