Mario Moccia out as NMSU athletics director

This story has been corrected to state that the men's basketball program was suspended for a year by former NMSU Chancellor Dan Arvizu. 

Mario Moccia, who led New Mexico State University’s Athletics Department for over a decade, is out as athletics director following a months-long state Department of Justice investigation. 

The announcement came on Jan. 2 that new NMSU president Valerio Ferme had informed Moccia that he was out of the job. 

“After carefully reviewing the recent report issued by the New Mexico Department of Justice, I felt we needed a fresh start in our athletics program. Notwithstanding the current decision, I want to thank Mario for the work he has done for NMSU athletics over the years,” Ferme said in a letter to staff and faculty about the decision. 

In the same move, Ferme announced that Amber Burdge would serve as acting athletics director, effective immediately. Both Burdge and Ferme will speak publicly about the changes at a news conference on Friday, Jan. 3. 

The New Mexico Department of Justice released a scathing report on Dec. 19 that found systemic failures and oversights contributed to three basketball players sexually assaulting teammates in a hazing ritual. That same season, another player shot and killed a University of New Mexico student days before a game between the in-state rivals. 

The report found that the assaults occurred in an environment characterized by a toxic culture that permeated the basketball program, opportunities to observe and intervene were missed by those close to the team and institutional safeguards were insufficient to prevent or address misconduct.

“This report is intended to shine a light not only on the specific misconduct by members of NMSU’s basketball team but also the institutional deficiencies that allowed that misconduct to go unaddressed by leaders inside the university,” Attorney General Raúl Torrez said in a statement about the report. “While NMSU has made commendable progress since these incidents occurred, more must be done to ensure accountability and prevent future harm.”

Ultimately, then-Chancellor Dan Arvizu suspended the men’s basketball program for a year following the revelations. Shortly after, criminal charges and civil lawsuits followed. 

Moccia did not lose his job in the immediate aftermath, however, and even received a 5-year-contract extension. It’s unclear how or if he’ll receive that compensation now, although it’s not uncommon for public institutions to “buy out” contracts of highly paid executives. 

According to a biography on NMSU’s website, Burdge has been the deputy athletics director for strategic initiatives and leadership and deputy Title IX coordinator since August, and had previously served as senior associate athletics director and senior woman administrator since December 2022. She holds a doctorate in education from Louisiana Tech University, where she was associate athletic director for student-athlete success services prior to coming to NMSU.

In a memo to staff, Ferme wrote, “I have utter confidence in Dr. Burdge’s ability to lead our Athletic Department and look forward to working with her in the coming months.”