Pete McDavid

When one considers that Pete McDavid is credited with the establishment of UNM’s athletics facilities on South Campus, the founding of the Western Athletic Conference in 1962 and an originator of the New Mexico High School Coaches and Officials Association, it is little wonder that McDavid ranks among the finest athletics director in UNM history.

A 1937 UNM graduate who played halfback for head football coaches Gwinn Henry and Ted Shipkey, McDavid’s named is forever etched in the school record book after he galloped 97 yards with a fumble against Northern Arizona in 1936.

After a hugely successful prep coaching career in Santa Fe and Albuquerque, UNM President Tom Popejoy named McDavid as UNM’s director athletics in 1956, a position he held for 18 years.

McDavid hired some of the most successful head coaches in UNM history: Marv Levy and Bill Weeks (football), Bob King (basketball), Hugh Hackett (track and field), Rusty Mitchell (gymnastics) and George Brooks (skiing).