ENMU bars ex-coach from campus

Eastern New Mexico University has fired its strength and conditioning coach and banned him from the campus, the coach told The News on Monday.

Cory Bell was arrested following a Nov. 1 altercation in the ENMU football field house. Court records show Bell pushed a graduate assistant coach to the ground, causing him to strike his head against a wall.

Bell was arrested the same day as the incident and charged with battery, a third-degree felony.

Bell said he was notified of his dismissal from ENMU in a document delivered the same time he was booked into the Roosevelt County Detention Center on Nov. 1. Then on Saturday, after attending an ENMU women’s basketball game, Bell said he was served with a Criminal Trespass Warning banning him from the Portales campus.

“Due to the nature of this incident, which is a matter of public record, the safety of our campus is of primary importance,” ENMU spokesman John Houser stated in an email Monday. “Unfortunately, we cannot release further details on this because it is a personnel matter.”

Bell said he has not entered a plea to the criminal charges against him. He said his next court date is scheduled Dec. 4.

Bell said the incident was spurred by a “hostile work environment” created by the university.

He said his dispute involved an alleged “Title IX violation.” Title IX is a federal law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in educational programs and activities that receive federal funding.

Bell said he filed a formal complaint with the university outlining his concerns this summer after a female student notified him about a concern.

“As administrator and coach, I have a duty to protect student-athletes,” Bell said Monday. “Especially when the university does not.”

Houser stated in the email that the university does not comment on specific Title IX complaints but that there was no Title IX issue “that was related to this incident.”

Bell had been ENMU’s strength and conditioning coach since February 2023.