It’s the many fond memories of following University of New Mexico sports teams that led Norman Burns to accept the responsibility of organizing a Rio Rancho/Sandoval County Lobo Club.

He emceed the recent Lobo Country Tour that stopped at Chamisa Hills Country Club on June 22, when several UNM coaches, including men’s basketball coach Steve Alford and first-year football coach Mike Locksley, and athletic director Paul Krebs thanked the city for its support and encouraged more participation at Lobos games.

Also highlighted were the Lobos’ success across the board for the 2008-09 school year, which included 24 All-Americans, nine Mountain West Conference Players of the Year and five Academic All-Americans.

It'd be hard to find anyone who's more in tune with the exploits of UNM athletic teams than Rio Rancho's Norman Burns.

Burns likes sports but he knows there’s more to being a Lobo Club member than that; the accolades mentioned attest to that.

“I first joined the Lobo Club two years ago,” Burns said. “I wanted to support the coaches and teams more than what I was doing.”

What Burns “was doing” was going to games with his wife, Sylvia, and their grown children, still big-time sports fans.

Burns, who has lived in Rio Rancho for nine years, recalled being a youngster and watching the great Adolph Plummer run track, basketball games in Johnson Gym, the success of basketball coach Bob King and football contests at Zimmerman Field.

Among his more-recent memories was the joy of seeing the Lobos win the New Mexico Bowl in 2007. He’s still disappointed the Lobos took so long to win a Mountain West Conference men’s basketball title, albeit shared, a few months ago.

Burns graduated Valley High, Class of 1961, and attended the College of St. Joseph’s for one year before being drafted.

The Vietnam War was starting to gear up, but Burns didn’t find himself wading through a delta.

“Thanks to God for my mom’s prayers,” he says now. “I spent two years in Texas.”

Yes, he laughed, that’s probably worse than ’Nam.

“I spent two years in Texas. I got out (of the army), came back to Albuquerque and met my wife of 42 years (in 1968),” he said. Their first date was spent at a Lobo football game, he recalled — and she married him anyway.

For 38 years, Burns worked for Cardinal Health, a drug wholesaler, retiring four years ago.

Burns was overjoyed when the UNM women’s basketball team played three of its four Women’s National Invitational Basketball Tournament gamers in “his backyard,” Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho.

The reception afforded the Lobos by Burns and thousands of other Rio Ranchoans showed UNM officials the city is enamored with the Cherry and Silver, and it’s been rumored more women’s basketball games will be played out here, mostly because of renovations ongoing at The Pit.

Burns, who said the Rio Rancho/Sandoval County Lobo Club’s main function is to raise money to go for athletic scholarships, will meet quarterly at a location yet to be determined.

He welcomes calls from potential new members at 962-0358.

Lobo Lowdown: The new Lobo Club is hosting the Lobo-Aggie Golf Challenge — Lobo fans vs. Aggie fans — at CHCC on Sept. 25, the day before the schools’ football teams meet at University Stadium for their annual rivalry game. Entry fee for the two-man scramble team format is $150 per golfer, and $125 per golfer for four-man scramble teams. Call Burns or Joe Cordova (366-4218) for more information.

… It’s possible bus rides to UNM football games will be available this fall, depending on the interest from Sandoval County and Rio Rancho fans. “Leave the driving to us,” Burns joked.

… Youngsters may be interested in the Junior Lobos Kids Club, which costs $25 to join. See GoLobos.com for more information on that club, for kids in eighth grade and younger.