UNM Athletics rakes in record fundraising amid myriad changes within department, college sports

University of New Mexico fans donated a record amount to Lobo Athletics this past year, seemingly undaunted by unprecedented change not only in college athletics but also within the Mountain West and the department itself.

The UNM Lobo Club brought in a record $11.1 million in fiscal year 2025, a 14 percent increase over the previous season.

"I'd say the success of not only basketball, but our entire athletic department has played a significant role in all of this," said Deputy Athletic Director and Chief Revenue Officer Jalen Dominguez. "And I am very proud that through a very uncertain time and a lot of transition within our department, our donor base has held strong and consistent and supported our athletic department, our student athletes at a high level."

While the men's basketball team made its second-consecutive NCAA Tournament, they were far from the only successful Lobo program. In fact, UNM Athletics lapped the Mountain West in the recent Learfield Director's Cup standings which is a ranking of overall NCAA success. UNM finished 49th in the national standings — the highest of any FBS school not in a power five conference and more than 40 spots ahead of the next closest ranked Mountain West school (Boise State at 91).

Shifting landscapes

The club brought in the donations despite the three most visible leaders of Lobo Athletics — athletic director, football coach and men's basketball coach — all being poached away during the season. Also, the Mountain West conference was hit with mass defections as five schools left for the rebuilding Pac-12.

And then there's college athletics as a whole, which morphed into an entirely new beast — one that puts universities now in charge of revenue sharing with student athletes.

While fans gave a record amount to the UNM Athletics, they also donated several million (an exact total is unknown) to the independent 505 Sports Venture Fund collective that handled player compensation prior to July 1.

Kurt Roth, who runs the collective, and UNM have entered into an agreement for a more direct connection/role this coming fiscal year, though details of that, and what it means for the future of 505SVF, is unclear, other than the Journal has confirmed that 505SVF is not going away.

"What Kurt possesses is a clear specialty in an area that has very few specialists," said Dominguez, noting that Roth's work for three years gained regional and national attention as the NIL space grew in college athletics. "His experience is not only in the ability to have community ties that has helped fundraise over the last several years for this very initiative, but also in regards to helping support our student athletes as they work through contracts and with agents and navigate that world. So he has a unique expertise that really can benefit the transition."

Contracts 505SVF had with Lobo athlete were absorbed by UNM this month.

Collectives are still allowed to have independent deals with college athletes, but deals exceeding $600 must be disclosed and approved by an NCAA-created clearinghouse.

Growth pattern

UNM is now allowed to to share up to $20.5 million annually with athletes, as is every other school that opted into revenue sharing. To those in UNM Athletics, growing revenue isn't just a goal, but a necessity.

The school's been on an upward trend. Here are the Lobo Club's reported fundraising numbers since 2020:

FY 2020: $4.5 million

FY 2021: $6 million

FY 2022: $8.5 million

*FY 2023: $9.3 million

*FY 2024: $9.7 million

*FY 2025: $11.1 million

*The past three fiscal years grew despite coinciding with the beginning of NIL payments to athletes.

"We've had some significant gifts come in from, from long-standing donors (at all levels), but we've also seen a significant increase in our overall major giving society, the Lobo Club Champions Council," Dominguez said. "The growth of that membership base through the Champions Council, our major giving society, increased by about $2 million this year.

"So our core initiative, the Lobo Scholarship Fund, increased in total fundraising, special events and major giving have also driven the increase from FY24 to FY25 and what we've seen overall, when you look at the five-year trend, is both an increase in total number of donors, but also an increase in the per-gift transaction and major giving transactions."

The Journal has also learned UNM recently nailed down a $1.5 million donation from a private donor, though Dominguez would not confirm details when speaking to the Journal on Monday.

It is unclear when UNM plans to announce it, though the Lobo Club might do so at the Aug. 16 Cherry & Silver Scholarship Gala, where it has previously announced big donations.