Trying to Answer Difficult Questions About NM State Athletics
The Next 8-9 Days Can Be Very Stressful for NM State's Future
Hello, All.
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Now one quick update: I will have a Pascal Siakam Post-NBA Finals column coming up this week. It was a tough loss, and a tougher scene to see one of the NBAs biggest stars be lost for Game 7 and all of next season, which means Pascal’s Pacers may not have exactly the best road ahead next year.
But let us let that breathe and I will come back to it. It was a great run, but congrats to OKC for an amazing run this year!
DIFFICULT QUESTIONS FOR NM STATE ATHLETICS: How the next 8-9 Days May Have Twists and Turns
Never thought I would be imitating a popular meme, but here we are…
What I have learned in the business world, and in the nearly two years of writing this thing is that a lot of people don’t like to deal with hard topics, hard questions. People do what they can to kick the can down the road, and hope it eventually gets better so that we can deal with it.
AGGREGATOR was created to put positive Aggies news out there when the local paper was not doing a damn thing. I stand by that mission, and it has made this really successful. But as an adult, I deal with hard things like everyone else. There’s stuff that is out there that we got to talk about. Inaction is worse than wrong action… or something to that effect.
Not talking about difficult things only makes things worse. Coming up on the end of June, into the “New Athletic Year,” the end of FY2025 for NM State and some important due dates that we were told 6 months ago, it’s time to be adults and talk about them.
While local news can never speculate in the way the general public can, this column, which allows me some editorial leeway considering I own the thing, can.. so let’s talk about things you won’t hear anywhere else… talked about like an adult.
I. Will Amber Burdge Remain Athletic Director? If Not, Then Who Will Assume the Spot?
I genuinely have no idea. The firing of Mario Moccia on January 2nd was shocking to some, inevitable to others, and to me, expected because I carry the weight of my own firing from the banking industry into how I look at tea leaves that are out there.
While there is possible pending legal action as it pertains to Moccia suing for wrongful termination that seems a long way off from being completed.
But on January 2, 2025, Valerio Ferme fired Mario Moccia on the first business day of the year, and installed Amber Burdge, a person brought in by Moccia in the wake of the scandal fallout to help with that part of it.
It was mentioned that the job performance of Burdge would be evaluated in 6 months. Well, we are about a week from it being 6 months which is also the start of a new Fiscal Year, so what is going to happen? What do I want to happen?
Look, I think Burdge has done a great job, considering the circumstances. This reporter can tell you that personally, the current administration (Prez or AD) has NOT reached out to AGGREGATOR in any form or fashion, nor has the current administration really had very much to say in local newspapers and TV stations. So I won’t take offense by that, although the interaction with the previous administration and this, the most read column for Aggies fans was exponentially higher.
I feel that the last six months, the Burdge appointment has mimicked the tenures of interim Presidents Jay Gogue and Monica Torres. While I don’t know them at all, their media presence in what is in essence a public-facing job was non-existent.
So, I can’t honestly tell you what I think will happen on July 1
As a columnist and someone who knows people “on the inside” you hear certain things, and there was rumblings on social media of an informal AD search already taking place. Who puts that out there? I don’t know, but I can tell you I have not heard anything like that.
I do feel if Burdge is made the permanent AD, it will be because the sample size of her work with President Ferme was well thought of and given more weight than the supposed improvements NM AG Torrez said in his report were made by NM State and Moccia, which apparently his sentiments were not carrying any weight by President Ferme when Moccia was let go.
I do feel if Burdge is made permanent AD, she should not accept one penny less than Moccia’s previous salary, because at that point, an endorsement into a permanent role means the trust of the university is with you, and Burdge should make sure that every penny promised to previous ADs coupled with the going rate for ADs in conference shoudl be acknowledged.
I hate talking about money, but I also write about workplace politics for the last decade, and I would say, “I want what the last guy got.”
If Burdge leaves the post, depending on how long it takes to find a replacement will tell me a lot about the gameplan for NM State athletics, or the lack thereof. While the Burdge appointment was a good move after the upheaval because you are keeping someone who everyone knows, to throw the school into upheaval for a second time in six months would not be fun.
And yes, as a former boss, losing someone from your team is hard to deal with, no matter what you think of them. Separations are rarely net positives right away.
So, Aggies fans, forgive me when I say I don’t know, I just hope for an orderly next 10 days, and I hope for more transparency from whoever is there going forward as I feel I am not getting the same lines of communications others in a role similar to mine get at other schools.
II. Will NM State Explore Moving Out of Conference USA?
Excuse my salty humor, but I see this question on Twitter more than I see nudity on Twitter. I see it more than I see people yelling at each other for no reason.
When is NM State going to get an invite to somewhere else?
Well, it kind of goes hand in hand with the AD discussion, although I can safely assume that if there were any convos happening about potentially relocating to another conference that the current administration would be talking about it. It would be asinine to wait for someone else to come in and THEN have those talks.
But for the first time in my 20 months doing this column, I am going to say something bold.
NM STATE SHOULD EXPLORE LEAVING CONFERENCE USA BEFORE COLLEGE ATHLETICS LEAVES US IN THIS DUST
Here’s the reason I finally said that:
PAC-12 announced a TV deal with CBS Sports and their cable channel CBS Sports Network today until 2031.
Now, nevermind the “3 regular season football and basketball games plus the championship games” on Regular Network CBS, because that’s a nothing burger in my opinion.
Look at the “Regular Season Football Games + Regular Season Men’s Basketball Games” for the PAC-12 which will be on CBS Sports Network.
In the short term it tell me there is no wiggle room for NM State and its CUSA Partners to play normal Saturday Games in October on CBS Sports Network, because along with their other deals with conferences, the late evening/night window in the east coast (9pm ET) will likely be unavailable for CUSA to be on National TV on this network, because the largely Pacific time zone Pac-12 will have their tipoffs at 7pm PT, which is 10pm ET, and 8pm here, right in the middle of the second half of when the Aggies basketball team will typically play.
So that takes away one spot.
Aggie local broadcasts are great, and some of the best in this level of college basketball… trust me I watch a lot, and ESPN+ is a fine place to have those games, although that service has its limitations as well, not to mention, it will be changing its format slightly in September to something called ESPN Select.
While the bulk of those games on ESPN+ are great for the fan who can’t make it out to Pan Am, the lack of opportunities to be on regular cable TV like CBSSN, which NM State was omitted from this season, only hurts the school that much more.
It is expected that the PAC-12 will enter into an agreement with 1 or two more media partners for the lesser desired games in conference. So let’s say it does a deal with ESPN to air lower-tier PAC games on ESPNU and ESPN2, then CUSA loses another potential landing spot with a future rights deal.
Plus, the MW, gutted by losing all those teams to the PAC-12 will find themselves at the table looking for a TV deal, and with the PAC-12 getting what the MW had with CBS, I fear that the MW will not be getting what they think they will get with a media partner, which will then trickle down to CUSA as well.
Because, with my friend and Subscriber Phil in mind, you don’t think that CBS Sports Network would want to air a Gonzaga Pac-12 basketball game over any other conference on a Saturday night in January-February? Of course they would want that, which means NM State, Liberty and the rest of CUSA has a lot to chew on at the moment.
The midweek football games are not going anywhere in October, because what is going to happen is there will be less airtime for CUSA on regular TV, they will all be dropkicked to ESPN+ which means more productions by NM State, which again, are great, but it also means a higher operation cost too, so even though fans want Saturday night in October, the offset in spending is going to be a lot, so midweek may be a necessary evil.
Where do I want the Aggies to go? I know people say the MW, but I don’t see any gains going there financially. I don’t. I feel UNLV will leave the MW soon, taking away a HUGE partner that would drive a media rights deal and the MW 5 years from now would be no different than CUSA today, which is to say, good, not great.
Pac-12? I just don’t see us making that meteoric leap, and word on the street is Texas State will be invited sometime this week, because their buyout doubles on July 1st.
Maybe there is some new conference that comes out of the ashes that NM State could be a part of by the end of the decade. It’s hard to say.
While writing this, Nicole Auerbach of NBC, who is as trusted on College sports as anyone mentioned CBS is the ANCHOR PARTNER of Pac-12, which means only the best games will be on CBS and it’s channels, which lends even more credence to my belief that this hurts NM State. I expect the CW and possibly ESPN+ to pick up the remaining Pac-12 games, which if they do, believe me when I say if the Pac-12 gets ESPN+ what makes you think that isn’t NM State’s place a little more often as well.
It’s actually really sad.
III. With Schools Opting Into the House Settlement to Pay Players, How Will this Affect NM State?
In the short term, significantly. It will affect many schools significantly.
Hell, Wazzu dropped part of their track program. GCU ended Men’s Volleyball and they were in the Final 4!!!!
I do feel that everything is still very fluid and those flush with cash and knowledge on the university side of things at many schools will be ok, and the other schools will figure it out through trial (and a lot of) error.
I do feel eventually NM State should have a model where they are like UTEP and Mississippi State, two schools with ties to our school, and have NIL in-house.
I do feel A-Mountain Sports has great connections, really really good ones that only come with an adult life of networking and dealing with big business.
Instead on focusing on individual contributions, I feel their expertise is best suited for corporate partnerships, as I do believe their business acumen lends more to that. Fundraising is hard, and I can tell you working hard for every paid subscription on here, it’s not fun, and if you don’t have the stomach for it, you can and will do bad. They have done a great job bringing the likes of Chevron into the mix, which is something because let me be frank: Chevron has zero footprint in Las Cruces anymore, so that partnership is that much cooler because of the lack of connective tissue Chevron had in this city.
I want NM State to be a streamlined machine, and the conversation about tax deductibility and conversations that are too time-consuming to have with every single person makes the individual NIL fundraising better suited for a machine that knows how to do it, and NM State sure knows how to do it.
One thing I know how to do and have done my whole life: Separate people from their money. Sounds nefarious, right? I just talk a lot and am good at understand the mindset of someone who is asking questions about a product/idea I am pitching. I am confident in sales, and I know a more focused machine, in light of the House settlement, where the TV revenue is not flowing as it should, can keep NM State competitive down the road.
I just don’t think it will be a smooth road getting to a full understanding of all its implications.
IV. With that, do you see NM State Dropping Any Sports?
I don’t and the only reason why is because FBS requires 16 sports, and the Aggies are right at 16.
In the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), a minimum of 16 varsity intercollegiate teams are required, with football being one of them. This includes at least six men's or coeducational teams and at least eight all-female teams.
I believe it is 6 men, 10 women’s sports. They are pared thin. I would hate to lose any sports if they could. I was beyond mad when UTEP dropped Women’s Tennis. Tennis is one of my favorite sports, and the only sport I played competitively and I was upset to see that go away, as we know the Tennis Coach there coached at NM State for a number of years too.
So, no I don’t see that, but money can get tight in Las Cruces, and this is where fundraising, lobbying for assistance to state and federal governments might be at play to make this thing work out in this “new era”
To that point, Wazzu as mentioned above dropped all Field events and some sprint events coming soon.
To think of how dumb this is… The fact that aside from some shoes, a track outfit and maintenance of equipment, Track and Field is mere pennies on the dollar compared to major college football. To cut it in this “new era” is simply being petty, and honestly, terrifying for athletes, male and female alike that don’t play these big time sports, because if a plane ticket and a baggage fee for your track shoes is a bridge too far for your school, tens of thousands of athletes will be impacted.
This is why despite me saying no I don’t think sports are threatened at NM State that we should sit idly by… A massive effort needs to happen to buoy those sports for the long term.
Finally..
V. Anything Else You See, James?
Yes, actually. I am a banker. I think in quarters, half-years, fiscal years, and I think of budgets and goals and deficits. You would have a heart attack seeing how I deal with my money, because since I am not rich, I know where every red cent goes, and I am pretty brutal about it.
End of the Fiscal Year is upcoming for NM State. Auld Lang Syne is sung on Campus on June 30th going into July 1st. 2026 is happening in 8 days.
For those of you who never dealt with Fiscal Year closings, I don’t have the energy to write it out as to why. It’s just happening at the end of the month.
This is where bosses tell employees that if you need to buy something for the office, to do it now in this fiscal year. This is where the bean counting is most intense.
Now, I know I don’t like to talk about the scandal, and this platform is not about it usually, but one must remember Deuce Benajmain and Shakiru Odenewu, two of the plaintiffs in suing NM State were paid millions of dollars on a deal that was brokered on June 28, 2023, which was 2 days before the end of FY2023.
It’s not as simple as lets get it over with under this fiscal year than carrying it to the next one, but it is at the same time. You make moves based on knowing where you stand financially.
That said, I would not be surprised if there were any more settlements or news regarding the lawsuits pertaining to the scandal happening in the next week or so. I have absolutely no insider information on this, however, it’s my banker instinct that will all the questions about AD happening, and all the other talk about money for players and TV deals and all that, I feel that NM State very well could say, “Ok, It’s time to move on.”
As said in the Patrick Swayze movie “Road House,”
PAY THE MAN, SHIRLEY.
Again, no inside information, and purely speculative in my part, but if were going to happen, expect it very soon.
And with that, I talked way too long. Being someone you entrust with your eyes and time means a lot to me, and I write this column out of the hard work and effort I put in trying to gauge what’s going on with this school.
I have nothing but good intentions, but I do have honest opinions not fueled by anyone or anything but my outlook.
If there are any questions you want answered, feel free to message me, and I will get to them.
I am off now. Thanks Again, and if you have not subscribed, and believe that I am giving you the best there is to have regarding NM State chatter, please subscribe today and support independent journalism!!!
See ya,
James