NMSU’s suspended season impacts GCU
Grand Canyon and the rest of the Western Athletic Conference men’s basketball teams scheduled to play New Mexico State the rest of the season will gain forfeit victories after the university suspended the rest of its season over hazing allegations.
GCU (16-9, 8-5) is the last team NMSU played this season, a 78-67 win at GCU Arena on Feb. 8, two days after a player allegedly was held down by three teammates and stripped of his shorts and slapped on his buttocks and touched on his scrotum, according to university police documents.
On Sunday, New Mexico State Chancellor Dan Arvizu, announced that the rest of the season is being suspended after the police report cited three players for one count of false imprisonment, one count of harassment and two counts of sexual contact.
In a statement, Arvizu called hazing “a despicable act,” and that “NMSU policy strictly prohibits hazing in all forms, and it’s something we simply will not tolerate.”
According to the Las Cruces Sun News, the alleged victim named three teammates who were involved in the hazing since last summer and that most recent incident took place on Feb. 6 inside the Pan American Center locker room. He told police that this was usually done in front of the whole team and no one intervened, according to the report by the Sun News.
The player, according to the report, wished to remain anonymous and not press charges. First-year head coach Greg Heiar and his staff were placed on paid administrative leave as the campus police conducts an investigation. It’s the second in-season investigation with the program. There is an ongoing investigation over a November shooting in Albuquerque that involved Aggies player Mike Peake and four University of New Mexico students.
Arvizu said campus personnel are investigating multiple incidents of hazing while first-year head coach Greg Heiar and the coaching staff were placed on paid administrative leave. Heiar and staff were still on leave as of Sunday evening.
On Monday, the WAC put out a release, stating that each of the six remaining New Mexico State games against conference opponents will be deemed forfeits in regards to conference standings. GCU was scheduled to play at New Mexico State on Feb. 22. NMSU forfeited its game last Saturday to California Baptist. The Aggies also will forfeit games against Abilene Christian (Feb. 15 and March 1) and UT Rio Grand Valley (Feb. 18) and Tarleton (March 6).
The WAC said that the NCAA does not recognized forfeited games as it pertains to a team’s overall record but grants conferences the right to administer forfeits for in-conference games for the purpose of standings and seeding.
Each New Mexico State opponent the rest of the season have immediately received corresponding conference wins and will be credited with the equivalent of a home win for each remaining game against New Mexico State in the WAC Resume Seeding System, the WAC said.
“While there is no perfect solution to this unfortunate situation, I believe we landed in the right place,” WAC Commissioner Brian Thornton said in the release. “I applaud our Athletic Directors for working collaboratively with our staff to reach this decision.
“We are in the midst of the best statistical season in the WAC’s history, and we wanted to create the most equitable solution that did not unfairly advantage or disadvantage institutions that lost opportunities to improve their standing. Ultimately, every institution will maintain the ability to control their destiny based on the results of their remaining conference contests.”
GCU, coming off a 63-58 loss at Seattle U on Saturday, is at home at 7 p.m. Wednesday against UT Rio Grande Valley and at 9 p.m. Friday against Abilene Christian in an ESPNU nationallytelevised contest.