Belen schools athletic coordinator resigns after less than a year

Belen families whose children depend on school sports are facing another athletic department transition after Jim Collins resigned as Belen Consolidated Schools’ athletic coordinator, a role that helps drive schedules, eligibility, staffing and transportation across the district.

Collins, 64, had been hired in 2025 and had been on the job for less than a year when he stepped down. He said the decision was tied to family and a desire to move closer to his children. Collins and his wife, Christi, came to Belen from North Carolina, and they now plan to relocate to Tennessee. He said he intends to return to teaching and coaching rather than leave education altogether.

The resignation matters because the athletic coordinator sits at the center of day-to-day program operations. Belen Consolidated Schools’ 2025-2026 Athletic Handbook says the athletic department depends on clear rules and coordination among students, coaches, teachers, administrators and parents. In practice, that means one person often helps keep games on schedule, tracks eligibility issues, supports coaches and makes sure information moves cleanly between schools and families.

The timing also adds another layer of uncertainty for Belen High School athletics. The school’s public staff directory still listed Collins as athletic coordinator, underscoring how recently the transition developed and how quickly district materials may need to catch up. For parents and student-athletes preparing for upcoming seasons, that can matter as much as any personnel change in the classroom, because a delayed handoff can ripple into off-season planning, transportation and communication with coaches.

Collins had already been visible in the role during a separate girls basketball coaching dispute in April, when he said the district was “moving forward with the application process” after a coach resigned. That placed him in the middle of a personnel decision before his own departure became public, and it highlighted how central the coordinator’s job is to keeping Belen athletics moving. His exit leaves another gap in a district where extracurricular programs are a major part of school life and where continuity in leadership affects more than one team at a time.