Former New Mexico State coach Greg Heiar reached a settlement Friday with the school over his wrongful termination lawsuit, ESPN’s Myron Medcalf reports. The settlement brings closure to one of the wildest sagas in recent college basketball history, wherein New Mexico State fired Heiar and shut down its program amid a string of off-court issues including hazing allegations and a player-involved shooting.
Heiar sued New Mexico State in 2023 and said the school made him a “sacrificial lamb” for the series of incidents. He claimed he had no knowledge of the hazing allegations, which included accusations of sexual assault and harrassment. He also alleged New Mexico State failed to inform him of a “toxic and secretive culture” that existed inside the program upon his hiring in 2022.
In the now-settled lawsuit, Heiar sought a sum of money for breach of contract and actions that were “willful, wanton, and with reckless disregard.” New Mexico State initially denied the majority of his allegations and said Heiar refused to cooperate with the hazing investigation.
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The bevy of issues that unfolded throughout Heiar’s tenure began in earnest in Nov. 2022 when former New Mexico State player Mike Peake shot and killed a New Mexico student after a group of men attacked him in retaliation for an earlier incident. Peake was hospitalized in the early morning hours before a game against the rival Lobos, and he was not charged for what was determined to be an act of self-defense.
Heiar was then accused of leaving the New Mexico campus with the Aggies team while authorities aimed to speak to his players.
The next layer of the New Mexico State saga came later in the 2022-23 season when a victim of abuse went to campus police to report possible assault within the program. What ensued was a hazing investigation that led two former players and one’s father to receive a combined $8 million. Three players faced offenses — including one count of false imprisonment, one count of harassment and two counts of criminal sexual contact — as part of the investigation.
New Mexico State canceled the rest of its season and fired Heiar after the victim filed the report. Thus brought an end to the Heiar era, which lasted less than a full campaign.
Heiar returned to the sidelines the following season at Mineral Area College, a junior college in Missouri. He spent one year with the school before he moved last season to Texas’ Trinity Valley Community College. There, he won the NJCAA Division I national championship with a 34-3 record in his debut campaign.
