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Brian O'Neill Appointed
Governor Richardson Appoints Brian O’Neill to the Post of Executive Director of the New Mexico Sports Authority
Eastern New Mexico University graduate Brian O’Neill has been appointed by New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson to the post of Executive Director of the New Mexico Sports Authority. “I’ve spent a year and a half as the deputy director at the New Mexico Sports Authority,” said O’Neill. “When the previous director left, the position opened.”
O’Neill, who graduated in 1989 with a bachelor’s degree in education, said that choosing to come to Eastern was easy because of those around him. “At the time in the 1980s, when I graduated from Cibola High School in Albuquerque, many of those people came to Eastern for the communications department,” said O’Neill. He added that he had an older brother attending school at ENMU, as well as many of his friends who influenced his decision. He noted that one of his biggest influences at Eastern was physical education instructor and coach Jack Scott. “I was a physical education major and he influenced me becoming a professional physical education teacher. He wanted physical education to be more highly thought of than it had been in the past,” he said of Scott.
O’Neill said that his current position with the sports authority is twofold. “We are a division of the tourism department of the State of New Mexico,” he said. “The job of the authority is to promote, advertise and attract weekend sporting events to the state that will create a positive economic impact.” O’Neill said that these events can range from adult slow-pitch softball to marathon events, cycling and bowling. “Anything we can do to bring people to the state from other places to participate in a sport, that’s what we try to do.” He also noted that the authority attempts to attract professional events to the state. “We try to attract all-star games, exhibition games and things like the New Mexico Bowl to the larger cities in the state to attract as much national media attention as possible.” He said that one of the goals for the authority is to become an elite minor league state. “We have done very well with the (Albuquerque) Isotopes and are heading in the right direction with the New Mexico Scorpions hockey team and the Thunderbirds of the NBA development league,” said O’Neill. He said that continued support of these teams is important to New Mexico.
O’Neill credits much of his success to his time at Eastern. I have always been the biggest advocate in the world for Eastern New Mexico University,” he said. “I was really involved with the Kappa Sigma Fraternity and have friends from there who will be friends for life.” O’Neill said that he also enjoyed the opportunity to know his professors on a personal level. “I don’t think that can be done at every university in the state,” he said. “It is something that I will always cherish and it is something that I will always promote.” He added that if someone came to him and asked why they should attend Eastern New Mexico University, he would respond, “How much time do you have because I can give you a million reasons to attend Eastern.”
