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New Mexico State baseball head coach backed by donors with four-year pledge

Date: 12/21/2018
Writer: Angel Mendez, 575-646-1795, anmendez@nmsu.edu

A new pledge signed by four Aggie fans and donors on Wednesday will supplement the salary of New Mexico State University’s head baseball coach Brian Green through the next four years.


Five men sitting around a table.
Chancellor Arvizu (left), Jerry Lujan, Kevin Horner (second from right), Paul Bauer and NM State head baseball coach Brian Green (center) formally sign a pledge agreement with the NMSU Foundation that supplements Green’s salary for the next four years. (NMSU Photo by Elijah Banegas) Five men standing with a big check.
Aggie supporters surround NM State head baseball coach Brian Green (center) and present him with a big check in recognition of their gift to supplement his salary for the next four years. From left is Jerry Lujan, Kevin Horner, Scott Bannister and Paul Bauer. (NMSU Photo by Elijah Banegas)

The restricted gift of $95,550 to support Green will be distributed in four parts starting in 2019. All four donors, including Scott Bannister; Paul Bauer, class of 1983; Kevin Horner, former Aggie baseball player; and Jerry Lujan, class of 1977 and former Aggie baseball player, all recognize the turnaround seasons led by Green in the last four years as well as the team’s regular involvement in the community.

“The vision that he cast and the culture he said he was going to create, he’s doing,” Lujan said. “He’s building a great program that’s benefitting the university and the community. The kids are going to be great baseball players, but he’s also building future leaders for all of us, which is more important to me. He’s done everything he said he was going to do, so we needed to do everything we could to keep him here.”

Last week, Green signed a four-year contract extension with NM State Athletics following a record-breaking 2018 season where the team earned its first WAC Tournament title and recorded its second 40-win season in program history.

“It’s humbling beyond belief. It’s very emotional actually,” Green said. “It reinforces that what we’re doing, we’re on the right track. When I got the job here, I believed that I could get into the community because I played here and graduated here. I knew that in my gut. If you get out and you do things right, people will notice, and Becki and I are honored. It gets me even more driven to build this program to even greater heights.”

While bringing wins to an excited fan base, the New Mexico State baseball program under Green’s watch also continues to produce professional talent and attract national attention. Since 2016, 10 former baseball student-athletes now play professionally, including Kyle Bradish selected in the fourth round by the Los Angeles Angels in June.

“When our athletic programs win, our university wins,” said Tina Byford, interim president of the NMSU Foundation. “Our student-athletes and our coaches train every day, and every win builds the NMSU brand that is exposed to more and more prospective students across New Mexico and the nation. We’re grateful for these four loyal Aggie fans who see that connection and want to help Coach Green along the path of building outstanding future leaders and the NMSU brand for all of us.”