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House Democrats Commit to Reinstating UNM Men’s Soccer Program

Rep. Brian Egolf

Commentary: Today, Representatives Patricia Lundstrom (D-Gallup), Javier Martinez (D-Albuquerque), Antonio “Moe” Maestas (D-Albuquerque) and Speaker of the House Brian Egolf (D-Santa Fe) are reaffirming their commitment to reinstate the UNM Men’s Soccer program, including the team’s world class coach, by addressing funding issues in the upcoming legislative session while ensuring Title IX compliance.

“Restoring the UNM Men’s Soccer program is a priority for the House going into the legislative session,” said Speaker Brian Egolf. “House Leadership is committed to funding UNM Soccer while ensuring that UNM is compliant with Title IX.”

“Before any more major decisions are made, we want UNM to know that we will help, and that keeping the UNM Men’s Soccer program is important to our whole state,” said House Appropriations and Finance Chair Patricia Lundstrom. “Coming together and working with us to find a solution for our state will benefit everyone.”

“The UNM Athletic programs have become a pathway out of poverty for many New Mexicans. We want young people in New Mexico to have every opportunity to thrive and be involved in their community, so we are committed to working with UNM to ensure that soccer can be saved,” said Rep. Javier Martinez.

“This is a priority for us in the upcoming session,” said Representative Antonio ‘Moe’ Maestas. “The Men’s Soccer program is a wonderful part of this community and must not be discontinued. We look forward to working with UNM Athletics to ensure that with our support the state of New Mexico has a Men’s Division I Soccer program.”

On July 19th, the UNM Board of Regents made the decision to cut four sports programs from the UNM Athletics Departments as part of efforts to cut costs and meet federal Title IX equity guidelines. The Board approved the recommendations to cut men’s soccer, the men’s and women’s beach volleyball teams, and the men’s and women’s skiing programs.