The shut-down of a Division I program in midseason for reasons other than injuries or, more recently, a COVID-19 outbreak, is virtually unheard of.
State's game against California Baptist on Saturday has been cancelled, and it is unknown how many more of the team's five remaining games, all in the Western Athletic Conference, will also be wiped out.
The program has been teetering since the night of the shooting. Shortly after the shooting, Heiar loaded the team onto a bus and left town, minus Peake and three players who had picked him up and taken him to the hospital with a leg injuries. Police stopped the bus on its way back to the school's campus, three hours south in Las Cruces.is conducting a separate investigation.
The school's announcement said Friday's move was not related to the shooting and its aftermath. The board of regents released a separate statement saying it supported "the action taken by the university leaders and is confident a full and thorough investigation will be conducted." The Aggies had previously canceled the game against the Lobos in Albuquerque that had been scheduled for the day after the shooting, along with the Dec. 3 rematch in Las Cruces.since 2007. They are supposed to move into Conference USA next year. But this year, they have struggled to a 9-15 record — including 10 losses in their last 12 games — under Heiar, who took over for Chris Jans when he left for Mississippi State. Jans went 122-32 in five seasons and took the Aggies to three tournaments.
Leadership at the school is also in flux. The board of regents recently decided not to renew the contract of Chancellor Dan Arvizu, which expires in June. Over the past 14 months, both the school's president and provost have resigned or been removed from their positions.