A former New Mexico Highlands University athletic director has filed a new lawsuit accusing the state-owned school in Las Vegas, N.M., of harassment, discrimination and retaliation based on race, religion and sex.
The federal complaint, filed May 21 in the U.S. District Court for New Mexico, is the latest in a series of problems that have shaken the school in recent weeks.
Former Highlands athletic director Shanna Halalilo paints a troubling picture of the campus culture in her lawsuit, alleging university administrators disregarded reports of sexual harassment, favored members of a particular religious group, attempted to impose gendered pay gaps, and overlooked romantic relationships between student athletes and their coaches.
“Every significant NMHU decisionmaker since [former President Sam] Minner appeared to discount Ms. Halalilo’s voice, issues, and ability based on her gender,” the complaint states.
Halalilo seeks back pay for any underpaid wages, compensation for emotional distress, interest and attorney’s fees, as well as compensatory and punitive damages.
Highlands general counsel Doajo Hicks declined to comment on the lawsuit’s allegations Wednesday, citing pending litigation.
“The complaint sets out allegations that have not been tested or proven, and the University will respond to them through the court process,” he wrote in an email to The New Mexican. “The University respectfully [declines] to address the specific claims outside of that process.”
Hicks added, “The University remains committed to providing a workplace and educational environment free from discrimination, harassment, and retaliation, and to complying with all applicable laws, including Title IX and Title VII.”
Trent Howell, an attorney representing Halalilo, declined to comment on the case when reached by The New Mexican on Wednesday.
The lawsuit is the latest development in a turbulent few months at Highlands. University regents in early June officially fired President Neil Woolf, about a month after he was placed on administrative leave.
Woolf’s departure was the first in a wave of high-level dismissals that also resulted in the removal of Highlands’ provost, several vice presidents and the men’s basketball coach. The leadership changes have prompted a special audit from the state auditor and a mandatory corrective action plan from the New Mexico Higher Education Department.
Explanations for the administrative upheaval vary depending on who’s telling the story.
Woolf has filed his own lawsuit against the university, alleging his dismissal was in retaliation for his refusal to redirect a construction contract to a local firm with ties to a regent and a local politician.
In a letter to the New Mexico Office of the State Auditor, however, the regents accuse Woolf of improper hiring and procurement practices, financial mismanagement and retaliation against university employees, among other misconduct — claims an attorney for the former university president has disputed.
Initially hired in 2018 as an assistant women’s basketball coach, Halalilo rose through the ranks of Highlands athletics over several seasons. She became a student-athlete success coordinator, then associate athletic director, then co-athletic director. She was named sole athletic director in early 2025, The New Mexican reported previously.
By May 2025, however, Halalilo and the school had parted ways, with both parties initially mum on the reason for the split.
Halalilo alleges in the complaint her termination was the result of discrimination and retaliation by Highlands’ leaders.
After reporting she had faced sexual harassment and unwanted advances from senior officials at Highlands, Halalilo alleges, university administrators “laughed off” her accounts and left her in a “prolonged hostile environment, eroding her health and performance.”
Halalilo also raised concerns about the university’s policies against sex discrimination and inappropriate fraternization, according to the complaint. Weeks before her termination, she denied a raise to a coach for failing to adhere to anti-fraternization reporting protocols, after the coach’s staff had romantic relationships with student athletes they coached, the complaint states. It alleges Highlands “embraced a culture of non-compliance” surrounding anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policies.
Halalilo’s lawsuit accuses the school of discriminating against her because she is not a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Woolf, a member of what’s widely known as the Mormon church, conferred with other members of the church while deciding to terminate Halalilo, she alleges.
The accusation is similar to one that appears in the regents’ letter to the state auditor, in which they claim Woolf created new positions for and preferentially hired people associated with the Mormon church.
And finally, the complaint alleges Highlands violated New Mexico’s Fair Pay for Women Act. The university’s initial compensation scheme for Halalilo and a male co-athletic director proposed a salary of $105,000 for him and a $85,000 salary for her, she claims, though it was later scrapped in favor of an equal rate.
Once the university reconsolidated two co-athletic directors back into a single role, however, “NMHU did not compensate Ms. Halalilo for anything close to the combined salaries of the two prior” co-athletic directors.
Halalilo says she was terminated shortly after advocating for higher pay to assume the responsibilities of both co-athletic directors.
