Paul Weir Steps Down as ENMU Director of Athletics

Category: Non-Local News Releases Non-Local News Releases
Published: 25 October 2023 25 October 2023

Portales, N.M. – October 25, 2023 –Dr. Paul Weir has announced he is stepping down as the Eastern New Mexico University Director of Athletics, effective December 1, 2023, to assume a leadership position at Abilene Christian University Athletics in Abilene, Texas.

“Thank you Greyhounds! I am so grateful to everyone in our community who has supported my family and me for the past three years. Moving to this part of the state was a blessing I will cherish forever,” said Paul Weir, ENMU Director of Athletics. “Dr. Caldwell and Dustin Seifert, thank you, and thank you again for believing in me enough to bring me here. Good luck to our fantastic athletes, coaches, and staff, who have done and will continue to do amazing things for ENMU. To Dr Johnston and this wonderful place, I will continue to cheer for the absolute best future imaginable. God Bless and Go Greyhounds.”

Under Weir’s watch, Greyhound student-athletes have achieved tremendous success in the classroom. They have had a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher in almost every semester over the past two years. Ten programs earned a 3.0 grade point average or higher during the spring 2023 semester. The Football program won the 22-23 sport Academic Championship for having the highest GPA for a football program in the Lone Star Conference. Student-athletes also performed over 3000 hours of community service during the 22-23 academic year and are on pace to exceed that in 23-24.

Weir also led improvements not only in the classroom but on the field. Weir brought back Men’s Soccer to campus after a hiatus for the program, helping to restart the only NCAA men’s soccer program in the state of New Mexico. The Baseball, Softball, and Men’s Basketball teams all showed significant improvements over the past season, and all made the Lone Star Conference Tournament for the first time in many years.  

Facility improvements were a big part of Weir’s accomplishments. He led the softball field renovations with new turf, bullpens, and outfield fencing. Greyhound Arena is set to install its first-ever videoboard during 23-24, along with sideline videoboards for an enhanced experience. The weight room was renovated with new equipment and a first-ever nutrition space for ENMU athletes. A new athletic training room was built at the football fieldhouse, and a recovery room was added for all student-athletes. Funding was also secured for a significant investment in the soccer programs.

Fundraising improvements were seen during Weir’s time, as he helped develop athletics' first-ever endowments. Weir helped to create The Greyhound Club Scholarship Endowment for all student-athletes at ENMU, the Bill Joy Endowment for the support of the athletic training department, and a new rodeo and track and field endowment for the benefit of their programs.

“We certainly appreciate Dr. Weir’s leadership and wish him the best in this next career step,” said James Johnston, ENMU Chancellor.  “He has advanced our athletics department and leaves Eastern New Mexico University Athletics Programs poised to do great things in the future.”

A national search for the next athletic director will start in the near future. 

Content on the Beat

WARNING: All articles and photos with a byline or photo credit are copyrighted to the author or photographer. You may not use any information found within the articles without asking permission AND giving attribution to the source. Photos can be requested and may incur a nominal fee for use personally or commercially.

Disclaimer: If you find errors in articles not written by the Beat team but sent to us from other content providers, please contact the writer, not the Beat. For example, obituaries are always provided by the funeral home or a family member. We can fix errors, but please give details on where the error is so we can find it. News releases from government and non-profit entities are posted generally without change, except for legal notices, which incur a small charge.

NOTE: If an article does not have a byline, it was written by someone not affiliated with the Beat and then sent to the Beat for posting.

Images: We have received complaints about large images blocking parts of other articles. If you encounter this problem, click on the title of the article you want to read and it will take you to that article's page, which shows only that article without any intruders. 

New Columnists: The Beat continues to bring you new columnists. And check out the old faithfuls who continue to provide content.

Newsletter: If you opt in to the Join GCB Three Times Weekly Updates option above this to the right, you will be subscribed to email notifications with links to recently posted articles.

Submitting to the Beat

Those new to providing news releases to the Beat are asked to please check out submission guidelines at https://www.grantcountybeat.com/about/submissions. They are for your information to make life easier on the readers, as well as for the editor.

Advertising: Don't forget to tell advertisers that you saw their ads on the Beat.

Classifieds: We have changed Classifieds to a simpler option. Check periodically to see if any new ones have popped up. Send your information to editor@grantcountybeat.com and we will post it as soon as we can. Instructions and prices are on the page.

Editor's Notes

It has come to this editor's attention that people are sending information to the Grant County Beat Facebook page. Please be aware that the editor does not regularly monitor the page. If you have items you want to send to the editor, please send them to editor@grantcountybeat.com. Thanks!

Here for YOU: Consider the Beat your DAILY newspaper for up-to-date information about Grant County. It's at your fingertips! One Click to Local News. Thanks for your support for and your readership of Grant County's online news source—www.grantcountybeat.com

Feel free to notify editor@grantcountybeat.com if you notice any technical problems on the site. Your convenience is my desire for the Beat.  The Beat totally appreciates its readers and subscribers!  

Compliance: Because you are an esteemed member of The Grant County Beat readership, be assured that we at the Beat continue to do everything we can to be in full compliance with GDPR and pertinent US law, so that the information you have chosen to give to us cannot be compromised.