New Mexico States parts with AD Moccia in wake of report on sex-abuse in hoops program

New Mexico State is moving on from athletic director Mario Moccia in the wake of an investigation that criticized the school's handling of the sexual-abuse scandal that temporarily shut down the Aggies men's basketball program.

Valerio Ferme, who took over as university president to start the year, announced Moccia's dismissal Thursday and that Amber Burdge, NMSU’s deputy athletic director for strategic initiatives and leadership, would be acting athletic director.

“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,” Ferme said. “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.”

Ferme said Burdge played a key role in NMSU’s strategic response to hazing prevention as the school's senior female administrator and deputy Title IX coordinator.

Two former basketball players have agreed to plea deals in the assault cases brought against them while a third is due for trial next month.

The assault allegations forced New Mexico State to shut down its 2022-23 season. In 2023, the school paid out $8 million to settle a lawsuit brought by two of the victims, former players Deuce Benjamin and Shak Odunewu, who went public with the stories of their abuse.

But also in 2023, New Mexico State gave Moccia a five-year contract extension and a $72,000 raise to $351,000 a year in the first year of the new deal, which was scheduled to end in 2028.

That deal was signed by chancellor Dan Arvizu on the same day he stepped down from his post — timing the school said was a coincidence.

The state Department of Justice review of the sexual assaults found that they “did not occur in a vacuum but were reflective of a more pervasive toxic culture throughout the program.”

“There were ample opportunities for those around the team to observe this toxic culture as it was developing, but they failed to effectively intervene and prevent it,” the report said. “This inaction was compounded by inadequate institutional preventative safeguards.”

Among the report's criticisms of Moccia were that he did not do enough upon learning about the assaults, leaning on his belief that once staff reported the case to the school's Office of Institutional Equity, it had satisfied its responsibility.

“As an initial matter, it is worth noting that this belief conflicts with actual practice; Director Moccia met with and observed pertinent videos by (two of the accused players) after the OIE had received Deuce Benjamin’s report in February 2022,” the report said.

The report also noted the school's lack of transparency in using booster funds instead of state funds to pay Moccia under his new contract.

“While the use of AAC funds for Moccia’s compensation was publicly reported in mid-2023, reliance on media outlets to inform donors of potential uses of their donations is inadequate,” the report said.

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