Mark Paulsen Strength Center Dedicated

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — With a host of former players and coaches in attendance, the primary football athletic performance center, located in the Tow Diehm South End Zone Complex, was officially renamed the Mark Paulsen Strength Center on Friday afternoon, a fitting tribute for a strength coach who, no matter the program, built machines.

And make no mistake, those machines won a lot of games, across a lot of sports.

Paulsen, who came to UNM with Mike Shepard and hit his stride under Dennis Franchoine, helped led the strength and conditioning program for a Lobo Football team that hit its peak under Rocky Long in the 2000s.  Those teams were known for their toughness, and brute strength, and the man behind that was Mark Paulsen, who got every student-athlete, regardless of sport, regardless of gender, to maximize their potential.

“This is such a fitting honor for Mark,” said V.P./Director of Athletics Eddie Nuñez.  “For what he did for this institution, for what he did for (his student-athletes), because of what it means to be a Lobo.”

Paulsen, who was flanked by not just friends but plenty of family, also was the strength coach for the Lobo basketball program when the team hit it’s stride in the early 2010s, winning several conference titles, including a 30-5 season and a Top 10 national ranking in 2010.