Sand volleyball, New Mexico’s newest intercollegiate sport, is getting ready for its inaugural season.
There’s a 13-player roster that’s all but set and a first-year schedule that’s nearly complete. The first practice is right around the corner on Feb. 9, and the first match of the year is less than two months away.
But the Lobos are still without a place to call just their own.
So the New Mexico sand volleyball team, under head coach Jeff Nelson, is currently fundraising as it looks to build a four-court home facility where the program can train and host competition in the future.
Although the Lobos have secured places to practice and play for the 2015 season, Nelson is continuing to source the funding needed to construct the complex that will likely be located at the university’s South Campus, where the majority of New Mexico’s athletic programs have home stadiums.
“We’re just really working diligently trying to raise money to get the complex up and running,” Nelson said. “This spring, we’ll be training at some off-campus sites.”
For this first season, Nelson’s Lobos will practice and train off campus and will host their home events during the season at Stone Face Courts in northeast Albuquerque. The Lobos open their home season March 21 vs. Grand Canyon.
“We’re hoping to build something this spring so we can go full bore next year in our home facility,” Nelson said.
And while this arrangement affords New Mexico a good location for competition, Nelson knows the advantage – and the necessity – of a home facility. With a current roster of 13 student-athletes, getting everyone to the same place at the same time could prove a daunting task. A dedicated sand volleyball complex would alleviate those concerns and would provide UNM a centralized place to practice and compete.
The facility would also be used for other events, including community events and junior event, with the goal of continuing to promote the growth of sand volleyball in Albuquerque.
Right now, Nelson has secured commitments for about $15,000, in line with the goal of subsidizing of the facility’s cost via fundraising. The program has a 2014-15 budget of $4,000.
But Nelson has designs on securing more funds for the facility as the season starts.
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“My goal by the end of February is $40,000 raised and more for the rest of the year,” he said.
To accomplish his goal, Nelson has set up a five-tiered donation system, with levels at $500, $1,000, $2,000, $5,000 and $10,000. So far, Nelson says he’s had, “six or seven donors in that range already.”
However, the Lobos will accept any donation, and Nelson says every donor will be recognized at the Lobos’ facility.
“When the complex is built, there will be a donation wall put up where people will have their names with the different levels they’ve donated at,” Nelson said. “… They’ll all have little nameplates saying they’ve donated to the building of the complex.”
Once the funding is secured and a location is finalized, construction will begin on the facility, with construction tentatively planned for later this spring. The facility will likely be located south of the Lobos’ baseball and softball parks on University Boulevard.
New Mexico opens its inaugural season March 8 in Phoenix vs. Grand Canyon and LSU before returning home to host GCU for the first-ever home sand volleyball event. The Lobos expect a finalized schedule in the coming weeks.