UNM Regents approve student fee increase in effort to bolster investment in Lobo Athletics

On the heels of the New Mexico Legislature approving a $3.2 million increase in its annual appropriation for University of New Mexico Athletics — $11.7 million for the coming fiscal year, up from $8.5 million this fiscal year — more investment help is on the way.

This time, it’s the students who will be footing the bill.

As part of a broad, multifaceted push by university leadership to bridge the financial gap between UNM Athletics and the peer universities the Lobos are expected to compete with, the Board of Regents on Tuesday approved a student fee increase of $45 more per semester next year and an additional $60 in two years (a total jump of $105 per semester for undergraduates in two years) going directly to athletics.

Five Mountain West schools last fall announced they would be departing the league ahead of the 2026-27 season to rebuild the old Pac-12. UNM was one of the schools not invited, essentially being viewed as a financial liability because of a lack of investment in athletics. Schools still in the Mountain West potentially stand to generate less revenue in media rights deals moving forward.

It’s a position UNM President Garnett S. Stokes, who was the chair of the Mountain West Board of Directors at the time the five defecting schools made their announcement, doesn’t want to be in for the next wave of conference realignment.

“This university has suffered greatly from a failure to invest in athletics,” Stokes said. “I think that we’ve been able to see with some of the successes (in men’s basketball, in particular) and some of the investments that we can be competitive, but we’re now operating in an environment where the need for continued investment is very important.

“What we tell the world about what it is we want to be in athletics, is very important.”

UNM Athletic Director Fernando Lovo in his presentation requesting the fees increase made it clear the new revenue was a significant help, but so, too, are the optics that the entire UNM community has “skin in the game” on wanting athletics to succeed, also pointing out that state lawmakers earlier this year bumped state funding for UNM Athletics.

Students fees earmarked specifically for Athletics will increase $45 more per semester ($90 per year) in the 2025-26 academic year and then an additional $60 ($120 per year) in 2026-27. This is in addition to the $120 already going to Athletics from student fees.

Graduate student fee increases are a little less, but also don’t qualify to be covered by such things as the Opportunity Scholarship, which the school has reported covered 85% of in-state, undergraduate students — meaning this fee increase won’t technically be coming out of pocket for those students.

The increase will generate approximately an additional $1.7 million in FY26 for Athletics and $4.1 million in FY27.

It is the largest of three student fee increases for the coming school year at UNM, joining previously approved increases of $10 per year for undergraduate and graduate student government associations and a $60 per year bump for a “Technology Fee” going toward IT.

UNM student fees for an instate, undergraduate student this school yearare $2,706. These three increases push that to $2,866 next year and then $2,980 in 2027-28, barring any other changes.

While student leadership thanked Lovo and Athletics for an inclusive, transparent approach to explaining the fee increase proposal to them and didn’t disagree an increase was needed, they objected to the amount and short time frame for the increase.

“I do want to support athletics, and graduate students do as well. And we see that value,” said Travis Broadhurst, Graduate and Professional Student Association president, who spoke at Tuesday’s Regents meeting via Zoom while out of the country working on fieldwork for his graduate degree. “But frankly, this increase is too steep, too drastic, and I think needs a little bit more explanation to the student body to justify such an increase.”

Athletics initially requested a moderately higher increase (about $30 more next year and the same increase in two years).

Student Regent Victor Reyes echoed he wasn’t opposed to student fees being increased for athletics, but not by as much as was requested and not as quickly. He succeeded in getting the request lowered moderately, but it will still be a two-year, phase-in on the new fees.

Based on 2023 fiscal year data, UNM ranked eighth out of 12 Mountain West members (11 fulltime member schools and football-only member Hawaii) in the amount of student fees going toward Athletics.