Rio Rancho High names Anthony Lovato as next athletic director

Rio Rancho High School has tapped Anthony Lovato to lead one of New Mexico’s most successful athletic programs, a move that puts the future of the Rams’ coaches, facilities and student-athlete support squarely in his hands.

Rio Rancho Public Schools announced Lovato as the school’s next athletic director on May 1. Lovato, 45, is currently principal at Atrisco Heritage Academy in Albuquerque Public Schools and will finish the school year before taking over in early July. District Athletic Director Todd Resch said Lovato brings experience, passion and a strong commitment to student-athletes, and he will inherit a program with deep expectations on and off the field.

Lovato arrives with a background that fits the job closely. He was a Rio Grande High athlete, later coached baseball as a head coach at Highland and Atrisco Heritage, and spent roughly a dozen years as an administrator at the elementary, middle school and high school levels. He also played baseball at the University of New Mexico and earned both his bachelor’s degree and master’s degree from New Mexico Highlands University. That combination of classroom leadership, coaching experience and administrative work should matter in a role that affects everything from scheduling and staffing to how smoothly athletes move between academics and competition.

The hire also marks a transition after the death of Sal Gonzales, who died at 51 after a long battle with cancer. Gonzales spent about 18 years at Rio Rancho High School and became one of the most familiar names in the state’s track and cross-country circles. His Rams cross-country teams won state championships in 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2020, and older reporting credits him with 11 state runner-up finishes as a coach. New Mexico Highlands University Athletics said Gonzales helped dozens of runners earn college scholarships, a reminder that his impact reached well beyond trophies.

For Rio Rancho, the job carries outsized importance. The school’s athletics mission emphasizes student development through hard work, sportsmanship, discipline, integrity and teamwork, and its sports program has collected state titles across multiple sports, including boys cross country, baseball, boys basketball and cheer. Lovato steps into a position that will shape how those standards are maintained while the district balances competitive success with access, support and continuity for student-athletes across Sandoval County’s largest high school sports stage.