Mayor’s backing
UNM men’s soccer may be a candidate to be cut, but it has an ally in Keller
Albuquerque’s mayor has joined the lobbying effort to save one University of New Mexico sports program from the potential chopping block. Mayor Tim Keller is heralding the UNM men’s soccer team as an Albuquerque asset, citing its competitive success and community contributions. In a recent letter to UNM President Garnett Stokes, Keller also noted the importance of keeping a soccer “pipeline” given the city’s current and future professional soccer teams.
Keller wrote on May 23 that he supports “full funding” for the program — one he said may be imperiled as UNM reckons with its athletic department’s chronic overspending.
“While we appreciate the reality of budget limitations, it would be a great loss to Albuquerque to see (the men’s soccer) program diminished,” Keller wrote on City of Albuquerque letterhead.
Regents this spring approved a plan to cut $1.9 million from the athletics budget effective in fiscal year 2020. That will likely require cutting sports, and athletic director Eddie Nuñez currently is assessing all programs on financial and other criteria, including how each impacts the community and UNM’s gender equity obligations under Title IX. Nuñez will make a recommendation to Stokes this summer. If she deems it appropriate, she will pres-
ent it to the regents for final approval.
Men’s soccer head coach Jeremy Fishbein has expressed grave concern about his program’s fate, saying he has been told soccer is one of the sports being seriously considered for elimination. He has spent the past two months galvanizing support for a program he said has succeeded on the field and also has strong community impact and support.
“You’re sending a very bad message by cutting — or even discussing cutting — the world’s most popular sport,” he said.
Fishbein said he did not personally ask Keller to write the letter, but “I assume the mayor wants our city and our state to become great. I think our mayor values diversity, I think our mayor values opportunity, I think our mayor values developing impactful people in our community and, by valuing those things, he 100 percent values our program and everything it stands for.”
Keller is no stranger to UNM athletics — as state auditor last year, he ordered a special audit of UNM athletics and related units. The six-month investigation yielded a 58-page report that showed various instances of financial mismanagement and blamed some problems on the labyrinthine relationships between UNM, the UNM Foundation and the Lobo Club.
But Keller’s office did not directly answer a Journal question about how specifically UNM athletics could meet its budget challenges without cutting sports or whether he objected to any other sports potentially getting cut.
However, his spokeswoman issued a written statement that said in part that Keller “has called on UNM Athletics to ensure funds are handled responsibly and that athletic events in the city appeal to our diverse population” and that he “supports a wide variety of men’s and women’s sports.” She also reiterated Keller’s argument that UNM soccer ultimately could feed Albuquerque’s forthcoming United Soccer League team, which begins play next year.
“With USL coming to town, the soccer program has potential to grow into a pipeline for homegrown athletes to succeed in our city,” spokeswoman Alicia Manzano wrote.
Fishbein — who said he has fielded too many supportive messages to count — said waiting for UNM to announce a decision has been trying.
“It’s causing a lot of issues amongst all our stakeholders. How do our players feel? How do our recruits feel?” he said. “It’s just really hard; it’s hard to deal with.”