In the letter below, NMSU Director of Athletics Joe Fields outlines the next phase of NIL—one that recognizes the contributions of A-Mountain Sports and its leadership while signaling a move toward a centralized, department-managed model designed to serve student-athletes directly and sustainably.
Source: NMSU Athletics
Cover Photo, “A warm welcome to our new Athletic Director, Joe Fields”: Courtesy NMSU Athletics (via Facebook)
For much of the past year, conversations around Name, Image, and Likeness have unfolded largely at the national level—through court rulings, policy shifts, and sweeping changes to the structure of college athletics. What is less visible is how those changes are navigated locally, by the people and organizations tasked with translating theory into practice.
At New Mexico State, that work has included the efforts of the A-Mountain Sports NIL Collective, which emerged during a period of uncertainty and helped establish a framework for supporting Aggie student-athletes as the NIL landscape took shape. As that landscape continues to evolve, so too does the university’s approach.
The letter below, issued today by NMSU Director of Athletics Joe Fields, outlines the next phase of that transition—one that recognizes the contributions of A-Mountain Sports and its leadership while signaling a move toward a centralized, department-managed model designed to serve student-athletes directly and sustainably.
What follows is the letter in full.
On its surface, this letter details a structural change—how NIL support will be organized, administered, and funded moving forward. Beneath that, it reflects a familiar theme for Aggies: adaptation guided by people, relationships, and a sense of shared responsibility.
In Aggies Among Us, Las Cruces Digest highlighted student-athletes not as abstractions or assets, but as members of the community—volunteering time, showing up locally, and representing New Mexico State beyond the field of play. This transition mirrors that same idea at an institutional level: bringing the work closer to home, integrating it more fully into the fabric of the university, and emphasizing long-term care over short-term fixes.
The mechanics of college athletics will continue to change. What endures is the obligation to the individuals at the center of it—student-athletes whose connection to this place extends well beyond a season, a roster, or a balance sheet.
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