NMSU cancels remainder of basketball season

The New Mexico State University men's basketball season is officially over as the troubled program deals with an internal hazing incident that had sexual overtones, according to a police report.

Just before 4 p.m. Sunday, NMSU chancellor Dan Arvizu issued a statement declaring the cancellation of the remainder of the team's games pending an investigation into allegations of hazing among Aggies players.

"This action is clearly needed, especially after receiving additional facts and reviewing investigation reports related to the hazing allegations involving student-athletes on the team," he said in the statement. "Hazing has no place on our campus and those found responsible will be held accountable for their actions."

A heavily redacted police report released Sunday cites three unidentified NMSU players for false imprisonment, harassment and two counts of criminal sexual contact against an unidentified teammate.

The report was filed with the NMSU police department Friday and reveals some sordid details. It states a member of the team claimed three teammates had repeatedly harassed him over the course of several months, the latest coming Feb. 6 when the three held him down inside the team's locker room in the Pan American Center, removed his clothing and made inappropriate physical contact with his buttocks and scrotum.

The victim said the incidents began taking place in the summer of 2022, with incidents happening in the team's own locker room and on road trips. He claimed he had no choice to let it happen because he was outnumbered.

Telling police he wished to remain anonymous, he said there may be another teammate who had been subjected to similar abuse.

The alleged victim first approached police before the team departed for the Los Angeles area in preparation for Saturday's game at California Baptist. He told police he didn't want to press charges.

As of Sunday night, charges have not been filed, and the entire coaching staff was also was still under contract despite Arvizu's statement, which suggested major moves are in the works.

"It's time for this program to reset," Arvizu said. "I have spoken with Western Athletic Conference commissioner Brian Thornton earlier [Sunday] and informed him of this decision."

New Mexico State's board of regents have two closed meetings scheduled on Tuesday. According to a public notice, the meeting will "discuss limited personnel matters concerning individual employees" and "may include discussion of personally identifiable information about individual NMSU students ..."

The Aggies finish their season in last place in the Western Athletic Conference with a 9-15 record and 2-10 mark in league play. It comes less than a year after they reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament and just a matter of months after Greg Heiar was brought in to take over as head coach.

The Aggies had five regular season games left on their schedule, including three straight home games starting Wednesday against Abilene Christian. It remains unclear how NMSU will handle issues with previously sold tickets or how the WAC will deal with an imbalanced schedule the rest of the way.

"We are saddened and disappointed that hazing continues to be a part of our society at any level," Thornton said. "Over the last 48 hours our staff and membership have been working to find a solution that best protects every WAC student-athlete and institution. We fully support New Mexico State's decision to suspend the rest of its season, as they take this time to focus on the health and safety of their student-athletes."

This is but the latest in a tumultuous season for the Aggies. The team lost its coach, Chris Jans, last spring when he was named head coach at Mississippi State. The school replaced him with Heiar, a little-known coach from the junior college ranks who had never been a head coach at the Division I level.

Last fall, multiple unidentified players faced internal disciplinary action stemming from their role in a brawl during an October football game against rival New Mexico in Las Cruces.

That fight is alleged to have served as the catalyst for a fatal shooting on the UNM campus on Nov. 19. With the Aggies in town to face the Lobos in The Pit, NMSU forward Mike Peake allegedly snuck out of the team hotel to meet a woman near the Coronado Hall residence hall.

Peake was assaulted by a trio of UNM students seeking retribution for Peake's role in the October brawl, according to a police report. It ended with Peake exchanging gunfire with UNM student Brandon Travis. Travis was shot and killed; Peake suffered a gunshot wound to the leg and was taken to the hospital by three teammates who had also left the team hotel after curfew.

Peake has not been charged in the shooting, but Heiar drew heavy criticism for taking his team back to Las Cruces before state police could complete their initial interrogation. Police stopped the team bus on the interstate near Socorro, retrieving Peake's tablet from an assistant coach and later finding Peake's gun with another assistant coach at the team hotel in Albuquerque.

The school placed Peake on indefinite suspension in December and handed down lighter disciplinary actions to teammates Issa Muhammad, Marchelus Avery and Anthony Roy for leaving the hotel the night of the shooting.

NMSU and UNM also agreed to cancel this year's Rio Grande Rivalry, costing both schools a financially lucrative home game.