Lobo football to be active in transfer portal with help from NIL
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – The next transfer portal window for college football opens up on Tuesday, and UNM Head Coach Bronco Mendenhall is eager to add reinforcements to the Lobos roster. Mendenhall said the first few weeks of spring ball made the picture clear that his roster is not where it needs to be. This will be Mendenhall’s first time navigating the new wave of college athletics as a head coach.
“Rosters change relatively and pretty dramatically,” said Mendenhall. “We have a clear idea of positions but also number of players, and so much like a draft board, we’ll execute against that. Fit is everything for us, and we want to bring the right people.”
While Mendenhall did not get into specifics on what kinds of positions or number of players he’s looking to add, but he acknowledged that NIL compensation will be a contributing factor to the type of players he can acquire.
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Navigating NIL is another first for Mendenhall as a head coach, however he is embracing it. With the help of UNM’s NIL collective, 505 Sports Venture Foundation, Mendenhall believes he has the right pieces to continue to shape his roster how he envisions.
“I really like our plan,” he said. “I think it’s unique; I think it’s different. I won’t talk about the specifics, but I like building young people, and I like building team culture at the same time, and we have a really cool way that we’re doing that. I really don’t want anyone else to copy us.”
505 Sports Venture Foundation is starting to gain momentum following its second year in existence, especially thanks to the UNM basketball team’s run into the NCAA tournament. As for football, Coach Mendenhall’s presence in the program, even for only a few months, is already making a difference.
“There will be a lot of ball players in the portal who can help,” said 505 Sports Venture Foundation founder Kurt Roth. “Our football staff is top-notch, and they’re doing great, and Bronco is just a very persuasive speaker. I think they’ll be very successful, but it’s a very hectic time.”
