Clovis' Baca wins rookie AD honor

While Lonnie Baca has served Clovis Municipal Schools for over 20 years, he only recently stepped into the position of athletic director at Clovis High, a position where he has already made an impression.

Baca received the Rookie Athletic Director of the Year Award from the New Mexico Athletic Director’s Association (NMADA) on Monday. The announcement came during the New Mexico Activities Association’s fall conference.

Rookie of the Year candidates must be nominated by their peers at the state level. The NMADA board then votes on which candidate will receive the award each year. The award covers all classifications in the state.

“I was quite surprised that I received it, but very grateful,” Baca said.

Tammy Richards, director of the NMADA, said Baca was competing with roughly 30 other candidates from across the state this year.

“It shows that they’ve stood out and stood apart in a positive way as a leader at their school,” Richards said. “Considering the size of his district, he really got in there, hit the ground running and did some good things that were acknowledged by his peers.”

Baca said he’s spent most of his time acclimating to the role and working with his coaching staff to improve each program.

He says one of his main goals was to get some exposure for the programs that don’t get as much attention as others.

“The focus I came in with was to give equity to everyone with fairness for all our programs, including boys and girls,” Baca said. “I think achieving that’s been my big accomplishment after being my focus.”

Baca said he plans to expand the programs available for middle school students and start an esports team in the district next semester.

“On this note, I want to continue bringing what our kids and schools need into these programs,” Baca said.