New Mexico
FBS Pauper NMSU Makes ‘Outside the Box’ Play for State Funds
While the wealthiest college athletic departments are reconnoitering with private capital these days, one of the least-resourced FBS schools, New Mexico State University, is pursuing a unique proposal with a more traditional funding source: the public kitty.
Ahead of next year’s legislative session, the Aggies, who compete in Conference USA, have presented New Mexico legislators with the idea of creating a $137 million endowment to help fund its women’s sports programs.
While the endowment’s principal would remain with the state, NMSU athletics would receive about $5 million to $6 million in the annual income it produces, according to the proposal. Alternatively, NMSU is asking for a one-time appropriation of $27.5 million, to help float its women’s athletics programs for five years.
It’s a bold idea, and one that NMSU athletic director Mario Moccia says is timed to two contrasting financial dynamics. In light of the proposed House v. NCAA settlement, the already-distressed Aggies have been forced to quickly come up with a plan that would address millions of dollars in increased expenses while the school’s annual share of NCAA distributions are reduced.
For the 2022-23 academic year, NMSU’s athletics spending of $37.15 million ranked 92nd out of 110 public FBS universities. Over that same period, the university reported receiving $6.75 million in revenue from governmental appropriations, ranking it eighth among that cohort.
The Aggies have long teetered on the tipping point of ’s top subdivision, eschewing pressures over the years to call it a day and drop down to FCS.
Meanwhile, the state of New Mexico, despite being among the poorest in the nation, has recently enjoyed a budget boom thanks to near-record oil and natural gas prices since the pandemic. Oil and gas revenues in the state have more than quadrupled in the five-year span from 2018 to 2023. Typically, New Mexico earns about $4 billion in direct revenue from energy production, primarily through drilling and property taxes, which funds at least a quarter of the annual state budget. However, in the fiscal year 2023, those revenues exceeded $5 billion, after a 162% year-over-year increase.
“We are sitting on a significant amount of one-time money,” Moccia said in a phone interview Saturday. “So this year, seeing as the state had so much funding, we said, ‘Hey, let’s think outside the box.’”
In effect, the endowment proposal would be an augmentation of the annual money the state already gives to the Aggies. Unlike many other states, New Mexico’s legislature directly appropriates operating revenue to the athletic departments of its two FBS schools, NMSU and the University of New Mexico.
The next legislative session commences Jan. 21 and runs through March 22. A hearing for final approval of the House settlement is slated for April 7.
How confident is Moccia in his big ask?
“Nobody has said this is a terrible idea,” he said. “It has been out in the public, there are articles about it, a lot of our legislators have talked about it. So hopefully you go into the [legislative] session with some momentum.”
Earlier in the year, Moccia led a delegation of NMSU female athletes to lobby on behalf of the endowment proposal.
“I think it is brilliant that the athletic department is being proactive in this space,” Aggies women’s basketball coach Jody Adams told the Las Cruces (N.M.) Sun-News.
In addition to the endowment, NMSU is also pursuing athletic department monies from the bursting pork barrels of individual legislators. “Each state representative or state senator is a potential millionaire donor,” Moccia said.
LAS VEGAS, N.M. – New Mexico Highlands University President Niel Woolf has sued the school, claiming leaders pushed him to redirect a $600,000 contract to a chairman’s friend.
Woolf filed the lawsuit after the university placed him on administrative leave at the beginning of May.
He says Board of Regents Chair Frank Sanchez told him to cancel a $600,000 agreement with an out-of-state contractor and give it to a local contractor.
Woolf says that company is led by a friend of both Sanchez and his brother-in-law, Sen. Pete Campos, who represents Las Vegas.
In the lawsuit, Woolf says Sanchez told him directing the funds to his friend would “go a long way towards securing money for the University from Senator Campos,” said Woolf.
Woolf is seeking damages and attorney’s fees under the New Mexico Whistleblower Protection Act.
CHAMA, N.M. – The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad will begin its summer season on Tuesday, June 9, after the railroad delayed its opening due to drought and wildfire danger.
The season was initially set to begin on May 23. The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad Commission said it would conduct a review on June 2 to determine if it was safe enough to begin operations.
“A sincere thank you to all our passengers and the communities in Chama and Antonito who have been so patient as we waited for conditions to improve,” said Eric Mason, CEO of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad. “We are excited to welcome guests back aboard and hear the opening whistle signal the start of another memorable season.”
The railroad will hold a Grand Opening Celebration on Saturday, June 13, in Chama. The celebration will coincide with Chama Western Heritage Days, a community festival that weekend with live music, vendors, and rodeo competitions.
The railroad recently won USA TODAY’S poll for the best scenic train ride in the country. In celebration of the win, the railroad said passengers who book by June 7 ca receive a 25% discount on coach tickets for trips through August. Guests must redeem the offer by calling the railroad at 888-286-2737 using promo code USATODAY#1.
Tickets are also available for the first Dark Sky Train departures on June 12 from Chama and June 13 from Antonito. The dark sky trains include evening excursions led by international dark sky guides, and take passengers to secluded spots with minimal light pollution.
Native Vote 2026
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A Laguna Pueblo woman is the front runner to be New Mexico’s next governor.
Shortly after polls closed Tuesday night, Deb Haaland was declared the winner over Bernalillo County district attorney Sam Bregman in the state’s semi-open Democratic Party primary. As of 11:00 p.m., Haaland carried support from 72% of the Democratic primary voters to Bregman’s 28%, according to unofficial results from the New Mexico Secretary of State.
“We’re showing everyone that a better future in New Mexico is possible,” she told supporters gathered in Albuquerque’s historic Old Town Plaza. “New Mexicans want a leader who will stand up for working people, and who is ready to take on Donald Trump. I proudly accept your nomination as a Democratic nominee.”
Haaland spoke for 13 minutes, at times through a scratchy throat that required her to pause for water breaks. “Excuse me, I’ve been talking with voters all day,” she said while grabbing a water bottle before hitting her campaign stump notes on affordability, health care and public safety.
She will face Republican Gregg Hull, a former mayor from suburban Rio Rancho that won his party’s three-way primary with 47% of the vote, according to unofficial results from the New Mexico Secretary of State.
Haaland will be the Democratic Party nominee in a state dominated at every level by Democrats, and is expected to be heavily favored in the general election. With that insight she said her campaign message does translate to Republicans and Independent voters.
“We want our kids to thrive. We want our kids to have a quality, public education. We want every New Mexican to have health care. Everybody wants to feel safe in their neighborhoods, and everybody wants to be able to afford to put a hot meal on their table every night and have a roof over their children’s heads,” she said. “Those issues transcend whatever political spectrum we’re trying to slice and dice people into.”
Shortly after the race was called, Haaland campaign staff, major donors, surrogates, and their families walked from a building on the west side of Albuquerque’s Old Town Plaza to the historic plaza core, where the Haaland campaign had set up a stage and reserved the entire plaza for its victory celebration.
“We are now witnessing history in the making,” New Mexico state Rep. Derrick Lente (Sandia Pueblo) said to supporters immediately after Haaland was declared the winner.
Denise Wilie (Dine) also joined the celebration of Haaland’s victory. Wilie said she worked on get-out-the-vote efforts with the Native American Voters Alliance in McKinley County.
“It just is so exhilarating to even think about, a woman and a Pueblo woman,” she said. “Indigenous all the way, is how I feel. I’m like, yes, let’s get more of our voices.”
Haaland was introduced by her two sisters and walked to the stage escorted by a mariachi band.
Speaking to reporters after the event Haaland reflected on voting for a Pueblo woman (herself) for governor.
“I got emotional, quite frankly, when I went to vote for myself because you do that when you’re a candidate,” she said. “We’ve never had a Native American governor in New Mexico. We’re a multicultural state. I think representation matters, especially in a political era such as this one. So, I’m really proud and honored to carry on the legacy of my ancestors, who worked so incredibly hard to make sure that I had a place here today.”
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