New Mexico was still a territory when Las Cruces College opened the doors of its two-room building in the fall of 1888. In 1889, the New Mexico territorial legislature authorized the creation of an agricultural college, which merged with Las Cruces College in 1890. Originally known as the New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts, it became New Mexico State University in 1960.

Today, New Mexico State University sits on a 900-acre campus and enrolls more than 15,000 students from all 50 states and 87 nations.