While it appears that no laws or athletic-conference rules were broken when a New Mexico State University basketball player shot and killed a University of New Mexico student last year, the incident and aftermath show the need for stronger curfew and weapons policies, as well as better oversight of athletics, New Mexico State announced on Thursday.
The university hired an outside law firm to review the events surrounding the November 19 shootout, which occurred on the University of New Mexico campus in Albuquerque shortly before a scheduled men’s basketball game between the rival universities. The case remains under investigation, however, by the Bernalillo County district attorney’s office and the New Mexico State Police, spokesmen for those agencies confirmed on Friday.
A New Mexico State player, Mike Peake, fatally shot Brandon Travis, one of four University of New Mexico students accused of luring Peake to the campus in retaliation for an earlier brawl at a football game. The shooting, which the police described as an act of self-defense, was the latest in a series of leadership crises facing New Mexico State over the past year. Reports of persistent hazing in the men’s basketball program last month prompted New Mexico State to fire the head coach, Greg Heiar, and cancel the basketball season. Over the past year, the university’s president resigned, the provost was forced out, and the chancellor’s contract wasn’t renewed.
“While the report did not identify any failure by the university to meet its legal obligations, we now know we have areas that can be strengthened,” the chancellor, Dan E. Arvizu, wrote in a memo to the university on Thursday.
The outside law firm, known as the Rodey practice, reported that neither the NCAA nor the Western Athletic Conference had indicated that the university violated their governing rules. The law firm found no such violations either. It also “did not identify any failure by NMSU to meet its legal obligations in managing its student athletes.”
Still, the law firm recommended a series of changes, which the university said it would address, including:
- Stricter enforcement of team curfews. Peake was among many players who broke curfew by leaving their hotel on the night of the shooting, the report said.
- A more detailed weapons policy that specifically prohibits athletes from possessing a weapon or firearm while traveling with the team or engaged in any activity in which they represent the university.
- Better communication between coaches and law-enforcement officials, especially when traveling. After the shooting, Heiar put his team on the bus to begin the drive back to Las Cruces, N.M., while the police were trying to reach them and gather information about the weapon used, ESPN reported. The coach was aware that the police wanted to talk to him and some of Peake’s teammates, the police said.
- Strengthening the culture within the athletics program to encourage students to act with integrity at all times, not just on team travel.
The law firm also recommended that New Mexico State strengthen its policies for disciplining students who violate university rules and for reporting that information to other campus officials.
