New Mexico State and former men’s basketball coach Greg Heiar reached a settlement Friday over a wrongful termination lawsuit, his attorneys told ESPN.
Fired in 2023, Heiar had accused the school of making him a “sacrificial lamb” for a litany of issues, including a hazing investigation, a self-defense shooting involving a player and academic problems.
In November 2022, former Aggies player Mike Peake was lured to the University of New Mexico’s campus, where he shot and killed an alleged assailant after a group of men attacked him in retaliation for an earlier fight. Peake was not charged in the incident.
But it was the beginning of a tumultuous year for the program and Heiar, who had been accused of leaving town with his team after the shooting as local authorities sought to speak with multiple players.
Later, a hazing investigation involving sexual assault and harassment allegations led to a combined $8 million payout to a pair of former players, Shak Odunewu and Deuce Benjamin, and one of their fathers.
In February 2023, the school fired Heiar — a first-year head coach — and canceled the remainder of the 2022-23 season as details of the hazing investigation came to light. Soon after, Heiar sought an undetermined sum when he sued the school for breach of contract and actions that were “willful, wanton, and with reckless disregard.”
“On behalf of our client, Greg Heiar, we are pleased to announce that a settlement has been reached in the arbitration of Coach Heiar and New Mexico State University,” attorneys Ryan P. Danoff and Brett J. Danoff of Danoff Law Firm, P.C., said in a statement to ESPN. “Coach Heiar is pleased that this matter is now fully and finally resolved to our satisfaction, and excited to continue his coaching career. Coach Heiar wishes NMSU, the men’s basketball program, and the Aggie fans all the best going forward.”
Last year, Heiar led Trinity Valley Community College in Athens, Texas, to the national junior college championship and was named national junior college coach of the year.
