NM SPORTS AUTHORITY  
CREATING A DESTINATION THROUGH SPORTS
We want to hear from you with your questions, comments and suggestions regarding the Sports Authority's work

 

Governor

Bill Richardson

 

 

5301 Central Avenue NE

Suite 220

Albuquerque, NM 87108-1514

(505) 841-6520

 

WELCOME

 

To learn more about NM Sports Authority

see the information below.   To obtain

more information in a particular sport

please see corresponding button at left.

 

 

SPORTS IN NEW MEXICO

_______________________________________________________________

 

Golf

 

 

New Mexico is the best-kept secret in the world of golf. We offer a large variety of courses from the mountains of the north and Ruidoso that are great get aways in the summer to the southern courses that offer golf year-round. New Mexico has the trophy courses of the middle Rio Grande that host championship competition and offer spectacular beauty and world-class challenges.

 

 

New courses are springing up around the state with the Santa Fe Trail the centerpiece. On the Trail, you’ll find everything from the breathtaking 27 mountain holes at Paa-Ko Ridge to the tough 18 holes at Twin Warriors or the newly opened 18 desert holes at Sandia. The Trail starts with the 27 holes of Isleta to the south and goes through Albuquerque and up the Rio Grande with the University Championship Course, Sandia, Santa Ana, Cochiti and ends north of Santa Fe at Towa and Black Mesa.

 

The key to golf in New Mexico is affordability. You plan play a sundowner rate on a championship course for as low as $28, including cart.

 

In the summer, you can play picturesque mountain courses such as Pandora, Angel Fire, Taos or Pinon Hills in the north or the Inn of the Mountain Gods or Alta in the high altitudes of Ruidoso. In the winter, try 18 holes at Sonoma Ranch or Pichacho Hills in Las Cruces.

 

Word is starting to spread that golf is great in New Mexico where we have courses that are beautiful, affordable and memorable.

 

 

 

Auto, Motorcycle Racing

 

The most famous family in the history of the Indianapolis 500 started with a garage and junkyard on Albuquerque’s Westside. From those humble beginnings, the Unser family has won 10 percent of all Indy 500s ever run. Big Al Unser is one of only three drivers to win at the Brickyard four times. His brother Bobby was the first in the family to win at Indy and finished with three victories there and Al Unser Jr. became the first second-generation winner by taking the checkered flag at Indy twice. The Unser Racing Museum is located on Montano Ave. in Albuquerque.

 

New Mexico offers every type of racing possible. From Aztec to Carrizozo, we have the regular Saturday night oval races on both pavement and dirt for the usual classifications such as modifieds, superstocks, trucks and sprints. We have two solid drag racing facilities to go with as many as six motocross tracks. Clubs offer recreational cross-country desert racing and there are many miles of mountain and desert courses for ATVs and motorcycles.

 

With the climate and topography that New Mexico has to offer, this state is a natural place to have fun on anything with a motor and wheels, whether you want to speed around an oval, blast down a straight line or face the challenge of a road course that takes you up and down or around hills.

 

Rodeo

 

From the far southeast corner of Hobbs and Lea County to the far northwest corner of Farmington and San Juan County, from Lordsburg in the southwest to Raton and Clayton in the northeast, rodeo is big in New Mexico.

 

 

This is a state with a storied history of cowboys. Kit Carson roamed northern New Mexico and Billy the Kid became legend during the Lincoln County War in eastern New Mexico. Even in fiction, John Wayne rode the Rio Grande.

 

New Mexico is still a cowboy and cowgirl state. Events sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association and Professional Bull Riders Association attract full arenas and a full list of entries.

 

A rodeo event is held every weekend, somewhere in New Mexico. Whether it’s the very popular team roping or a full rodeo, it includes the pomp and ceremony with queens, clowns and all of the uniquely patriotic ingredients that have become an important part of being at a rodeo.

 

Horses, fancy saddles, belt buckles the size of dinner plates and pointed boots are proud traditions in New Mexico. They’ve always been part of this state, and interest has never been higher.

 

Soccer

 

New Mexico has developed into one of the real hotbeds for soccer, whether it be youth, high school or college. The University of New Mexico reached the championship game of the NCAA tournament in 2005 with a nucleus of local players.

 

This was one of the first states to have a large soccer complex suitable for regional and national tournaments. The 22-field facility on the Santa Ana reservation near Bernalillo has hosted national events such as the NAIA tournament and regularly is the site for large regional tournaments.

 

 

Soccer is a natural for New Mexico because of the climate. In some parts of the state, it is a year-round sport. Fields have popped up all over the state and players of all ages from U-6 to adults keep them busy.

 

UNM attracts capacity crowds for NCAA tournament matches. University Stadium in Albuquerque has been the site for men’s and women’s games for Team USA several times because of the hospitality and support they receive when they visit New Mexico.

 

Boxing

 

Boxing has long been an important part of New Mexico’s culture. On the amateur level, we have a proud history with both Golden Gloves and USA Boxing.

 

New Mexico has produced many world champions from light heavyweight champion Bobby Foster to five-time world champion Johnny Tapia and two-time title holder Danny Romero. Pro bouts in the Pit, Johnson Arena on the campus of the University of New Mexico, Tingley Coliseum, the Downtown Convention Center, arenas in Hobbs, Las Vegas and Santa Fe and at a long list of casinos around the state have drawn national and international attention.

 

This state has been a leader in promoting successful women’s boxing cards. New Mexico also has served as a training site at elevation with facilities in Ruidoso and Angel Fire.

 

New Mexico is the home of world championship fights and world championship fighters.

 

Tennis

 

New Mexico is a state that offers outdoor tennis year-round in the southern part of the state to about a 10-month season in the central part.

 

Tennis requires conditioning in the high altitudes of New Mexico where a long rally at the elevations of Ruidoso, Taos or even Santa Fe can be a challenge.

 

 

The longest-running professional sports event in New Mexico is the Coleman Vision Tennis Tournament, a women’s event held in Albuquerque every year. The highly successful tournament has become a tradition.

 

You’ll have no trouble finding public or private courts scattered across the state. In the winter, there are even indoor bubble facilities available in Santa Fe and at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.

 

Outdoors

 

From fishing some of the finest quality waters in the world to hunting elk, deer or even the exotic Ibex, New Mexico is a paradise for an outdoorsman.

 

Nowhere else could you find a place as unique as Bosque del Apache where hundreds of thousands of water fowl stop on their annual migrations with bald eagles and rare whooping cranes regular visitors.

 

Try fishing the quality waters of the San Juan or Jemez rivers. On the Rio Grande or Pecos rivers or many feeder streams, you can fish for trout in moving waters or fish from the shore or a boat on one of the many lakes for striper.

 

If you truly want to get close to nature, then backpack into the wilderness areas of the Gila or Pecos where you might climb above the treeline and see no signs of civilization for days.

 

New Mexico has everything to offer for those who enjoy spending the day fishing, hunting or hiking and the night gazing at stars that seem so clear and close that you can reach out and touch them.

 

Facilities

 

One of the most memorable minutes in the history of college basketball occurred in 1983 when North Carolina State coach Jim Valvano ran around the court searching for someone to hug after his team staged a major upset and won the NCAA men’s championship.

 

 

That moment happened in the Pit, officially known at University Arena, at the University of New Mexico and is just one of many times the Pit has been used for NCAA competition for men and women.

 

 

 

This state can boast of having a long list of outstanding facilities. Isotopes Park, the home of the top farm club for the Florida Marlins, is among the very best ballparks in minor league baseball.

 

The Pan American Center on the campus of New Mexico State University in Las Cruces is newly remodeled and is the site for the Western Athletic Conference men’s and women’s tournaments.

 

There has been an explosion of championship golf courses across the state and the addition of several new professional events.

 

The ski areas of northern and central New Mexico have some of the finest slopes in the west for skiing in the winter and mountain biking in the summer.

 

Basketball

 

Basketball fans in New Mexico don’t just like the sport, they love it.

 

The state high school tournament draws some of the largest crowds in the nation for the boys and girls. There are girls’ high school teams that have sold out every home game for four or five years.

 

And then there are the college teams. The Pit in Albuquerque is ranked as one of the 10 best sports facilities in the nation.  It was on the floor of the Pit where Jim Valvano and North Carolina State won the NCAA championship in a memorable game in 1983.

 

For over two decades, the University of New Mexico ranked in the top 10 in the nation in attendance in the Pit. The Lobos consistently rank in the top five in attendance in women’s collegiate basketball.

 

At New Mexico State, the 12,000-seat Pan American Center has been newly renovated with the floor named for legendary coach Lou Henson.

 

There is no sport more popular than basketball on the many Native American reservations across the state.

 

Football

 

From the small fields of high school six-man football to a packed University Stadium, football has become a way of life in New Mexico

 

 

Football has taken giant steps in the state in the last decade. The University of New Mexico has turned a perennial loser into a program that expects to go to a bowl every year, and usually does.

 

It all begins with YAFL and works its way up to the high school level. The smallest schools can’t field a full team, so they play for a state championship in six-man football. The cities of Las Cruces and Clovis traditionally produce powerhouses and the number of high school players being recruited by major universities has increased drastically.

 

Friday nights and Saturdays during the fall in New Mexico are dedicated to that ball with points on the ends.

 

Track, Field and Recreational Running

 

The clean air and open spaces of New Mexico create a natural atmosphere for running. Whether it be running cross country on the open Native American reservations in a sport where the state is known as a national power, running on the tracks at the colleges or just running for exercise, it is more fun to do in New Mexico.

 

The elevation of New Mexico has long attracted world-class runners from around the world who are preparing for national or even international competition. It isn’t rare to see true contenders for Olympic medals running around a high school track, along a trail or even on a city street.

 

To add to the allure, Albuquerque has put together one of the finest indoor tracks in the nation for its Downtown Convention Center and is attracting national competition.

 

The state can offer trails or courses for everyone from the serious runner to the casual jogger who is trying to lose a few pounds and relieve the stress of a business day.

 

Skiing

 

New Mexico attracts snow lovers from across the nation and throughout Mexico to some of the finest slopes in the U.S.

 

From bunny trails to challenging courses with serious drops, New Mexico has the right course for every level of downhill skier and snowboarder. The ski areas stretch from Ruidoso in the south, through Albuquerque and across the northern part of the state with Angel Fire, Red River and Taos the most famous.

 

 

Cross country and snowshoe trails dot the landscape.

 

Giving a boost to snow sports is affordability and convenience. Lift tickets are not as expensive as at some of the ski areas in the neighboring states of Colorado and Utah. The snow can be just as good in New Mexico with a shorter drive from the airport or large population areas.

 

Ski New Mexico has been successful at expanding options for skiers and snowboarders and keeping prices reasonable at the same time.

 

Baseball

 

On a summer’s evening, there might be nothing as relaxing and natural as nestling into a seat at a baseball park and watching a few innings of the national pastime.

 

Albuquerque offers maybe the best setting at any level of baseball to catch a game at Isotopes Park. The Isotopes are the top farm club of the Florida Marlins, just one step below the Major Leagues.

 

At the new park, you watch the setting sun turn the Sandia Mountains into a brilliant array of pinks and reds as the temperatures drop rapidly, quickly turning a hot day into an enjoyable evening.

 

For 28 seasons, Albuquerque’s entry in the Pacific Coast League was the Triple-A team for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Many baseball greats such as Cy Young Award winner Orel Hershiser, Davey Lopes, Ron Cey, Paul Konerko, Eric Karros and Mike Piazza played for Albuquerque. The Dukes had some great managers with Tommy Lasorda, Del Crandell, Kevin Kennedy, Mike Scioscia and Bill Russell.

 

The 2006 Triple-A All-Star Game is being played in Albuquerque because baseball and New Mexico are a great fit in a great ballpark with great fans.

 

 

Bicycling

 

Anything that is self-propelled and rides on two wheels will find a natural home in New Mexico.

 

The state offers the excitement and hard work of mountain biking on the many courses that are associated with ski areas throughout the state. Angel Fire in northern New Mexico was the site for the only World Cup of Mountain Biking event held in the U.S. in 2005.

 

Or you could try the Tour of the Gilia, a well-established race in and around Silver City every year.

 

 

New Mexico has trails and open roads that are inviting to anyone who just wants to take a trip and see the beautiful countryside.

 

Albuquerque has plans for a BMX facility that will attract national competition. Discussions have even been held about the possibility of building an indoor velodrome in Albuquerque.