JT Keith

Artesia Daily Press

jtkeith@elritomedia.com

Dusty Young’s ascension to New Mexico Activities Association executive director was 18 years in the making.

Young was a former baseball player for the University of New Mexico and played for the then Florida (now Miami) Marlins organization for three years, but never advanced above Class A.

Young was offered a job by Mario Martinez, then an associate director at the New Mexico Activities Association (NMAA).

In March 2006, Young was hired as the NMAA’s operations manager and worked his way up the corporate ladder. On November 1, 2024, he took over for the retiring Sally Marquez, who had served as executive director since September 2012.

In response to questions from the Artesia Daily Press, Young talked about the changes the NMMA is considering for the upcoming calendar.

What is one of the biggest concerns regarding the NMAA in the upcoming athletic calendar?

We are going to place a heavy emphasis on sportsmanship. We have been hitting it hard since we came out of COVID.

We have been working hard in our office (NMAA) and in schools and districts across the state to change that culture.

Why the perceived harsh punishment for bad sportsmanship?

Adverse incident reports from around the state, especially with severe and egregious acts and conduct, led to significant bylaw changes with a potential 365-day ban for negative behavior or multigame suspensions.

But also the two-strike policies that we implemented; those are two significant policy changes we made at the state and NMAA levels. We are trying to work with our schools to promote and model sportsmanship.

Are there any changes to the transfer eligibility rules?

There is nothing specific to the transfer eligibility rule. We are currently working on conducting a full handbook review of the bylaws, which we have not done in about 15 years.

Have you considered putting in a shot clock for boys’ and girls’ basketball?

The shot clock has been a topic of discussion for several years now, ever since the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFSHSA) allowed states to adopt that.

We have not received a heavy push from our membership to make that change. I know there are a lot of coaches and athletic directors in favor of the concept of a shot clock.

Have you faced NIL yet, and what are your thoughts about it?

It is something that our membership is looking at. NIL is a hot topic nationwide.

Here at the high school level, our bylaws are straightforward. Students can earn money for Name, Image, and Likeness; it just can’t be associated with the school or the New Mexico Activities Association.

What does that mean?

We have amateur status. If a student earns money from a TikTok post because they are an influencer, it is up to them to benefit from their name, image and likeness.

We just can’t cross over into the high school sports space, so if they are trying to do something in their school uniform or at the NMAA state basketball championships–that is where the line is drawn.

If it is on their own, with their name, image and likeness, then that is OK.

Can you provide best practices regarding gender-related concerns involving participation in sports?

For several years, our policy has been that students must participate as the gender listed on their birth certificate.

What is the status of realignment?

That is always a constant with NMAA. That comes up every two years; we are in that year as we speak.

We will vote on the 2026-2028 classification and alignment structure in December.

That means that our staff is already working on it. I have been compiling numbers for our counts for this current school year. Those numbers are used to calculate the average enrollment and place schools in each classification.

We must wait until we get the 40-day count for the next school year before finalizing that three-year average.

Are there any new sports on the horizon?

Nothing new. We have 14 sports and 23 activities that the NMAA sanctions. We want to ensure that we can support our kids.

jtkeith can be reached at 575-420-0061 or X@JTKEITH1.