Survival in major college sports is all about one thing, and the University of New Mexico hasn’t done enough of it to have a life preserver thrown in its direction as the ship dips under the waves.
Football: Feed it, nurture it, inject mountains of cash into it and dedicate untold amounts of energy to keep it growing.
You don’t need to be Alabama 2.0 to get attention, but you do need to sustain a measure of momentum to keep you interesting. You simply cannot afford to be that school that applies a fresh coat of paint hoping to convince everyone you’ve done everything you can to keep up.
If you do more than the basics — and UNM hasn’t — you’ll find yourself at the front of the line when conference realignment rears its ugly head. Football is the fuel that drives the sports engine, and this week’s announced exodus of Mountain West schools to the presumed greener pastures of the skeletal remains of the Pac-12 is a clear example of what happens when football isn’t a priority.
Colorado State and San Diego State have hardly been bastions of football success in recent years, but they’ve both opened $300 million-plus stadiums since 2017. It demonstrates a serious level of commitment and sends a message that football is important.
Boise State was a junior college until the 1960s but created a national brand with its blue turf and long-standing success. It has transformed its athletic department into a well-funded, well-branded name everyone recognizes.
And finally, Fresno State. The Bulldogs adopted their “anytime, anywhere†approach to scheduling and became a mid-major power that earned respect around the country. That served as the backbone of a department that earned a promotion to the MWC in 2012.
As for UNM, its failure to launch can be traced to the 1980s when it had a 10-1 season and immediately lost its coach to South Carolina. The decision could have been made then to improve University Stadium, increase the recruiting budget, add a better practice facility, upgrade the weight room or pay the coaches more.
None of that happened.
Then in the early days of the Mountain West, former UNM coach Rocky Long’s teams averaged over 35,000 fans for three straight years. His teams sent players to the NFL and made the team a contender in a conference that, at the time, included BYU and Utah.
Jump ahead to the present day and the framework of the stadium is what it always has been and the construct of the program remains in the bottom tier among its peers. Aside from a few bells and whistles — new lights, a new field, a practice bubble and modest upgrades to the stadium and weight room — the lack of consistent funding has made it a perpetual uphill climb.
If it weren’t for the fact the local TV market is top-50, there would be no reason to consider UNM for expansion. Same, too, for a metro population approaching 1 million people in a city serviced by an international airport and two interstates, and a school whose men’s basketball team is again emerging as a (sorta) familiar national name.
Without all that, UNM wouldn’t even be in the conversation as a “maybe down the road†candidate for the Pac-12.
If only football were a thing, this week would have been a whole lot different.
For a fan base and, really, a state that has always had sand kicked in its face and long dismissed as the runt of the litter, it’s frankly a little annoying.
It’s also probably a little too late to fix.
The college sports world keeps spinning, but only those who have shown a willingness to invest can get a seat at the big table.
In short, you get what you give, and UNM hasn’t given enough.
The ·è¿ÍÖ±²¥ Fe New Mexican observes its 175th anniversary with a series highlighting some of the major stories and figures that have appeared in the paper's pages through its history. The collection also includes archival photo galleries.
