The New Mexico State men’s basketball program has shut down indefinitely amid “new allegations” of misconduct. University spokesperson Justin Bannister addressed the news in a prepared statement earlier this evening. “NMSU personnel were recently informed of new allegations, separate from the events that took place in Albuquerque late last year, involving potential violations of university policy,” Bannister said.
The NMSU Board of Regents also released a statement earlier this evening. “The board supports the action taken by the university leaders and is confident a full and thorough investigation will be conducted,” the statement read.
Accordingly, tomorrow’s game against California Baptist University has been canceled. It’s unclear whether athletics department officials or higher-level university administrators made the decision to suspend basketball operations. It’s also unclear at this point whether this is NCAA-related or internal, or whether the allegations involve criminal misconduct.
News of the suspension is already reverberating across national sports media and fan forums. One long-time Aggie sports fan, who goes by the user name KrimsonKrazy, posted the following on the Aggie Sports Trough fan board: “And the hits just keep on coming. This sounds ominous.”
Another fan, who goes by the name “tucsonaggie,” sounded more angry. “In less than a year, this program has been put in the toilet. I’ve got a couple pitchforks laying around. Might be useful after all,” the user posted.
KrimsonKrazy later sounded more hopeful. “The program WILL NOT be destroyed. Setback, yes, but not destroyed.”
Kokopelli will continue to report on this developing story as new details emerge.
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