ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – The hire is now official, as New Mexico State University has named Greg Heiar (pronounced Higher) as their new Head Coach of the Men’s Basketball Team. Heiar is now the 27th Head Coach in NMSU Men’s Basketball history after the news was made public on Sunday afternoon.

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A release was sent out on Sunday and NMSU Athletic Director, Mario Moccia, had this to say about his new Head Coach. “While the task of replacing Chris Jans as the leader of our basketball program is a tall one, I am excited that we have selected Greg Heiar to serve as our new head coach,” commented Moccia. “Greg’s coaching background is aligned with this program’s blueprint of success which has resulted in multiple wins over Power Five programs and our biggest rivals in addition to multiple WAC titles, WAC tournament titles and NCAA Tournament success. I ask that all of our fans join me in welcoming Greg, his wife, Jessica, and his daughter, Alexis, to Las Cruces. We can’t wait for him to get started.”

Heiar replaces 3-time WAC Coach of The Year, Chris Jans, and after meeting with the players Heiar feels confident that he can lead this team in the right direction. “You got to give me a chance, each and every one of you, give me a chance. I promise you, if you give me a chance I am going to change your life. If you liked playing for Jans, you are going to love playing for me,” said Heiar.

Heiar has 22 years of coaching under his belt, with stops at multiple levels, including NJCAA, NCAA Division III and NCAA Division I levels. Heiar’s most recent stop was at Northwest Florida State College, where Heiar led his team to the NJCAA Division I National Championship which concluded a 31-5 season for the Raiders.

NMSU will have an introductory press conference on Monday at 4 p.m. in the Pan Am Center, and fans are allowed to attend.