ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - It will cost the University of New Mexico $825,000 to buy out the two years remaining on head coach Bob Davie’s contract.
University President Garnett Stokes said Tuesday she signed off on the deal, the terms of which were disclosed during a regents meeting.
Davie finished 35-64 after eight seasons at New Mexico. He twice guided the Lobos to bowl games and earned New Mexico’s first bowl victory in 10 years. But the last three seasons were marked by more losses than wins. The announcement of his departure was made in November ahead of the Lobos’ last game.
Buyouts are nothing new for the university. The Albuquerque Journal reported the cash-strapped Athletics Department has paid out more than $2 million to part ways with coaches in recent years. That amount doesn’t include the Davie deal.
The money for the latest buyout will come from future game guarantees, the university said.
The department is operating under a 10-year, $4.7 million deficit reduction plan to recover from repeated overspending in the past.
To address longstanding issues with the budget, regents in 2018 voted to cut four sports to curb spending and comply with Title IX requirements.
Regents received an update on the department’s finances Tuesday. For the first quarter of the fiscal year, budget documents showed revenue from state appropriations, facilities revenue, merchandise, naming rights and special events were up compared with the same period last year. There were declines in student fee revenues, multimedia rights and fundraising.
Athletics Director Eddie Nuñez said it won’t be clear how well the department is staying within its budget until the end of the second quarter, which will include ticket revenue for football and the beginning of basketball season.
The first-quarter expenses don’t include payments to the rest of the university as part of the reduction plan, which is budgeted to be about $487,000 this fiscal year, according to university documents.
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