The elation from a screaming and dancing-filled New Mexico State locker room at Jordan-Hare Stadium after maybe the biggest win in program history had not faded by the time Aggies athletic director Mario Moccia sat down on the flight back home. They had driven back from Auburn to Columbus, Georgia, for their flight to Las Cruces, New Mexico.

And the first thing Moccia did on the plane was pull out his laptop, grab his list of donors and start sending emails. He said he sent about 50 emails on the three-hour-and-23-minute flight. He’s already raised more than $140,000.

“I’ve tried to launch the ‘Keep Jerry Kill Campaign,’ in case another suitor comes calling” Moccia said in a phone call with AL.com. “That’s what you do when you’re at New Mexico State. You don’t get to watch Netflix. You get back to work, even after a historic win.”

Those donations are on top of the $1.85 million Auburn paid New Mexico State to play this year, according to a copy of the game’s contract obtained by AL.com in a public records request. It wasn’t even Auburn’s biggest payout of the season. That payment of just below $2 million went to Auburn’s season opener: UMass

Smaller programs like New Mexico State play these “money games” every year. They travel as heavy underdogs to a large, rich program and leave with a hefty check in hand. That money is often essential in funding the smaller budget athletic programs.

And every so often, David beats Goliath.

New Mexico State left Auburn with a check, a shocking 31-10 win and among the strongest momentum in the history of the school’s football program. New Mexico State is historically among the worst programs in college football. Moccia played college football himself in Las Cruces. He noted New Mexico State averages about one winning season a decade. It now has two winning seasons in a row.

So these money games are of critical importance to keeping a program with New Mexico State’s small budget and exposure. Moccia said these games help balance out the athletic department’s costs. New Mexico State operates at a deficit which is has begun to chip into, but still sits around $9.5 million, Moccia said.

New Mexico State is like the majority of athletic programs around the country which annually operate at a deficit.

The contract for New Mexico State’s trip to Auburn was agreed upon in 2019. That money had long been accounted for within New Mexico State’s budget. Ultimately, the $1.85 million will buoy the school’s general athletics fund and be used as cash to fund various facets of the athletic program.

One of those purposes, Moccia said, is upgrades to the football program and facilities requested by head coach Jerry Kill. Moccia was the athletic director at Southern Illinois from 2006-2014 and he crossed paths with Kill, who was the head coach there from 2001-2007. When he got to the New Mexico State, Moccia said he told Kill that if he ever had an opening for the head football coach, Kill was his first call.

When Kill was hired at New Mexico State in 2022, one of the first things he pushed for was a nutrition program matching that of larger FBS programs. That’s still a work in progress, Moccia said.

Kill also urged New Mexico State to play only one money game each year. Moccia said historically New Mexico State plays two per season. Kill believed taking one of those games off the schedule would help the team’s chances for a better record. That comes after New Mexico State played three money games last year — against Missouri, Wisconsin and Minnesota.

Kill’s request for one fewer money game was also in comparison to New Mexico and UTEP, which Moccia said are the measuring sticks for his program as key rivals.

“It was like, ‘Hey, that’s not sustainable.’” Moccia said. “Now, we still managed to win seven games, but, come on, that’s not how you build a football program. But UNM and UTEP, were only playing one buy game. Now, those are bigger schools with bigger budgets, but if we want to aspire to have success, let’s play one buy game, and let’s see if this will help the football program. You could certainly make an argument that it did this year. There is a financial ramifications to it too. I mean, I can’t replicate $1.5 million in my budget at New Mexico state. But it is what it is.”

Moccia obliged to Kill’s request. Auburn was New Mexico State’s money game this season. It was an added bonus that New Mexico State won.

New Mexico State also moved from independent status in football to joining Conference-USA this season. There are fewer money games now, but bonus revenue from being within a conference that wasn’t previously a part of the budget. It will take a season or two for those payouts to be felt within the Aggies’ wallet, Moccia said.

In year one back in a conference, after beating Auburn, New Mexico State has a chance to win 10 games.

“I think for the first time in a generation or 60 something years, people here, as long as Jerry Kill is the head coach, feel that football success is a realistic possibility,” Moccia said. “Going to a bowl game could be an expectation.”

Matt Cohen covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @Matt_Cohen_ or email him at [email protected]