Over the years, many brilliant Black athletes have worn the University of New Mexico’s cherry and silver colors. From basketball to track and field, each player has left an indelible mark on the University’s history and put UNM Athletics on national stages. From winning national titles to setting records in their sports, everyone has a unique story.
Here are five Black athletes who hit it out of the park during and after their time at UNM.
Ira Harge
When Ira Harge joined the Lobo basketball team in 1962, he was the tallest player to ever don a Lobo uniform at 6 feet 9 inches, according to UNM Athletics. Harge helped the team beat both New York University and Drake University during the 1963-64 season. Over the course of two seasons, Harge scored over 1,000 points for the Lobos.
Harge averaged 18.8 points and 11.8 rebounds during his time with the Lobos. He was drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers but chose to play for the American Basketball Association, winning the ABA championship in 1968 with the Oakland Oaks, according to UNM Athletics. Harge was inducted into the UNM Athletics Hall of Honor in 1993.
Pamela Kosgei
Pamela Kosgei entered the cross-country scene as a freshman in 2024 with an impressive record. Kosgei took third place in the U20 Cross Country Championships in 2023 and was a Kenyan national champion for the 3,000-meter steeplechase, according to UNM Athletics. With this time, she ranked third in the NCAA’s Outdoor Performance list — first if accounting for elevation conversions, according to UNM Athletics.
Since joining UNM cross-country, Kosgei has become a Mountain West 2024 cross country champion, Mountain West 5,000-meter record holder and NCAA cross country runner-up. Kosgei was most recently named one of four finalists for the Honda Sport Award, which recognizes athletes at the top of their game in collegiate sports.
Chuck Roberts
One of the first Black athletes to receive a UNM football scholarship, Roberts played football from 1956-59, according to UNM Athletics. He then signed a free agent contract with the Los Angeles Rams. Due to a knee injury, he was not able to play and instead entered the education field.
Roberts served as the UNM dean of students, where he was a key player in the creation of the Black Studies program — now known as the Africana Studies department — according to UNM Athletics. While playing football as a Lobo, Roberts set records for interceptions and single-season touchdowns. He also participated in the UNM Black Alumni Chapter Oral History Project in 2016.
Weini Kelati
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A Virginia native, Weini Kelati competed in cross country as a Lobo 2017-20 and made groundbreaking accomplishments in the process. She became the most decorated All-American athlete in UNM history with 13 All-America honors, according to UNM Athletics and was the Honda Sports Award winner in 2019 for cross-country.
Kelati broke the Mountain West cross-country record by 26 seconds in 2019, with a time of 19:11.2. She won her first Mountain West individual title in 2018 and went on to become the Mountain West Women’s Conference Athlete of the Year twice in a row. With Kelati on the team, UNM won its second NCAA Cross Country championship in 2017, according to UNM Athletics.
After her time at UNM, Kelati went pro, signing with the Dark Sky Distance Team and competing in Olympic trials in Eugene, according to NBC Sports, where she won the 10,000 meter last June with a time of 31:41.07.
Don Perkins
One of the most well-known players to wear a Lobo football uniform — and the last player to wear #43 — Don Perkins is a legend in the UNM community. Playing for UNM from 1957-59, Perkins went on to play fullback for the Dallas Cowboys, running 6,217 yards during his eight seasons with the team, according to the Dallas Cowboys.
He was named the NFL’s Rookie of the Year in 1961, according to the Texas Sports Hall of Fame. During his time at UNM, Perkins was a three-year letterman, recording 3,466 all-purpose yards, and taking first in the U.S. for kickoff returns, according to UNM Athletics. Don Perkins died in 2022 but will forever be a powerhouse at UNM.
Maria Fernandez is a beat reporter and photographer for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on X @dailylobo
