Four UNM teams likely out

Proposal would cut men’s soccer, ski teams, beach volleyball

ALBUQUERQUE — The ax fell Wednesday night.

And for a variety of sports programs at the University of New Mexico — including some of the school’s best — the results were devastating.

The cash-strapped Lobos athletic department will propose the elimination of men’s and women’s skiing, men’s soccer and women’s beach volleyball at a special UNM Board of Regents meeting Thursday, according to a detailed report issued by the school Wednesday evening.

Athletics director Eddie Nuñez and UNM President Garnett Stokes released the recommendations, which will be presented to regents during the morning meeting at the university’s Student Union Building in Albuquerque.

UNM also recommends implementing a roster-management plan for men’s cross-country and men’s indoor and outdoor track, as well as “modifying” the swimming and diving program — including the phasing out of diving.

By the end of the 2019 fiscal year, the athletic

department faces a budget deficit that could be as high as $7 million. In the spring, Nuñez said he would begin exploring options on how to begin balancing the books, and deep cuts to sports programs quickly became an option.

The report indicates the cuts will save an estimated $1.15 million annually.

UNM said scholarships for the affected athletes will be honored through their graduation.

“The university is faced with difficult decisions and tough choices, but we must act now to ensure the long-term stability of Lobo Athletics,” Stokes said in a statement. “Regrettably, the recommendations do include the reduction in sports, the least desirable measure but one that will help alleviate our financial concerns … in compliance with federal law.”

Coaches and athletes were informed of the changes Wednesday night.

“People are losing jobs and sports are being cut,” said men’s soccer coach Jeremy Fishbein. “I’m sick about it. I’m just sick. Seventeen years I’ve been doing this. In a time like this, you’d think people would be kind to one another and be supportive, but that’s not the way it works. People are only looking out for themselves.”

All four sports will be allowed to compete during the upcoming 2018-19 season.

Cutting men’s soccer will save the school $605,630 and will directly affect 29 athletes and three coaches. The report cited the program’s bloated travel costs due to its affiliation with Conference USA, as well as its large roster.

UNM men’s soccer has been one of the Lobos’ most consistent — and nationally recognized — programs in the past two decades. The Lobos played for the NCAA championship in 2005 and advanced to the Final Four in 2013. They have played in the NCAA Tournament 12 of the past 16 years.

All other UNM programs are members of the Mountain West Conference, a regional league with teams in California, Nevada, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming and Colorado. Conference USA has teams spread across three time zones, with matches as far away as South Carolina and Florida.

Fishbein has countered those points with his program’s impact on the school and state — points that became increasingly vocal ever since Stokes directed Nuñez to make heavy cuts to his financially challenged department this spring. UNM has failed to balance its annual budget in nine of the last 11 years.

“This program has become such an important part of who we are, of what this state is,” Fishbein said. “We’re talking about lives here. Our kids, the players themselves, will be fine. The coaches, we’ll be fine. We’ll get through this. What I’m talking about is what soccer has meant to this community, to the people here. That’s the loss we’re talking about. I don’t know what more to say.”

Cutting the skiing programs — which won a coed national title in 2004 — provides a cost savings of approximately $630,000, while the loss of beach volleyball saves less than $10,000. This is the second time in the past two years that the skiing program has faced elimination. Former athletic director Paul Krebs tried to cut it two years ago, but the program was kept alive by the board of regents.

The report also cites shoddy accounting practices and elevated costs as reasons for the growing debt. Earlier this week, Nuñez took to local public television to address at least part of the issue.

“What’s happened is inflation has continued to go up in things from travel to insurances and everything else, so as food and everything else has increased, our budgets have remained here [flat],” he said during an appearance on the KNME-TV show New Mexico in Focus. “That differential between where we are right now and where our budgets are, our coaches have fundraised for that differential.”

Before the report was made public, UNM baseball coach Ray Birmingham said the mood around the athletic department was toxic. He said communication between the administration and the coaches was minimal, and rampant conjecture made virtually everyone uneasy.

“You don’t even make eye contact anymore,” Birmingham said. “One of the problems we’ve had as a department is we’ve had a Champagne taste with a beer budget. This has been a long time coming, but it’s coming at the expense of some really good people.”