Heiar’s Junior College Success

PARK HILLS, Mo. – Embattled men’s basketball coach Greg Heiar has been hired as the next head coach at Mineral Area College, a junior college in Park Hills, Missouri.

Heiar, who was fired from New Mexico State in February, has years of experience coaching at the junior college level, including winning the 2022 NJCAA national championship and coach of the year at Northwest Florida State. In Mineral Area College’s statement announcing Heiar’s hire, the school said that it had “contacted past administrators and received overwhelmingly positive feedback regarding his ability to develop student-athletes, promote success both in the classroom and on the court…”.

Really?

Shadow of Controversy

In November of last season, under Greg Heiar’s leadership, a New Mexico State men’s basketball player shot and killed a University of New Mexico student. The incident happened during a team road trip. There had been reports that Heiar’s staff members had initially assisted in covering up the crime by hiding the weapon and by having the team leave Albuquerque instead of waiting around for questioning. The team bus was pursued by Albuquerque police.

In April, two former NMSU players filed a lawsuit against the university alleging that they were harassed and sexually assaulted by teammates. The lawsuit, which was settled last week for a reported $8 million, named three former NMSU players, two former coaches and the NMSU board of regents as defendants.

When these allegations were brought to the police in February, NMSU chancellor Dan Arvizu canceled the season. There were six regular season games left on the NMSU schedule when the season was immediately halted. The Aggies finished the truncated season with a 9-15 overall record (2-10 in the Western Athletic Conference).

Yes, Coach Greg Heiar has had great success at the junior college level. He may even help Mineral Area College achieve some success on the court.

But where is the NCAA-imposed penalty for losing complete control of a program and for presiding over one of the most violent and controversial teams in the history of team sports?

NCAA’s Stance

We know the NCAA has a lot to say about coaches who commit NIL violations.