Governor ‘very sad’ to see Alford go

Gov. Susana Martinez said she is”very sad” to see UNM Basketball coach Steve Alford leave the team to coach at UCLA.

“It’s sad, it’s very sad, and I understand he has personal reasons for doing that,” Martinez told reporters this morning.

Alford announced Saturday that he is leaving UNM for UCLA, with a seven-year contract paying about $2.6 million per year. Ten days earlier, Alford said he had agreed to a 10-year contract extension with UNM that would have been worth a maximum $2 million per year.

However, Martinez today said she was optimistic that UNM basketball would continue to win without Alford at the helm.

“We have a great program, we have a great team. We want to keep that together, because I have no doubt we’ll have a winning season next year as we did this year, and even a greater season,” the governor said.

“Everyone needs to really stand behind those Lobos and make sure that they stay together,” Martinez said.