Official: New ENMU athletic director could be chosen in next few days

PORTALES — Eastern New Mexico University should expect to know its new athletic director in the next few days, Chancellor Patrice Caldwell told ENMU regents during their Saturday afternoon meeting.

Entering the Saturday meeting, the college had brought three of its four candidates onto the campus. The fourth, Bethel College Athletic Director Tony Hoops, will have two Wednesday morning public events — an 8:30 a.m. meet-and-greet at Courthouse Cafe, followed by a 9:30 a.m. public Q&A at Greyhound Arena Room 7.

Candidates who have already appeared on campus are former University of New Mexico men’s basketball coach Paul Weir, Pittsburgh State Senior Associate AD Nate Davis and Upper Iowa University Associate AD Brock Wissmiller.

Board Vice President Lance Pyle asked about the progress on the search. Caldwell, who will make the hiring decision, said she will speak with coaches and the Greyhound Club, along with Selection Committee Chair Dustin Seifert.

Caldwell also spoke on recent basketball camps, noting a fundamental skills camp drew around 200 campers. “We had to triple our pizza order,” Caldwell said.

Student Regent Chandlar Head, a vocal performance major, encouraged the college to have more summer camps, be it choir camp, theater camp or anything that brings kids and their parents on campus.

“I wasn’t an athletic kid,” Head said, “but I wanted to go to choir camp.”

In other business covered during the two-hour meeting, which The News covered virtually:

• Caldwell told regents that enrollment for the fall semester was down 3% from the same date in 2020. “We know exactly where those down points are,” Caldwell said, “and we are taking steps to address that. We know that seniors and graduate students are up, and that allows us to focus on freshmen — or potential freshmen.”

• Regents approved a variety of research and public service projects and funding amounts. The vote did not include the university’s nursing, athletics and public broadcasting programs, as regents felt university officials needed to approach the state for larger budget increases after many years of flat or reduced budgets.

• Regents approved the Roswell campus’ use of ASA Architects to design a scope of work for sanitation, sewer and piping systems. The firm, Powell said, would not put in a bid on future work on the project as a condition of receiving this work.

• During a general update on construction projects, Smart told regents inflation continued to increase the price of renovations for the Roosevelt Hall Science Center. Regents asked if federal COVID-19 recovery funds could go to the project, and were told those federal dollars have to be tied specifically to COVID-19 mitigation. Board President Dan Patterson said it was worth arguing eligibility because the inflation is an effect of the pandemic.

Pyle said in Curry County, many construction projects are simply on hold until September with optimism construction prices will go back down.

• Regents approved the next step in an electrical upgrade project near West Campus Apartments. Smart said the college plans to ask the Higher Education Department to approve the project at $1.88. Smart said the current project estimate is $1.5 million, and the extra amount is a presumption of further inflation.

• The regents met in executive session for an hour, and did not take any action in open session before adjourning.

• The next regent meeting is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. July 9 at the Hotel Albuquerque. The meeting may include an executive session and be followed by the regents’ fall work session.