New Mexico coach Craig Neal's wife accused of battery

Newly hired New Mexico basketball coach Craig Neal is already dealing with off court issues but it doesn't involve any of his players. Neal's wife Janet has been accused of battery for allegedly grabbing a school official after one of her son's high school basketball games, police reports and the district attorney's office confirm.

This is the same high school team their son Cullen plays for, who will be attending New Mexico on a basketball scholarship after being released by St. Mary's.

 Eldorado High School assistant principal Susan Stanojevic told police that after a Feb. 21 game, Janet Neal "lunged at me and aggressively grabbed my left arm, yanking me to face her," according to an Albuquerque Police Department report. "At the same time, she put her face close to mine and in an angry, loud voice, stated, 'the next time you want to accuse me of using profanity at a basketball game, you need to talk to me first.'"

Mrs. Neal had been accusesd of yelling profanities and verbally abusing the referees following a game that involved her son.

 The case was referred to the Bernalillo County district attorney as battery on a school employee, a fourth-degree felony that carries a maximum prison sentence of 18 months, and is under review, according to spokeswoman Kayla Anderson.

Following the initial confrontation, Albuquerque Public Schools officers asked Neal to leave the area, but she resisted, reports show.

"I then advised (Mrs.) Neal she could leave in handcuffs or on her own. That was up to her," community service officer L.G. Valenzuela said in his report.

In a supplementary report by APD investigator officer Christian Baker, Neal said that she "did not grab Susan forcefully nor did she threaten her."

Janet Neal has denied allegations to police and her attorney.

I feel this could've been handled differently unless Mrs. Neal is so intimidating that the cops had to be called in. On the other hand Mrs. Neal sounds worse than some of the fathers out there who get a little too involved with their kids' sports teams.

Craig Neal gets the New Mexico job

After Steve Alford left for UCLA, the players left behind lobbied for top assistant Craig Neal to get the job. The coaching search didn't last long as Neal was given the job full time. Neal will sign a five-year contract worth $750,000 annually, plus incentives. The deal would make Neal one of the four highest paid coaches in the Mountain West Conference.


Neal was with Alford at Iowa and the past six seasons at New Mexico and was considered a co-architect of the Lobos' resurgence. Neal was a finalist with Brian Gregory a year ago for his alma mater, Georgia Tech.

This will be Neal's first head coaching job in Division I. The Lobos will have a loaded team coming back and will have a good shot to repeat in the Mountain West. The Lobos return key players Tony Snell, Alex Kirk and Mountain West Conference player of the year Kendall Williams. Neal has inherited a good situation now he'll have to keep the momentum trending upward.

Report: UCLA signs Steve Alford to become new head basketball coach

A report by ESPN's Andy Katz are saying that Steve Alford is leaving New Mexico to be UCLA's new basketball coach. The Bruins have come to an agreement with the New Mexico coach on a seven-year contract worth $2.6 million per year. This comes after firing Ben Howland after a second round ouster in the NCAA tournament.

The agreement with Alford comes less than two weeks after Alford had agreed to a new 10-year contract with New Mexico that reached into the $2-million-per-season range, including base salary, bonuses and incentives.

This is more of a surprise since many consider UCLA to be one of the top jobs in the country. The Bruins were spurned by Butler's Brad Stevens and VCU's Shaka Smart. It's obvious that many don't view it that way. Washington's Lorenzo Romar, Marquette's Buzz Williams, and NC State's Mark Gottfried were rumored to be candidates.

I don't know how this turns out, but  Alford is leaving a loaded Lobos team for whoever takes over. Alford will face a ton of pressure trying to coach up to the UCLA standard set long ago by JohnWooden.

Davie Looks To Revive His Coaching Career

It took awhile for former Notre Dame football coach Bob Davie to get another job, but he finally found one. No I'm not talking about Davie leaving ESPN for another TV gig, but he'll be taking over the New Mexico football program.

First of all I thought that Mike Leach would take over this reclamation project. With the high powered offenses he's constructed in the past he would've sold some tickets. Davie is a name, but not one who comes with a lot of sizzle that will move people to buy tickets.

Secondly, why would Davie want this job? I know that he probably had an itch to get back into coaching, but taking the New Mexico job might ruin him for life. No one has won there and the Lobos have back to back 1-11 seasons which got Mike Locksley canned among other things.

I guess it could be a no lose situation for Davie. If he wins five games a year he might be revered in Albuquerque. Hell, they might even put a statue up of him if he gets them to a couple of bowl games. Nonetheless, Davie has a major job in making New Mexico football matter.