Rodney Prunty - The Daily Lobo

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REVIEW: ‘EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert’ is a love letter to the King

Rodney Prunty | March 9

“EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert” is a documentary with never - before seen - footage of Elvis Presley’s time and performances in Las Vegas. Released on Feb. 27, the documentary is directed by Baz Luhrmann who also directed Elvis, the biopic of Presley in 2022. Luhrmann once again delivers in his showcasing of the King of Rock and Roll, creating an immersive theater experience. This documentary briefly explores Presley’s earlier years to get straight to the action of how he would go about his performances.The documentary reveals Presley's first practices, then the second practices and finally the live shows he performed in front of sold - out crowds in Las Vegas. Oftentimes in the documentary, I found myself getting sucked into the performances and feeling like I was really one of the audience.

Sports

Men’s Basketball: Lobos win close one against San Diego State

Rodney Prunty | March 2

In front of a sold out home crowd on Saturday, Feb. 28, the Lobo men’s basketball team faced off against San Diego State University Aztecs in a game that went down to the wire, ending in a 81-76 win for the Lobos. The University of New Mexico was led by forward Tomislav Buljan, who had his way with the Aztecs all day. Buljan had a double-double, dropping a team-leading 24 points while grabbing 18 rebounds. Coming off a loss to another Mountain West foe, the University of Nevada, Reno Wolfpack, Lobo Head Coach Eric Olen said every game near the end of the season is important.

Sports

Tajavis Miller: born to be an athlete

Rodney Prunty | February 16

Tajavis Miller comes from a family of athletes; his mother played softball at the University of Iowa and his father played football at Iowa Wesleyan University. Miller grew up in different places. He was born in Georgia and lived there until he was six, when he moved to North Dakota, then Iowa, then California and finally to Texas when he was a sophomore and finished high school there. Miller moved around a lot due to his mother coaching softball for different schools including North Dakota State University, Iowa State University, Loyola Marymount University and Texas Tech University. His mother currently coaches at East Texas A&M University.

Sports

Destinee Hooks: Lobo and leader

Rodney Prunty | February 16

Since joining the team in 2024, Lobo guard Destinee Hooks has been an impactful starter for the University of New Mexico. Hooks grew up in Indiana in a predominantly white neighborhood with two older brothers. Hooks was very active as a child, wanting to do everything her older brothers did, and because of that she was able to find her passion for the game of basketball. “My family has always inspired me since I was little, my mom has the best work ethic that I’ve seen, she wakes up early, goes to work, comes back home and does everything she needs to do at home, takes care of us, and supports us and it’s really inspiring,” Hooks said. “My brothers also have a crazy work ethic as well, so if I can get (an) opportunity to make it to the league in a couple of years and retire my family that would be a big blessing.”

Sports

Women’s Basketball: Broncos rattle Lobos in Boise

Rodney Prunty | February 9

The Lobos women’s basketball team took a trip up to Boise, Idaho, for a much anticipated matchup against the Boise State University Broncos. Coming into the game on Saturday, Feb. 7, both teams were riding high as they sparked up winning streaks with the Lobos’ four straight games and the Broncos’ eight. Adding to the game’s suspense, the last time these two teams met up, the University of New Mexico handled business at The Pit, defeating Boise State 70-63 in December 2025. In a game that had the making of a heavy weight bout between two Mountain West foes, it resembled more of a one-sided affair as the Broncos knocked down the Lobos 63-35.

Sports

Brian Hosfeld takes reins as Lobo volleyball head coach

Rodney Prunty | January 19

On Dec. 3, 2025 the University of New Mexico and volleyball Head Coach Jon Newman-Gonchar mutually decided to go their separate ways. It didnu2019t take the Lobos long to find his replacement, as on Dec. 21, 2025, UNM announced Brian Hosfeld as their new volleyball head coach. With the hiring, Hosfeld is now the 11th coach in the programu2019s history.u00a0 Newman-Gonchar spent the past six years as the Lobos volleyball head coach, and was able to amass a 97-94 record at the helm. This past season, the Lobos went 13-16, with thirteen of those 16 losses coming within the Mountain West conference. u00a0

Sports

UNM falls in OT against Minnesota in Rate Bowl, 20-17

Rodney Prunty | December 27

On Friday, Dec. 26, the University of New Mexico Lobo football team entered Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona, looking to earn their fifth bowl game victory in program history against the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers in the Rate Bowl. However, that victory did not come, as the Golden Gophers sent the Lobos back to Albuquerque empty-handed, as UNM fell short in a 20-17 overtime loss. The Lobo defense was the driving force keeping UNM in the game, holding Minnesota’s offense to 252 total yards and recovering a fumble off a botched snap, while also sacking Minnesota Quarterback Drake Lindsey three times.

Sports

Lobos are bowling in Phoenix, hope to have fans cheer them on

Rodney Prunty | December 17

The University of New Mexico Lobos football team will be headed to Phoenix, Arizona to face off against the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers in the Rate Bowl on Friday, Dec. 26. This will be the team's first bowl game since 2016, and the first time they travel out of state for a bowl game since 2004, when they faced the Midshipmen of the United States Naval Academy in the Emerald Bowl. Head Coach Jason Eck is the only first-year head coach to make a bowl game in Lobo history, and has also led a push to increase Lobo football attendance, consistently challenging fans to come out to games, leading to a 51.2% increase in average attendance since last season. Eck is asking fans to show up once again, stating in a video on social media that the team needs “10 thousand Lobos there” to cheer them on.

News

REVIEW: The Long Walk (2025), an adaptation done right

Rodney Prunty | December 9

The plot of “The Long Walk” is simple: a group of boys volunteer to do a long walk. But on this walk, if they stop walking, they die.The last boy walking wins prize money and a wish. This movie is not a traditional horror movie with jumpscares and a big villain; instead it is a psychological horror thriller. Despite the plot being simple, the movie itself is stellar — and a huge part of that is the cast. Most of this movie is characters walking and talking while trying to survive. This could be a very boring concept for a movie, but the cast of “The Long Walk” does a tremendous job connecting us with the characters and keeping the audience interested.

Sports

Eck signs extension, Lobo fans give high praise

Rodney Prunty | December 5

On Sunday, Nov. 30, the University of New Mexico announced that football Head Coach Jason Eck signed a new five-year deal that will keep him under contract through 2030. The deal includes $400,000 in guaranteed base pay, $575,000 for media participation and another $575,000 for program promotion, totaling $1.55 million for the first year of the contract and increasing $100,000 each following year. The deal also adds incentives for total wins, wins over Power 4 schools and ranked opponents, along with increasing incentives tied to conference championship wins and appearances.