NMSU cuts budget by $20 million as state adjusts to pandemic budget shortfall

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico -- New Mexico State University regents on Saturday approved a revised operation budget that cuts $20 million for fiscal year 2020-2021.

"This budget does not predict what's going to happen in the future," admitted NMSU President John Floros. "We don't really know what's going to happen. But we within the university are taking that into account as we move forward and prepare our budgets for years to come."

As ABC-7 has reported, the state of New Mexico is facing a projected $2.4 billion decline in state government revenue.

When gas prices plummeted at the start of the pandemic, New Mexico was hit especially hard. The state is 40 reliant on oil and gas revenue from the Permian Basin.

Floros said the budget approved on Saturday "does not predict any reduction in income that we will have."

New Mexico State planned to have two major payday football games against UCLA and Florida, which would have brought $2.75 million into the university, according to Athletic Director Mario Moccia. The UCLA game has already been canceled.

"It's a little bit like you’re on a surfboard in the middle of an ocean and you’re just going to ride that wave as long as you can," Moccia told ABC-7 earlier this month. "It looks like there’s a lot of sharks in the water, so we’re going to try to stay on board.”