EDUCATION
Former Lobos basketball coach Paul Weir named president of St. Michael's High in Santa Fe
Weir was head coach of UNM and NMSU before turning to athletics administration
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Former University of New Mexico and New Mexico State University men鈥檚 basketball coach Paul Weir has been named the head of St. Michael鈥檚 High School, a private Catholic school in Santa Fe.
Weir will take the reins from current President Michael Sandoval on June 1, St. Michael鈥檚 leadership announced Thursday.
St. Michael鈥檚 Board of Trustees Chair Colleen Gavin said in a letter that Weir 鈥渆xhibits and lives the Catholic and Lasallian mission and values essential to lead our school.鈥�
鈥淗e is committed to uniting our community as partners in our young people鈥檚 education and development of faith,鈥� Gavin said.
Weir currently serves as the associate vice president for athletics at Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas.
In addition to earning a doctorate in educational leadership from New Mexico State University, Weir holds a master鈥檚 degree in health and human performance from Northwestern State, a master鈥檚 in sports psychology from Iowa and a third master鈥檚 in business administration from NMSU.
The Toronto native started his career coaching college basketball and was briefly on staff at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana, and at the University of Iowa before spending a decade as an assistant coach at NMSU starting in 2007.
In 2016, he was promoted to head coach and led the Aggies to a 28-6 record and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. It would be his only season as head coach at NMSU.
In a bombshell announcement in April 2017, Weir was named head coach of in-state rival University of New Mexico. He led the Lobos to a 19-15 record and finished third in the Mountain West in his first year, which would turn out to be his most successful.
The Lobos went 58-63 in Weir鈥檚 four seasons, failing to reach the postseason. His coaching tenure included leading the Lobos through the unprecedented 2020-21 season, during which state health protocols in response to the COVID-19 pandemic prevented the team from practicing or playing games in New Mexico. The tumultuous season ended with UNM going 6-16 and Weir being fired.
While he was coaching UNM, Weir was also a student at NMSU, successfully defending his doctoral dissertation for his Ph.D. in educational leadership in 2019.
His wife, Alma, is a native New Mexican and an NMSU graduate.
Following his stints as a head basketball coach, Weir moved into athletic administration. He was the athletic director at Eastern New Mexico University from July 2021 to December 2023.
