When Joe Franklin arrived at the University of New Mexico in 2007 to coach cross country and track and field, he said the opportunity was like a blank canvas.
Franklin saw great potential at UNM after leaving Butler, where he coached in the same role for 13 years, he told a small group that included community members, boosters and Bernalillo County Sheriff Manny Gonzales at the Letterman’s Lounge in the Pit on Tuesday morning.
Franklin spoke at the informal, yet intimate event, and Gonzales followed.
Ray Birmingham, the former UNM baseball coach who is in a director role for the event, asked Franklin what brought him to New Mexico.
Franklin saw that blank canvas, which has featured several Mountain West Conference team and individual championships, two national championships in women’s cross country (2015, 2017), as well as helping bring premier events to Albuquerque.
Franklin talked mostly about the events, including this week’s Mountain West Conference Indoor Championships and next year’s NCAA Indoor Championships, both to take place at the Albuquerque Convention Center.
The Lobos coach said he expects multiple individual champions for UNM at the league meet Thursday through Saturday and several who will advance to the NCAA Championships March 10-12 in Birmingham, Alabama.
Franklin proudly told the group that there have been 4,000 rooms booked at area hotels January through February, which has included five meets at ACC. He wants UNM to provide more impact to the city’s economy with the 2023 NCAA Indoor Championships that will be hosted by UNM and the city of Albuquerque as its partner.
This is the third time that the city of Albuquerque and UNM will have been awarded the NCAA Indoor Championships (2014, 2020).
In 2020, the NCAA meet was set to take place at the Convention Center, but on the meet’s first day, March 12, it was canceled due to what was the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Lobos will also host an NCAA Cross Country Regional in the fall.
Franklin said he wants the community to embrace the event and showcase the state’s culture to draw spectators to the event. The Convention Center typically seats 2,500 for indoor meets, but will most likely have 4,500 for next year’s NCAA Indoor Championships, Franklin said. He added that it’s a realistic goal to sell out the event.
“It’s a situation that we’re asking: What are we doing to go above and beyond?” Franklin said.
He believes an NCAA meet conducted at a high level will only lead to more NCAA events for UNM. Ticket sales and publicity will be a challenge over the next year, he said.
