Lobos football hasn’t hit rock bottom, but the potential is there
These are dark times for the University of New Mexico football program, but how low can it go? A program coming off consecutive three-win seasons, attendance figures that haven’t been this low since the dreaded Mike Sheppard days and a head coach who has spent the better part of the past 18 months in the hot seat certainly make it seem like things can’t get worse. Oh, but they can. Coach Bob Davie recruited like a man who believes he has just two years left on his contract by signing 15 junior college players partly to infuse a team lacking in talent, especially on defense, but also to produce those precious wins that might allow him to keep his job — if he really wants it.
Even though he is entering his eighth year with the program, Davie was noticeably absent in how UNM marketed the football program last year — which was understandable considering he was coming off a 30-day suspension after it was revealed he meddled in an investigation of a sexual assault claim.
Still, Davie doesn’t come off as an affable figure with whom Lobo fans could connect. In fact, he’s acted like a coach who believes the program should sell itself, especially after consecutive bowl appearances in 2015 and ’16. He vastly underestimated the fan base the program had, and attendance over the last three years reflects that — it fell from 23,528 in 2015 to 16,587 last season.
Ah, the “damn fans,” as former Lobos head coach Rocky Long called them. It was 14 years ago that attendance reached its peak (an average of 38,341), but apathy set in after that lessthan-rewarding 6-5 season. Aside from a slight uptick at the start of Davie’s tenure, the number of fans in the stands has steadily decreased.
It’s clear there is a disconnect between the Albuquerque community and the state’s flagship university, and UNM officials seem at a loss to reengage it.
Contrast that with the other main draws in the region. The Albuquerque Isotopes continue to be one of top draws in the minors, and the New Mexico United soccer club is almost matching the football program in terms of ticket sales and exceeded it in terms of actual people and excitement.
Somehow, those organizations fostered a good will and good faith that UNM has whiffed on, and it doesn’t appear the athletic department has a plan to change that. In fact, the arrogance and self importance some people on the south campus exude is at odds with the fans’ indifference.
As long as the big wigs continue to act like they are bigger than they really are, people will continue to look elsewhere to spend their hard-earned money. It’s a “come to Jesus” moment for everyone involved, and simply winning football games — or basketball games, for that matter — won’t fix it.
The alternative is irrelevance, and the acceleration of the death of athletics at UNM.
That’s how low it can go.