Howl put on hiatus for Lobos
Men’s basketball to hold free scrimmage on campus at Johnson Gym
Paul Weir doesn’t like the “because that’s how it’s always been done” mentality.
After many others in the University of New Mexico athletic department seemed to be on the same page about the dwindling return on investment of the men’s basketball team’s preseason Lobo Howl event in the Pit, they’ve decided to do away with it.
At least for now.
The Lobos will still hold several free events over the next seven weeks, just not the Howl.
First among those comes Oct. 5 when the team will host a free “Cherry/Silver Scrimmage” on UNM’s main campus in Johnson Gym at 4 p.m. — an event open to all, but geared at reconnecting with students, faculty and staff. Weir has identified them as a top priority in his efforts to reconnect with fans, for average home attendance in the Pit dropped outside of the Top 25 in the nation last year for the first times in its 51-year existence.
Weir announced the decision Thursday morning on a video posted on the team’s Twitter account. More news about the scrimmage is expected to be released today by LoboTHON, an on-campus fundraising group helping run the event.
“Since I got here, I’ve obviously implemented a lot of changes, taken input from a variety of sources across several different platforms around our program,” Weir said in the video. “One of
them was how we connect with our community and how we get our community back to Lobo basketball.”
He said the move was based on a number of factors, not any one in particular. He also said it was not a decision any one person in the athletic department made, but rather seemed to be the consensus of many around Lobo athletics who felt the event had run its course in recent years.
Weir also made no secret about wanting to have an event on campus to try to send a message that the program belongs first to the UNM campus community.
“The most important thing to me about this was being able to bring our team on campus to our faculty, our staff and our students,” Weir said. “I want them to feel a part of our program and our program to be connected to them.”
He also said the move may not be permanent, but seemed appropriate for this year, despite some mixed reviews on social media after the announcement.
The women’s basketball team has also participated in the Howl in past years. It is unclear if they will be hosting an open-to-fans event in lieu of the Howl.
SEASON TICKETS: UNM told the Journal on Thursday it has sold 7,018 men’s basketball season tickets.
Season tickets are on sale through the start of the season at the UNM Ticket Office or online at UNMTickets.com.