Column: Mineral Area hire shows (again) that winning trumps everything

“If you get fired for cheating, you can get hired right back again. If you get fired for losing, it’s like you’ve got leprosy, so young coaches need to bear that in mind. Cheating and not graduating players will not get you in trouble, but that damn losing ...”

Former Indiana State University men’s basketball coach Royce Waltman made that statement following his final game as the Sycamores’ leader in 2007 and those words ring as true today throughout collegiate athletics – if not more so – than they did then.

And in the case of Mineral Area Community College, it turns out overseeing a catastrophic debacle of a program, which involved a murder investigation (not a typo), can’t keep you from being rehired either.

Mineral Area announced on Saturday morning (of course, it was) the hiring of longtime college basketball coach Greg Heiar.

“Heiar's lengthy career has not been without controversy,” the release said.

Congratulations to Mineral Area for earning the 2023 Understatement of the Year honor by college sports information departments.

Heiar has served as a coach at Loras College, Chipola College, Southern Mississippi, Wichita State, LSU, East Tennessee State while leading programs at Chipola, Northwest Florida State College, and most recently, New Mexico State University.

He was the NJCAA National Coach of the Year after leading Northwest Florida State College to an NJCAA D1 national championship in 2022.

For those not up to speed on the shortcomings of Heiar and his brief tenure as the New Mexico State University men’s basketball coach during the 2022-23 season, the events that occurred within his program are legendary, and in all of the wrong ways.

Let’s start with the sexual assault and hazing that occurred within the program (we’ll save the murder part for later).

Yep, sexual assault and hazing occurred within the Aggie men’s basketball program to the point that the University recently wrote an $8 million check to settle with two former players that were accosted by three Aggie teammates.

Now, to be fair, from a legal perspective, Heiar was not forced to admit to any degree of guilt in the settlement.

Per the terms of the settlement, the university, three players, and two coaches (one being Heiar) accused in the lawsuit, “agreed to settle the matter without admitting or conceding liability as to any matter at issue and Plaintiffs agree to release the Defendant and dismiss the complaint with prejudice.”

Following THAT story breaking in February, New Mexico State leadership had seen enough during Heiar’s brief time in Las Cruces, not only to fire him with cause but to cancel the remainder of the season.

Think about that for a moment.

The Aggie leadership had seen so much negativity under the leadership of Heiar, that they felt a complete shutdown and reboot of the program was necessary.

That is how chaotic the Aggie program had become in less than one year of Heiar’s leadership.

As if sexual assault and hazing weren’t enough of a reason to terminate Heiar’s contract – with cause – there was also the program being immersed in the aforementioned murder investigation.

In November, while on a road trip to play rival University of New Mexico, a shooting incident involving a now-former Aggie player, left him injured, and a New Mexico student, who had attacked the Aggie player in a late-night episode away from the New Mexico State travel party, dead.

Again, to be fair, an Aggie assistant coach later retrieved the weapon involved in the murder from the player’s hotel room and turned it over to authorities during the investigation, which involved the New Mexico State team bus being stopped at an interstate rest area on its way back to campus as part of the police investigation.

And again, to be fair, ultimately, no one from New Mexico State University has faced charges from the incident. However, the optics of:

* a student-athlete carrying a gun on a university road trip,

* leaving the team without permission late at night and being involved in a murder,

* and Heiar's failure, galactically, in providing any sense of leadership and guidance for the young people in his charge, are unfathomable to any person not immeasurably consumed with winning on the basketball court (of which Heiar didn’t even do THAT).

“While their lack of cooperation after the shooting certainly did not help to further the investigation, this behavior does not appear to meet the legal standard of criminal obstruction or tampering with evidence,” Second Judicial District Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Nancy Laflin said in a statement to (Las Cruces television station) KTSM.

“Should any new information surface that could impact this decision, we may reconsider.”

In the release from Mineral Area, Cardinal Athletic Director Jim Gerwitz said the University leadership “carefully considered the entirety of Coach Heiar's college coaching career, contacted past administrators, and received overwhelmingly positive feedback regarding his ability to develop student-athletes, promote success both in the classroom and on the court, and create a championship culture that will provide a springboard for players to be successful at Mineral Area College and beyond.”

KTSM reached out to Aggie leadership and inquired about its conversations with its counterparts at Mineral Area, and found Gerwitz’s statement, as it relates to New Mexico State, to be questionable.

Aggie Athletic Director Mario Moccia told KTSM that “he answered MAC’s questions regarding Heiar and the scandals he oversaw, but it does not appear that Moccia provided an endorsement for Heiar.”

"My family and I look forward to being a part of this great institution and community," Heiar said in the Mineral Area release. "Now it's time to get started building a championship team!"

The fact that Mineral Area tried to sneak this hire through on a weekend, instead of making Heiar, Gerwitz, and Mineral Area President Dr. Joe Gilgour, available for an in-person media conference reeks of cowardice on all their parts.

Add in the fact that Heiar’s provided quote relates to winning games, is his – and the University – being incredibly tone-deaf to this situation.

But as Waltman clearly stated, and it is indisputable, college athletics is all about winning. As is often the case, character and ethical behavior, by any of the involved parties, be it coaches, administrators, or university leadership, can’t hold a candle to the scoreboard.

Tom Davis is a freelance sports reporter for Semoball.com.