New Mexico State University athletic director Joe Fields is changing the landscape of the Aggies’ athletic department, including removing three deputy athletic directors from their positions.
According to the Las Cruces Sun News, deputy athletic directors Braun Cartwright, Amber Burdge and James Hall will no longer be affiliated with NMSU. The information was disseminated in an email on Monday, Jan. 5, by Fields as he announced he would “reorganize and repurpose” several positions.
The NMSU athletics department website has already been updated to reflect these personnel changes.
“I want to share that earlier today I made the difficult decision to reorganize and repurpose several positions within the athletics department that will impact Braun Cartwright, Amber Burdge, Maria Rocha-Hall, and James Hall effective immediately," said Fields. "We are grateful for their years of service and the contributions each made to our organization, and we sincerely thank them for their dedication and commitment."
Related: New Mexico State AD Moccia Fired Following AG’s Report Into Hazing Scandal
Fields was hired as the athletic director of NMSU in Sept. 2025, after his predecessor, Mario Moccia, was fired for cause in Jan. 2025.
At that time, Fields told local news outlets that he would “evaluate” the NMSU athletics department staff to determine who would remain employed and who would be parting ways with the Aggies.
Following Fields’ announcement, NMSU released its own statement, saying, “New Mexico State University Athletics announced today organizational changes within the department that will impact several staff positions effective immediately. We are making adjustments to our athletics department structure to better align resources with our goals and priorities,” Fields said in the statement. “We are grateful for the years of service and contributions these individuals made to our organization and sincerely thank them for their dedication to NMSU Athletics. NMSU Athletics remains committed to supporting student-athlete success and continuing to build competitive programs across all sports.”
