NMSU president: Coach didn't cooperate in investigations

Feb. 15—New Mexico State University shared at least some of the details surrounding the dismissal of men's basketball coach Greg Heiar during a Wednesday morning news conference in Las Cruces, with school Chancellor Dan Arvizu revealing the coach did not cooperate with two separate investigations into incidents that have transformed Aggies basketball into a sordid national story.

Heiar was terminated for cause Tuesday, ending a tumultuous run that lasted less than a year. Allegations of hazing came on the heels of a deadly shooting and numerous student-athletes violating the school's code of conduct, plus a dramatic dip in attendance and poor performance on the court.

"Our review indicates that this culture of bad behavior is contained in our men's basketball program," Arvizu said. "It is not elsewhere. I want to make that clear."

Originally given a five-year contract with an annual base salary of $300,000, Heiar was not subject to a buyout because he violated the terms of his deal. Arvizu said the former coach has not cooperated with a pair of internal investigations that Arvizu said have given the NMSU athletics department a "fairly major stain" on its national reputation.

"We have looked and done an expansive review of our programs, and everything that I have learned is that our men's basketball program has been infected with bad behavior and a culture of bad behavior," Arvizu said. "And there have been, essentially, other despicable acts."

Allegations of hazing surfaced less than a week ago when an unidentified player told NMSU police three teammates had harassed him for months, going as far as pinning him down and removing his clothes while making contact with his buttocks and scrotum.

Heiar's level of knowledge of the incident remains unclear.

Arvizu said he was unaware of the problem until the police report was filed Feb. 10. He immediately suspended all team activities, then canceled the remainder of the season less than 48 hours later.

He said Heiar's program forced the university's hand in removing him as coach. The players involved, he said, are currently under disciplinary review, as are Heiar's assistant coaches.

Exactly what those reviews entail, Arvizu did not say. College students are protected by the Family Education Rights Privacy Act, which ensures their anonymity to outside sources.

Moving forward, NMSU athletic director Mario Moccia said there is no timetable for lifting the suspension of the daily operations for basketball. The process involves the internal investigations running their course. Only then, he said, will the school look to replace Heiar.

"Our focus right now is not to rush out and seek a new coach," Moccia said.

He said it is NMSU's intent to field a men's basketball team next season when it moves into Conference USA.

Moccia said he has hired more than a dozen head coaches since coming on board as AD. Most have had successful runs, some using their success to land higher-profile coaching jobs elsewhere.

"No one bats a thousand," he said when asked if he had regrets bringing Heiar on board.

"Well, I regret the outcome," he said. "But more, I regret what's happened to the victim. I certainly think hindsight is 20/20."

NMSU has nearly completed its investigation of the deadly shooting involving a University of New Mexico student and Aggies men's basketball player Mike Peake. That incident occurred in Albuquerque during the early morning hours of Nov. 19.

NMSU hired the Rodey Law Firm in Albuquerque to probe the events that led to at least four players breaking curfew and leaving the team hotel, as well as the publicized missteps involving the players and coaches in the hours following the shooting.

Heiar sent the team back to Las Cruces before the state police were able to complete their preliminary investigation. Police had to chase down the team bus near Socorro, where officers asked for and received an electronic tablet used by Peake.

Authorities later recovered Peake's gun, which was left with one of the Aggies' assistant coaches in Albuquerque.

Video taken by the state police shows an officer questioning Heiar in a squad car the morning of the shooting. Heiar stumbled through the discussion.

Arvizu said Heiar consulted an attorney a short time later and has been unwilling to cooperate in the Rodey Law Firm's probe.

"In part, the reason it hasn't been completed is the coach has represented council and it's been difficult to interview him," Arvizu said. "In context of that, we've looked at rounding up evidence to essentially bolster our case [against] the coach, and in the context of that, the decision was made based on the information that we had."

Arvizu said Heiar also refused to cooperate with NMSU's hazing investigation, declining to take part in an interview earlier this week.

The review process for Heiar's assistant coaches and the players who remain on the roster will take more time to complete. The result could include termination for coaches or expulsion from the school for players. It could also result in complete exoneration.

"I expect that we'll see a spectrum of those outcomes after the investigations are done," Arvizu said.

Moccia said the majority of the players take online courses, which do not necessarily require them to remain in Las Cruces now that the season is officially over.

Finding the next coach to bring the program back together is a task that lies in wait, Moccia said. In reviewing his own methods for finding quality people, he admitted it's not always easy.

"Coaching hires are not infallible, there is not a crystal ball underneath my desk," Moccia said. "We've had a tremendous run on hiring very successful head coaches. However, it obviously did not work out in this setting."

Arvizu quashed speculation that Moccia's job is in jeopardy.

"I have not lost confidence in Mario's ability to essentially be our athletic director," he said. "He still has my complete confidence to turn this program around. Clearly there's some issues that we need to see — why did it take so long to understand that there was an issue? We will get to the bottom of that."