New Mexico State AD McKinley Boston Stepping Down At End Of The Year

New Mexico State announced today athletic director McKinley Boston has had his employment agreement extended to Dec. 31, when he will then step down after 10 years leading the NMSU athletic department.

Boston had been retained on a year-by-year basis, but it seems the school would like to bring in a candidate on a multi-year agreement with the search beginning right away.

The financial state of the athletic department played into the administration's decision.

Garrey Carruthers: The change of direction is a result of the financial condition of the athletic program and and the need to improve it

— Jason Groves (@JPGroves) August 21, 2014

Boston took over the New Mexico State athletic department in 2004, shortly before the school made the transition into the Western Athletic Conference. Boston presided over New Mexico State's move to independence last season and its move back into the Sun Belt as a football only member. New Mexico State has made it no secret it would like to be an all sports member of the Sun Belt, but Boston hadn't been able to make that happen.

He made the move to hire UCLA defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker as head coach in 2009, but saw only 10 wins over the next four seasons, replacing him with Doug Martin when Walker decided to resign to become an assistant with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The football program hasn't won more than four games in a single season over the last decade.

Boston's biggest success in athletic competition has been with the men's basketball program, hiring Marvin Menzies after the departure of Reggie Theus. New Mexico State has made the NCAA Tournament five times under Boston's watch, and is the overwhelming favorite in the WAC this season.