UNM promotes 32-year-old Ryan Berryman to be new athletics director

He attended basketball camps at the University of New Mexico as a young boy.

He did laundry for the Lobo men’s basketball team as a student manager.

He was an ace student in UNM’s Anderson School of Management, the school's governor-appointed student regent, and the Lobos director of basketball operations all before graduating.

And on Wednesday, 32-year-old New Mexico native Ryan Berryman was selected to be the university’s director of athletics, one of the youngest ADs among the 136 Football Bowl Subdivision-level programs across the country.

While published reports and Journal confirmation came earlier in the day, as with any big college sports announcement in recent years, the news was made official by the university with a social media post. A video showing Berryman walking down the Pit ramp, stopping at the middle of Bob King Court and saying, “As a kid from the East Mountains, New Mexico has shaped everything I am today. There is no place like home. And we must continue to share the power of this place with the world. It is the honor of my lifetime to serve as your next athletic director at the University of New Mexico. Go Lobos!”

UNM conducted a two-month national search with the assistance of Parker Executive Search. The choice was made by UNM President Garnett S. Stokes. 

"This search confirmed what Lobo Athletics has in Ryan Berryman," Stokes said. "He was evaluated against an outstanding field of candidates, and he stood above them. His vision for this department, his proven ability to execute, and the trust he has already built here made this decision clear. We are fortunate that the right person for this job is already a Lobo."

Berryman, who has been serving as interim AD since January, will succeed Fernando Lovo who left in late December to take over the same position at the Big 12’s University of Colorado. Lovo took over for Eddie Nuñez, whom Berryman worked under as a senior associate AD and chief operating officer before leaving for the Big Ten's University of Washington in August 2024 after 12 years at UNM.

"I have watched this department grow through some hard years and some remarkable ones, and I believe with everything I have that the best days are ahead,” Berryman said in a school release. “We are going to build something here that this entire state is proud of — in competition, in the classroom, and in this community. I can’t wait to get back to work!”

One of the first moves Lovo made, upon the recommendations of several, was bring back  Berryman, who was hired as deputy AD and chief operations officer.

Over the past year and a half, the hire and success of first year football coach Jason Eck and hire and success of first year men’s basketball coach Eric Olen, not to mention more national championships collected by UNM track and cross country stars along the way, has had Lobo fans invigorated.

 “Congratulations to Ryan on becoming our new athletic director,” Olen told the Journal, hours ahead of his team’s final home game of the season in the Pit vs. Colorado State. “His leadership, work ethic and commitment to Lobo athletics is obvious to everyone. We have the same vision for New Mexico basketball and I’m excited to continue working with Ryan to make that a reality. It’s a great day to be a Lobo!”

Olen added in a school news release, “He helped bring me here, and it didn't take long to see why he is so special. He understands what coaches need, he cares deeply about our student-athletes, and he holds everyone to a high standard, including himself. That's the kind of partnership that gets you to March and keeps you there. I can't wait to keep building this together.”

Eck, who has started preparing for his second year at UNM despite being one of the hottest coaching prospects in the country this past offseason, echoed the excitement about the decision to hire from within.

“I've been around long enough to know that the Athletic Director sets the tone: the culture, the resources, the expectations, and most importantly, the trust between administration and coaches,” Eck said. “Ryan has earned that trust every single day since I got here. He doesn't just support winning programs; he builds the conditions that make winning possible. This is a great day for Lobo football and for every program under this roof. We've got something special building here in Albuquerque, and I know Ryan is going to pour fuel on that fire. Bos Up.”

Berryman was one of two popular local, internal finalists for the job, along with Deputy Athletic Director and Chief Revenue Officer Jalen Dominguez, who last week was among the two UNM contacts who delivered the $17.4 million Pit naming rights agreement between Nusenda Credit Union and the university.

Dominguez has overseen five consecutive years of record-setting fundraising at UNM and has had the backing of prominent UNM donors for the job.

Both quickly became a part of Lovo’s senior leadership team within the department — building on a foundation left by Nuñez into one of the more successful years in department history on and off the playing field, albeit against the backdrop of an ever-changing college athletics landscape and the harsh reality of conference realignment that had UNM left on the outside of a group of five schools who chose to leave the Mountain West at the end of this season to form a rebuilt Pac-12 conference. 

Positioning UNM Athletics for the next round of conference realignment has been the top priority for the department since Lovo’s arrival and remains such under Berryman. 

“This is a great day for the University of New Mexico and for Lobo Athletics,” Lovo told the Journal. “Ryan truly embodies what it means to be a Lobo and he bleeds cherry and silver. I could not be happier for Ryan, his wife Jenae, and the entire Lobo family.

“Ryan is a tremendous leader and was absolutely instrumental to the success we had at New Mexico. I have no doubt he will elevate Lobo Athletics to new heights. UNM is in great hands.”

Berryman has three degrees from UNM: A Master of Science in sports administration, a Master of Business Administration and his bachelor’s degree in marketing and operations management in 2015, summa cum laude. He served as student regent, worked as either a student manager, graduate assistant or director of operations under three Lobo men’s basketball coaches — Steve Alford, Craig Neal and Paul Weir — and has served several roles in addition to his business operations duties within athletics.

He also had a close working relationship as the basketball administrator for former Lobos men’s basketball coach Richard Pitino and Olen, the current coach.

He graduated from East Mountain High School and has served as president of the East Mountain High School Foundation.

Reach Geoff Grammer at ggrammer@abqjournal.com or follow him on Twitter (X) @GeoffGrammer.