Fight to save New Mexico men's soccer team gains support from legislature

• by Paul Kennedy  @pkedit, Jan 29, 2019

A 4-0 loss to Old Dominion dropped the Lobos' record to 4-12-1 for their first losing season in 15 years.

It followed a decision by the University of New Mexico board of regents last summer to discontinue the men’s and women’s skiing teams, beach volleyball and men’s soccer varsity programs at the end of the 2018-19 school year in an effort to stem the tide of deficits -- eight in the last 11 years -- that have plagued Lobo athletics and bring the department into compliance with Title IX.

But members of the New Mexico House of Representatives have introduced House Bill 320 that would appropriate $2 million to reinstate the four programs and provide greater oversight of athletic expenditures.

It's not clear that UNM would have to act on the appropriation, but members of the soccer team went to "UNM Day" Monday at the Roundhouse, the State Capitol in Santa Fe, to press the case.

Sponsors of the bill include House Speaker Brian Egolf of Santa Fe and House Majority Leader Sheryl Williams Stapleton of Albuquerque. Other Democratic representatives from Albuquerque, UNM's home, were sponsors of the bill, which is currently in the House Appropriations and Finance Committee.

New Mexico launched men's soccer in 1983, making it one of the first major schools to adopt men's soccer in the Southwest. The Lobos have made the NCAA Tournament in 11 of 17 years under head coach Jeremy Fishbein and reached the Men's College Cup in 2005 and 2013. But they endured a 4-12-1 season in 2018 for their first losing season since 2003, Fishbein's second year at UNM.