This past weekend after spending almost 7 years at UNM, Vice President of Athletics and Athletic Director Eddie Nunez accepted the Athletic Director’s position at Big 12 member the University of Houston. Unsurprisingly, he would make the move considering he’s moving up in conference, budget, and salary. This isn’t a knock on where the UNM Athletic Department is at the present day, it shows the strength and growth that happened during the 7 years that Nunez was in charge of the Department. While there will always be things that people will have issues with during any person’s time in charge, it’s clear that the UNM Athletics Department is in a way better place than it was in 2017. It was a great run for Nunez at UNM, and I believe that Houston will be better because of him, just like UNM is better because of his leadership.
Before Nunez:
It’s crazy to think how much has changed in the last 7-plus years at UNM, and something that we can’t lose sight of is how bad of shape the Athletics Department and UNM, in general, was before Nunez was hired and President Stokes was in charge of the University. The Athletics Department was coming off of the news of the Paul Krebs scandal, and the University didn’t have a President in place. Trying to shape something with growth was going to be difficult for whoever the new Athletic Director was going to be. The Board of Regents and other decision-makers made a great call in making Eddie Nunez the call.
Stepping Into The Unknown:
One thing that I think is clear, Nunez was stepping into something unknown of what could happen with him in charge. I believe that Nunez was taking a bigger risk than UNM at the time, and it paid off for both parties. Being hired for your first time as an Athletics Director in a situation that didn’t have a President, had a new Men’s Basketball Coach that you didn’t hire, a possible need to make a change at the head of the Football Program, and the need to find more money for the Athletics Department. If we recall at the end of the Mountain West Tournament in March, Krebs announced that Neal would be back for the 2017-2018 season, and that didn’t change until basically, the entire roster announced that they would be transferring and that a decent number of fans wouldn’t buy tickets for the 2017-2018 season. These things forced Krebs and UNM to pay the $1,000,000 buyout to Craig Neal and find a new coach. Nunez brought leadership and a vision for what the Department could become.
The Vision:
To me, it’s pretty clear, that Nunez wanted a Department that valued everyone in the Department, and it showed with the support for sports that don’t get much attention. He made it where it was clear that there would be leadership and support for everyone under his leadership. The results showed National Championships (both team and individual), Conference Championships, and a rise in support for the Department. Nunez made a point to show that he was part of the Lobo Community and would talk to anyone who would have questions. I remember in the Fall of 2018 covering the Football Game in Fort Collins with Cameron Goeldner (with the Daily Lobo at the time), and how glad he was to see us both at that game. He would always make a point to say hi to us every time he saw us after that game. He also shared a joke with the two of us before a basketball game that will remain an inside joke for the three of us. I believe that Nunez did achieve what he wanted to as the head of the Athletics Department. As someone attached to UNM Men’s Soccer (RIP), I don’t think that it is correct to blame him entirely for the end of the program, along with the Ski, and Beach Volleyball programs. It will always be something that will be attached to his era at UNM, and I do hope that a some point we can see a return of at least the soccer program.
What’s Next:
With Nunez taking a huge pay raise at Houston it sets up UNM for a very interesting choice. There is a buyout that will be paid to UNM for $125,000 while it isn’t life-changing for the Department it does help with the bottom line. We will find out in the not-too-distant future if there are plans to make an in-house hire or hire from outside the department. The logical choice in the Department is Dave Williams who has been the number 2 for Nunez and has experience as an Athletics Director. Someone that I think would be a great choice at some point is Ryan Berryman, but I don’t know if they would make that choice, and the logistics of him coming back from the University of Washington. One thing I do know is that there are a good amount of people in the room where decisions happen that are huge fans of Berryman. In my opinion, those are the two names that are as in-house as you can get, if it isn’t one of those two, I would expect someone from a similar background as Nunez. I also expect that the decision-makers will seek some input from Nunez. As for the coaches that could be impacted by this, the buyout for Pitino does get cut in half this next cycle, while the change doesn’t impact the possibility of him leaving (that difference wouldn’t keep a Power Conference Program from hiring him), it does impact the bottom line if he is hired by a different program this year. Something else that could happen is the impact of other people of leadership in the Department following him to Houston. We can all speculate on what’s going to happen now, but one thing that we can’t lose sight of is that UNM is in a way better spot than they were before he came to Albuquerque.
We want to thank Eddie for everything he did for UNM and wish him and his family nothing but success in Houston (a city that has Lobo Lane History).
