ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Acting President Chaouki Abdallah announced on Thursday that The University of New Mexico ski program will compete for the 2017-18 season. The acting president made the announcement at the beginning of the Board of Regents meeting during his comment period with the members of the 2016-17 ski team present in the room.
The decision, which reverses the April 13 recommendation that the program would be discontinued, is currently slated for one year, and was made after many meetings between members of the ski community and UNM administration, including Vice President for Athletics Paul Krebs.
Funding for student-athlete scholarships for the 2017-18 season will come from the athletic department via the Lobo Club, which raises money for scholarships for UNM Athletics. It was originally announced on April 13 that despite the discontinuation of skiing, all scholarships would be honored. The remaining funding for the 2017-18 season will come from a combination of private sources and the university at large. UNM Athletics will not cover any other costs associated with the program other than scholarships.
“This has obviously been a very emotional and difficult month, but I’m extremely happy that something was able to be worked out,” said Krebs. “the members of our ski program have been model student-athletes, and no one wants to see opportunities taken away from any deserving students. I very happy for them they will get to compete this upcoming season.”
The decision will allow the team to compete in the 2017-18 ski season, which begins officially in January of 2018 and concludes with the national championships. It also allows the team to compete for a year while looking for a long-term fiscal solution for funding the program. The NCAA Championships will be held March 7-10 in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. The team is a member of the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association (RMISA), and the 2018 RMISA schedule has not been announced yet.
The reversal marks the second time in seven months that an RMISA team was discontinued and then revived, as on October 27, 2016 it was announced that the 2016-17 season would be the last for Alaska-Anchorage. That decision was reversed on November 10, 2016.
“We say it a lot here, that if you want to help out our Olympic programs, buy tickets to football and basketball, because that helps all of our sports,” said Krebs. “This is a real example. While we obviously need funding directly for skiing, if supporters want to help, buying season tickets to football and basketball is a very tangible way to help the programs and make a difference.”
This past season there were only 32 NCAA men’s and women’s ski teams, and three other women’s ski teams for a total of 35. Of those, only 12 are full-fledged Division I institutions five of which compete in the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association. The league also has Alaska-Anchorage and Alaska-Fairbanks (Nordic only), which are Division II schools that compete in Division I skiing.
Overall, New Mexico remains at 22 sports (12 for women, 10 for men), and except for the U.S. Air Force Academy, the Lobos have the most sports of any in the Mountain West. New Mexico also has more sports than every Pac-12 school except Stanford, California and Arizona State.
The ski program has been in existence as a varsity sport at New Mexico since 1970, and the sport has been an NCAA sanctioned one since the 1982-83 season. New Mexico last dropped sports in 1999, when wrestling, men’s gymnastics and men’s swimming were discontinued.
NOTE: Below is the official statement from Acting President Abdallah that was given at the Board of Regents meeting.
“Several months ago I directed Vice-President Paul Krebs to develop cost saving measures that would bring the Athletics Department’s budget into balance. I instructed him to consider any and all legal means to accomplish this objective.
As has been widely reported, VP Krebs has eliminated a number of positions, has several new donors and eliminated the sport of skiing. All of these actions will lead to a more balanced budget in the department, barring unforeseen problems.
With respect to skiing, Mr. Krebs has received relentless, and in my opinion, undeserved criticism for this decision, even though he was following my directions. This is unfortunate.
However, substantial good has come from this decision, as those who care about this sport have pledged financial assistance for next year which will allow us to explore long-term financial commitments. So, today I am announcing that we will reinstate skiing for next year while we seek those solutions.
This is indeed a good day to be a Lobo student-athlete.”
Skiing Reinstated for the 2017-18 Season
