It's official: University of Colorado hires athletics director Fernando Lovo

The University of Colorado has hired Fernando Lovo to be the Big 12 school's new athletics director.

The 37-year-old Lovo spent the past 13 months in the same position at the University of New Mexico — overseeing a period of great success on the field and in fundraising.

Lovo's hiring at Colorado was announced Monday at a CU regents special meeting. The regents praised Lovo's work at UNM before unanimously approving a five-year contract that will pay him $1.2 million annually — a base salary of $600,000 per year with another $600,000 in media-related obligations and program promotions.

Lovo became the UNM AD in December 2024. He was being paid just north of $500,000 — a $400,000 base salary plus bonuses and supplemental income for media obligations — at UNM.

Lovo must pay UNM nearly $800,000 as a buyout for leaving before his contract is up — a deal that had three years, 11 months remaining.

"I'm honored to join this incredible group of student-athletes, coaches and staff at a tremendous institution that strives for excellence and espouses the right values," Lovo said in a news release from Colorado. "We are in a time of extraordinary change in college athletics and Colorado should lead the way in shaping what comes next. I look forward to helping our student-athletes succeed in every aspect of their lives while bringing championships to Buff Nation. I am sincerely grateful to the CU Board of Regents, President (Todd) Saliman, and Chancellor (Justin) Schwartz for this incredible opportunity to lead this iconic department and its storied programs. I am also honored to take over leadership of CU Boulder Athletics from Rick George, one of the legendary athletic directors in the country."

George, the long-tenured AD, most notably hired Deion Sanders in December 2022. Sanders and the CU football team went 3-9 this season and 1-8 in Big 12 play. George announced in November that he was stepping down.

UNM President Garnett S. Stokes released a statement Monday:

"We thank Fernando Lovo for his service to the University of New Mexico and wish him well in his next chapter. UNM Athletics has built meaningful momentum in recent years, and leadership movement is a normal outcome when programs are successful and gaining national attention. Our focus remains on sustaining that progress and identifying a leader who can build on the strong foundation already in place for our student-athletes, coaches, and programs."

Lovo contacted the Journal Sunday night and said he planned to be in touch with a reporter Monday afternoon.

This story will be updated.

You can reach Geoff at ggrammer@abqjournal.com or follow him on Twitter (X) @GeoffGrammer.