Ad
New Mexico State has fired Mario Moccia in the wake of a report from the New Mexico attorney general criticizing the athletic director for not doing enough after sexual assault and hazing allegations rocked the school’s men’s basketball program.
NMSU President Valerio Ferme, who started Wednesday, cited the report in the decision to move on from Moccia, who could not be reached for comment by the Journal.
“After carefully reviewing the recent report issued by the New Mexico Department of Justice, I felt we needed a fresh start in our athletics program,” the new NMSU president said.
Ferme also announced that Amber Burdge, deputy athletic director for strategic initiatives and leadership, would assume her new role as NMSU’s acting athletic director immediately.
“I have utter confidence in Dr. Burdge’s ability to lead our Athletic Department, and look forward to working with her in the coming months,” he said.
Nearly 10 years at the helm
Moccia was hired as the Aggies’ athletic director in 2015 after serving in the same role at Southern Illinois from 2006-2014. The former NMSU baseball player was the Lobo Club assistant director at the University of New Mexico from 1993-1997.
While at NMSU, Moccia oversaw an athletics department that had consistent success in men’s basketball and three of the best football seasons in school history. During his tenure, the Aggies transitioned from the Western Athletic Conference and an independent in football to Conference USA in all sports.
Moccia notably hired former NMSU football coach Jerry Kill, who led the Aggies to a 10-5 season and a C-USA Championship game appearance in 2023. Along with soccer and volleyball, NMSU’s football program was one of three Aggie teams to reach conference championship games in its first year in C-USA.
Moccia also hired former NMSU basketball coach Chris Jans in 2017, kicking off a five-season stretch that saw the Aggies win the WAC Tournament and advance to the NCAA Tournament three times. In 2022, Jans led NMSU to a win over favored UConn in the first round, the program’s first NCAA Tournament win since 1993.
Ad
Moccia oversaw upward of 50 conference championships in the WAC and C-USA and three bowl appearances across nearly a decade with NMSU.
Shooting, lawsuits and an investigation
Moccia’s time as AD was also marred by two incidents within the men’s basketball program during the 2022-23 season. In November 2022, former Aggie basketball player Mike Peake shot and killed a UNM student in self-defense ahead of the rivalry game between the programs. In February 2023, the basketball team canceled its season early after sexual assault and hazing allegations came to light.
NMSU went on to settle a civil lawsuit with two former players for $8 million, and at least two other players and a student manager have filed a separate civil suit, which is ongoing, alleging they too were victims of sexual assault.
In November 2023, three former NMSU basketball players were indicted on charges of rape, false imprisonment and conspiracy, among other counts related to the sexual assault and hazing allegations brought forth by teammates. Two of the players have since accepted plea deals.
The state Department of Justice last month completed a lengthy investigation into the sexual assault and hazing allegations within the men’s basketball program.
In a news release, Attorney General Raúl Torrez said the report detailing the investigation’s findings “is intended to shine a light not only on the specific misconduct by members of NMSU’s basketball team but also the institutional deficiencies that allowed that misconduct to go unaddressed by leaders inside the university.”
The report criticized Moccia for failing to do more after reporting the alleged assaults to the school’s Office of Institutional Equity.
“... The sexual assaults perpetrated by three NMSU men’s basketball players did not occur in a vacuum but were reflective of a more pervasive toxic culture throughout the program,” the report stated. “There were ample opportunities for those around the team to observe this toxic culture as it was developing, but they failed to effectively intervene and prevent it. This inaction was compounded by inadequate institutional preventative safeguards.”
The report also criticized NMSU for a lack of transparency regarding how Moccia’s salary was being paid. In June 2023, state leaders requested Moccia not be compensated with state funds. Subsequently, his salary was paid by the Aggie Athletic Club — the fundraising arm of NMSU Athletics.
“While the use of AAC funds for Moccia’s compensation was publicly reported in mid-2023, reliance on media outlets to inform donors of potential uses of their donations is inadequate,” the report stated. “While there is no basis for the NMDOJ to conclude that omission of this information is intentional, full transparency demands its inclusion.”
Employment contract
In April 2023, Moccia signed a contract that extended his employment for five years and gave him a pay raise. The extension was signed by former NMSU Chancellor Dan Arvizu on April 7 — the day Arvizu stepped down from that post.
Under that contract, NMSU would pay Moccia $351,800 for the year beginning July 1, 2023, and his salary would increase annually until ultimately paying him $425,000 for the final year of his contract that would end June 30, 2028.
The base salary of the contract would have been fully guaranteed if Moccia was fired by NMSU without cause.
Following Arvizu’s resignation, the Las Cruces university had been without a permanent leader until Ferme, formerly the executive vice president for academic affairs and provost at the University of Cincinnati, officially started on Jan. 1.
What to know about Amber Burdge
In a news release, Ferme said Burdge is “highly regarded for having a student-first mindset and has helped work on NMSU’s strategic response to hazing prevention.”
Before coming to NMSU, she was the associate athletic director for student-athlete success services at Louisiana Tech University for eight years, overseeing significant academic improvement and community service initiatives. Before that, she served as the athletic director for Neosho County Community College, where she oversaw 16 sports programs that won six national titles and produced 36 NJCAA All-American accolades and honors.
Burdge holds a bachelor’s in health and a master’s degree in counseling from Oklahoma State and also earned a Doctor of Education at Louisiana Tech.
