Basketball has always played an important role in Bob Porter’s life. He played for Hatch Valley High School then at New Mexico State University under Coach George McCarty from 1948 to 1951. Porter ’51 ’56 earned his bachelor’s degree in agronomy. In fact, he says with pride, all the members of his team earned their degrees.

After a stint in the military, he returned to Las Cruces and NMSU intent on earning a master’s degree, also in agriculture. However, his new job with the Doña Ana County Farm Bureau made it impossible to work full time and complete a master’s in that field. He didn’t want to waste the semester he had completed so he found an evening program in counseling psychology through NMSU’s College of Education.

While he never did teach, the degree proved useful during his 40-year career with the New Mexico Farm Bureau organization, the last 15 as its CEO. He also was an active member of the NMSU Alumni Association, serving as president from 1975-1976 and remains a loyal Aggie athletics booster. In fact, Porter, along with his daughter Brenda ’83 ’87, created a first-of-its-kind endowment to support the point guard position on the Aggie men’s basketball team.

Porter kept playing basketball in 3-on-3 groups and added golf to his sport repertoire. Several years ago he got involved with the Senior Olympics. He competed in the 3-on-3 games until he decided he was “just too old” for that and now focuses on free throw and 3-point shooting events, as well as golf, which he has enjoyed several times a week since he retired in 1995.

Porter says shooting free throws is like riding a bicycle. It is a skill that, once mastered, can be refreshed with a little practice in the weeks before competition begins.

Another highlight for Porter is the annual Homecoming gathering he and other members of his Aggie basketball team have with Coach McCarty.

“There aren’t too many of us left, but McCarty (who is now 95 and lives in Texas) is already making plans for this year’s event. We’ll have a good time,” Porter says.