Hines Legacy Endowment Fund supports Aggie athletics

The Hines name stands as one of the most recognizable – and influential – across all of Aggie athletics’ history. In fall 2020 the Hines Legacy Endowment Fund was launched to focus on the contributions the Hines family has imparted to Aggie athletics for nearly a century.

Created to honor the Hines family legacy, which includes numerous NMSU graduates, decades of financial support as well as a former director of athletics and head coach Jerry Hines ’26, the Hines Legacy Endowment Fund seeks to highlight the relationship between the Hines family and NMSU.

Hines, a former Aggie student-athlete, was an all-conference winner on the Aggies’ football and men’s basketball teams from 1922-1926. Hines went on to coach the football and men’s basketball squads and helped the Aggies capture three Border Conference titles on the hardwood from 1937-1939 and another Border Conference crown on the gridiron in 1938.

While annual athletics fundraising has improved dramatically in recent years, the Aggies are far behind their peers in establishing athletic endowed funds.

All donations collected for the Hines Legacy Endowment Fund will be utilized for recruitment of student-athletes as well as to meet critical needs for Aggie athletics as identified by the current director of athletics on an ongoing and annual basis.

“Aggie Nation is grateful for the entire Hines family, and specifically Walt and Bettie Hines, for their emotional and financial support of Aggie athletics throughout the years,” says Mario Moccia, director of athletics. “The Hines Legacy Endowment Fund will support all Aggie student-athletes and each of our 16 athletic programs in perpetuity.”

Jerry Hines’ philanthropic efforts centering around Aggie athletics were another part of his rich legacy. In the late 1940s, he spearheaded the funding drive for the original Aggie Memorial Stadium and also started the degreed physical education program around that time.

His son, Walt Hines ’66 ’67, who passed away in May 2021, followed in his father’s footsteps as an ardent supporter of Aggie athletics to go along with his other roles at NMSU. Walt Hines was bestowed with the James F. Cole Award for Service in 1999 and was named a distinguished alumnus of the College of Engineering in 2000. He also served on the Engineering Dean’s Council from 2004-2010 and was a member of the Circle of Excellence for NMSU’s Honors College from 2015-2019.

Formally announced by Aggie athletics in November 2020, the Hines Legacy Endowment Fund was launched just ahead of NMSU’s 2020 Giving Tuesday event. All funds raised up to $20,000 for the Hines Legacy Endowment Fund on Giving Tuesday were matched by Walt and Bettie Hines.

Jerry Hines (far right) coached both the Aggie men's basketball and football teams after playing on both squads as a student-athlete. He led the 1939 team to the Border Conference title.

Bettie and Walt Hines started the Hines Legacy Endowment Fund, which was launched during NMSU's Giving Tuesday in 2020.

Walt's parents, Nona and Jerry Hines, started the family's philanthropic work to support the Aggies.