Michael Jerome Cooper is an American basketball coach and former player. He played for the Los Angeles Lakers during his entire career in the National Basketball Association, winning five NBA championships with the Lakers during their Showtime era. He was an eight-time selection to the NBA All-Defensive Team, including five times on the first team. He was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 1987. In 2024, it was announced that Cooper would be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Following his Hall of Fame announcement, it was announced on August 15, 2024, that Cooper would have his No. 21 retired by the Lakers on January 13, 2025.
The New Mexico Lobos men's basketball team represents the University of New Mexico, competing in the Mountain West Conference (MWC) in NCAA Division I. The university established basketball as a varsity sport in 1899 and began competing with regional colleges after establishing an athletics department in 1920.
Norman Dale Ellenberger was an American football, basketball, and baseball player and coach. He was head coach of the University of New Mexico Lobo basketball team from 1972 to 1979, winning Western Athletic Conference championships in 1974 and 1978 and compiling an overall record of 134–62 (.684). His former players included future National Basketball Association (NBA) defensive stand-out Michael Cooper, who helped lead the 1977–78 team that was ranked as high as No. 5 nationally. Ellenberger was dismissed as Lobo head coach due to a recruiting scandal known as "Lobogate".
La Cueva High School is a public high school located in northeast Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States, within the Albuquerque Public Schools District. Its mascot is the Bears. The La Cueva feeder schools include Desert Ridge, Madison, and Eisenhower middle schools; and Dennis Chavez, Double Eagle, E. G. Ross, Hubert Humphrey, and North Star elementary schools. La Cueva opened in 1986 with 1200 students.
Eldorado High School is a public 9–12 high school located in northeast Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the Albuquerque Public Schools district.
Donald Elliott Flanagan is an American retired basketball coach. From 1995 to 2011, Flanagan was head coach of the University of New Mexico women's basketball team.
The New Mexico Lobos are the athletic teams that represent the University of New Mexico, located in Albuquerque. The university participates in the NCAA Division I in the Mountain West Conference (MW) since 1999, after leaving the Western Athletic Conference. The university's athletic program fields teams in 18 varsity sports.
Johnson Gymnasium is a 4,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on the campus of the University of New Mexico. It opened in 1957 and was the home venue of the New Mexico Lobos basketball team until The Pit opened in 1966. Today, Johnson Gymnasium is the home floor for the Lobo volleyball team. The gym is named after former Lobos basketball coach, Roy Johnson.
The New Mexico Lobos women's basketball team represents the University of New Mexico in the Mountain West Conference in the NCAA Division I. The team is coached by Mike Bradbury.
The 2011–12 New Mexico Lobos men's basketball team represented the University of New Mexico as a member of the Mountain West Conference. The Lobos are coached by fifth-year head coach Steve Alford and play their home games at The Pit in Albuquerque, New Mexico. They finished with a record of 28-7 overall, 10-4 in Mountain West play. They were co-champions of the 2012 Mountain West Regular Season Champions with San Diego State and won the 2012 Mountain West Conference men's basketball tournament. They earned a 5th seed in the west of the 2012 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. They lost in the third round to Louisville.
New Mexico Lobos baseball is a college baseball program of the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The Lobos have won three conference tournaments, finished first in regular season conference play eight times, and appeared in the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship five times. The team plays their home games on the University of New Mexico campus at Santa Ana Star Field. Tod Brown has been the head coach of the Lobos since the 2022 season.
Michael Downs Bradbury is an American college basketball coach who is the current head coach of the New Mexico Lobos women's basketball team.
Douglas Anthony "D.J." Peterson is an American former professional baseball corner infielder. He was drafted by the Seattle Mariners 12th overall in the first round of the 2013 Major League Baseball draft out of the University of New Mexico, becoming the highest drafted player in school history. Despite spending time on the 40-man rosters of the Seattle Mariners, Chicago White Sox, and Cincinnati Reds, he never played in Major League Baseball (MLB).
Raymond Joseph Birmingham Jr. is an American former college baseball coach. He was a baseball coach at the high school, junior college, and four-year college levels from 1978 to 1983 and 1988 to 2021, starting at Mayfield High School in Las Cruces, New Mexico from 1978 to 1983, then the College of the Southwest from 1988 to 1989, New Mexico Junior College from 1990 to 2007, and finally the New Mexico Lobos from 2008 to 2021. Upon retirement in 2021, Birmingham finished as the winningest baseball coach in New Mexico history and the winningest coach in Mountain West Conference history.
The Pit is an indoor arena in Albuquerque, New Mexico, serving primarily as the home venue of the University of New Mexico Lobos basketball teams. The facility opened in 1966 as University Arena but gained the nickname "The Pit" due to its innovative subterranean design, with its playing floor 37 feet (11 m) below street level. The arena is located on the UNM South Campus and has a seating capacity of 15,411 for basketball and up to 13,480 for concerts, with 40 luxury suites and 365 club seats.
The 2015–16 New Mexico Lobos women's basketball team represented the University of New Mexico during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Lobos, led by fifth year head coach Yvonne Sanchez, were played their home games at The Pit with one game at Johnson Gymnasium and were a members of the Mountain West Conference. They finished the season 17–15, 9–9 in Mountain West play to finish in a tie for fifth place. They advanced to the semifinals of the Mountain West women's tournament, where they lost to Colorado State. They were invited to the Women's Basketball Invitational, where they lost to North Dakota in the first round.
Tod Markey Brown is an American baseball coach and former pitcher, currently serving as head baseball coach of the New Mexico Lobos. He played college baseball for Arizona for four seasons, helping the team to the 1992 Pac-10 Conference championship and falling just shy of the 1993 College World Series. He then served as the head coach of the North Dakota State Bison (2008–2021).
Santa Ana Star Field, formerly known as Lobo Field, is a baseball stadium located in Albuquerque, New Mexico that serves as the home of the University of New Mexico Lobos baseball team. Lobo Field had served as New Mexico's practice field as the Lobos played home games at Isotopes Park, home of the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes baseball team. On March 7, 2011, the University of New Mexico regents approved a $3 million renovation plan for Lobo Field.
Daniel Ray Gonzales is an American football coach and former player. He is the linebackers coach and special teams coordinator at the University of Arizona, a position he has held since 2024. He previously was the head football coach at the University of New Mexico from 2020 to 2023. Prior to 2018, Gonzales had spent his college coaching career on Rocky Long's staffs at the University of New Mexico and San Diego State University.
The 1947 New Mexico Lobos football team represented the University of New Mexico in the Border Conference during the 1947 college football season. In their first season under head coach Berl Huffman, the Lobos compiled a 4–5–1 record, finished seventh in the Border Conference, and were outscored by opponents by a total of 182 to 171.
