Legislation introduced this week In New Mexico proposes to give New Mexico State University a one-time appropriation of $2.5 million next fiscal year under the condition that the school’s next athletic director hire has “at least five years of name, image and likeness policy experience.”
As reported by Daniel Libit of Sportico, "There’s just (at least) one small problem with Senate Bill 268’s novel provision: College NIL has only been in effect for a little over three years and seven months, meaning that NMSU’s next AD might need a time-travel machine to capitalize on it. It’s also not clear what is meant by 'policy experience' in the context of a college athletics administrator."
The bill — sponsored by democratic senators George Muñoz, Benny Shendo Jr. and Antonio “Moe” Maestas — was filed Tuesday amid the 60-day legislative session in Santa Fe. As reported by the Albuquerque Journal, it offers the same financial support to the University of New Mexico, but without the hiring stipulation.
Last month, NMSU President Valerio Ferme fired longtime athletic director Mario Moccia and elevated Amber Burdge to acting athletic director, with Ferme noting Burdge would be in that position for at least six months, Geoff Grammer of the Journal reported, adding UNM hired Fernando Lovo as its new AD just two months ago.
Related: New Mexico State AD Moccia Fired Following AG's Report Into Hazing Scandal
"It’s not uncommon ... for lawmakers to try to send a message with the bills they introduce," Grammer wrote. "Some such bills are intended to be amended, while others are filed with little to no expectation of being ultimately approved.
"While none of the sponsors of SB268 specifically addressed the reason the bill states five years of experience, Maestas did make clear what he hopes the bill will accomplish."
“We were not even considered to join the new Pac-12 because of a lack of investment in football,” Maestas said, referring to the mid-September announcement that five schools in the Mountain West conference would be leaving for another conference.
A lack of investment in football has been cited as the reason for the split between the teams that left for the Pac-12 and those that remain in the Mountain West. The lack of funding might also have affected NMSU not being considered for inclusion in the rebuilding Mountain West.
“The reality of college athletics in this country is (FBS) football, and we got to get in the game,” Maestas said. “We have an opportunity with the leadership at New Mexico State and New Mexico to have competitive teams and draw 30,000 fans and get into a bowl game every other year, or whatnot. We can join the rest of this country in this economic development, which will transcend the universities and transcend the state.”
"Even in the best case, the new legislation introduced this week falls significantly short of the state funding NMSU had been hoping for," Sportico's Libit wrote. "In October, three months before he was fired, Moccia and NMSU officials pitched legislators on creating a $137 million endowment that would fund its women’s sports programs in perpetuity. Failing that, NMSU sought a single $27.5 million appropriation that would cover those costs for five years."
In an interview with Libit last October, Moccia explained hat the timing of NMSU’s request aligned with the skyrocketing expenses of college athletics, as well as a recent surge in oil and gas revenue for the state.
“We are sitting on a significant amount of one-time money,” Moccia said. “So this year, seeing as the state had so much funding, we said, ‘Hey, let’s think outside the box.’ ”
"Instead, Moccia lost his job, and the Aggies now stand to get 9% of their smaller ask if they can meet a seemingly impossible standard in hiring his successor," Libit wrote Wednesday. "Whoever that is will be faced with an immediate fundraising emergency. In 2022-23, New Mexico State’s budget of $37.2 million ranked 90th of 109 public FBS universities, according to Sportico's college sports financial database."
