Alamogordo NM
10-10-2026 12:10am

Gary "Silver Fox" Hveem, Alamogordo's winningest football coach, dies at 86

Alamogordo N. M. - Gary Hveem, the winningest and longest-tenured head football coach in Alamogordo High School history, died this week after battling an undisclosed illness. He was 86.

Known in Alamogordo as the "Silver Fox," Hveem spent 44 years as a teacher, coach and athletic director. He led the Tigers for ten seasons, 1976 through 1985, winning about 70 percent of his games. The Alamogordo Tiger Football Program announced his passing "with heavy hearts," remembering a coach who left a lasting mark on the players, coaches and community he served.

The road to Alamogordo

A native of Osage, Iowa, Hveem earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Northern Iowa and a master's from the University of Missouri. He first came to New Mexico in 1971 as offensive coordinator at Eastern New Mexico University, then returned home as head coach at Central High School in Waterloo, Iowa. Tom Forni, a former Eastern colleague then coaching at Carlsbad, kept him posted on New Mexico openings. When the Tiger job came open, Hveem applied.

He assembled a new staff and set about rebuilding the program, bringing a stability it had lacked for decades. He also reached out to the community, writing a weekly guest column in the Alamogordo News, "A Sporting Glance," that answered questions from parents of prospective players.

Building a contender

By 1979 his Tigers were ranked No. 1 in the state early in the season, with Bob Sepulveda, Curtis Fortney, Tom Jones and Gregg Martin on his staff. Quarterback Todd Hveem, his son, set the school's season passing record that fall. When a district vote left Alamogordo out of the playoffs after a three-way tie, Hveem publicly challenged the process and pushed for a statistical tiebreaker.

His 100th career win came in November 1980, a 41-12 victory over Las Cruces at Aggie Memorial Stadium. In 1981, a 54-8 homecoming rout of Las Cruces clinched the program's first district title in 36 years, and a 14-0 win over Santa Fe sent the Tigers to the state semifinals. In 1982 they reached the Class AAAA final, falling to Clovis 20-7.

The 1985 season

The 1985 Tigers finished 10-0 with a 32-16 win over Roswell, the first and only regular season without a loss or tie in school history. At quarterback was junior Greg Stephens, whom Sepulveda had persuaded a skeptical Hveem to try.

Alamogordo shut out Del Norte 28-0 and beat Highland 28-6 in the playoffs. The title game was Hveem's 200th as a head coach. More than 10,000 fans watched the Tigers take a 12-9 halftime lead before Clovis pulled away, 36-12. "The best team may have won today, but not the best guys," he told his players.

It was his last game on the Tiger sideline. In May 1986 the Alamogordo Daily News reported he was resigning to become an assistant director of the New Mexico Activities Association, chosen over some 60 other applicants. "Tiger football is not dependent on any one person," he said on his way out.

Administrator in two states

Hveem later returned to Iowa, where his work at Iowa City High School earned him Athletic Director of the Year honors in 1995. In 1996 he became the first athletic director of Rio Rancho Public Schools, building a program from scratch in a district that had been K-8. By his retirement in 2007, Rio Rancho High had won state titles in six sports. He was inducted into the district's Hall of Honor in 2023, and the school's press box bears his name. Longtime Rams volleyball coach Toby Manzanares called him "the visionary architect of the school's athletic program."

Honored at home

Alamogordo did not forget him. The Otero County Commission proclaimed September 4, 2021, "Coach Gary Hveem Day." That evening, a celebration at Roadrunner Emporium on New York Avenue hosted by journalist and sports historian, Chris Edwards, honored Hveem and Sepulveda as the school's winningest football and track and field coaches. It also launched a book available on Amazon, Coach Bob Sepulveda: The Hveem Years, written by Chris Edwards and Rene Sepulveda.

The two coaches remained close friends for life and spoke often, up until recent weeks. Sepulveda remembered Hveem as one of the greatest coaches he knew and one of the dearest friends he and his late wife, Marilyn, ever had. He said Hveem's commitment to student achievement will be remembered for generations.

Hveem is survived by Fran, his wife of 65 years, whom he met in kindergarten, and four children: Todd, Stephanie, Jennifer and Joshua. Funeral services are pending. He will be laid to rest in his hometown of Osage.

Sources (in addition to the proclamation, flyers and Daily News: 

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