Getty Image / Leslie Plaza Johnson
The 2022-23 college basketball season was an absolutely embarrassing one for the New Mexico State Aggies.
The program ended up cancelling their season with 6 games left in the year as the university investigated a hazing scandal within the program.
Players began heading for the transfer portal as a result of the issues within the program and the university ended up firing head coach Greg Heiar.
Now Heiar is claiming that NMSU breached his contract and he is seeking an undetermined sum from the school.
According to documents obtained by ESPN, Heiar believes that he was made a “sacrificial lamb” by NMSU when they chose to fire him earlier this year.
Medcalf: Fired NMSU basketball coach says he was 'sacrificial lamb' in documents obtained by ESPN. https://t.co/pjxdEDSxMP
— Myron Medcalf (@MedcalfByESPN) August 2, 2023
Heiar may believe that he was made a sacrificial lamb when NMSU fired him, but there was really no other option.
Heiar’s tenure as the head coach of the Aggies was an absolute disaster. Early in the season, one of their players shot and killed a student at the University of New Mexico before their scheduled Rio Grande Rivalry game, leading to the cancellation of their series for the year and questions about whether it could continue in the future.
Then there was the hazing scandal, which he reportedly refused to cooperate with the investigation of.
On top of the disastrous season they having off the court, they weren’t playing well on the court.
Heiar took over an NMSU program that was coming off of winning the WAC tournament and regular season and getting their first NCAA Tournament win since the early 90s.
In his first season, the Aggies went 9-15 with 3 of those wins coming against New Mexico Highlands, Northern New Mexico, and Simon Fraser. They were 2-10 in conference before their season was shut down.
With so much controversy off the court and disappointing results on it, there was no reason for the New Mexico State Aggies to keep Greg Heiar around.