Lovington, New Mexico

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Lovington, New Mexico
settlement_type = City
nickname =
motto =

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mapsize = 250px
map_caption = Location of Lovington, New Mexico


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subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = United States
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_name1 = New Mexico
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name2 = Lea
government_footnotes =
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leader_title =
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unit_pref = Imperial
area_footnotes =

area_magnitude =
area_total_km2 = 12.4
area_land_km2 = 12.4
area_water_km2 = 0.0
area_total_sq_mi = 4.8
area_land_sq_mi = 4.8
area_water_sq_mi = 0.0

population_as_of = 2000
population_footnotes =
population_total = 9471
population_density_km2 = 765.9
population_density_sq_mi = 1983.6

timezone = Mountain (MST)
utc_offset = -7
timezone_DST = MDT
utc_offset_DST = -6
elevation_footnotes =
elevation_m = 1192
elevation_ft = 3911
latd = 32 |latm = 56 |lats = 47 |latNS = N
longd = 103 |longm = 21 |longs = 13 |longEW = W

postal_code_type = ZIP code
postal_code = 88260
area_code = 575
blank_name = FIPS code
blank_info = 35-44490
blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
blank1_info = 0899742
website =
footnotes =

Lovington is a city in and the county seat of Lea County, New Mexico, United States.GR|6 The population was 9,471 at the 2000 census.

Geography

Lovington is located at coor dms|32|56|47|N|103|21|13|W|city (32.946459, -103.353618)GR|1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.8 square miles (12.4 km²), of which, 4.8 square miles (12.4 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.42%) is water.

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 9,471 people, 3,297 households, and 2,459 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,983.6 people per square mile (766.6/km²). There were 3,823 housing units at an average density of 800.7/sq mi (309.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 59.85% White, 3.03% African American, 0.78% Native American, 0.48% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 32.74% from other races, and 3.06% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 52.12% of the population.

There were 3,297 households out of which 41.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.0% were married couples living together, 13.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.4% were non-families. 22.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.80 and the average family size was 3.29.

In the city the population was spread out with 31.8% under the age of 18, 10.9% from 18 to 24, 25.8% from 25 to 44, 18.8% from 45 to 64, and 12.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 96.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $26,458, and the median income for a family was $30,064. Males had a median income of $28,547 versus $19,826 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,752. About 20.1% of families and 22.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.1% of those under age 18 and 16.2% of those age 65 or over.

Claim to fame

Lovington is the hometown of star NFL football player Brian Urlacher, who has lived there since early childhood (after having been born in Pasco, Washington).Lovington is also the former home of professional golfers Ronnie Black and Sean Murphy. Paul L. Foster, billionaire philanthropist and President of Western Refining is also formerly from Lovington, as is former Duke University basketball star Taymon Domzalski.

Lovington Wildcats Football State Championships

Lovington High School, whose mascot is the "Wildcats," has the distinction of having won a total of fifteen state championships in football. This achievement is a source of great pride for current and former residents of the city, who faithfully support the blue-and-white Wildcats. The championship years and scores of the championship games are listed below:

1. 1951 ( 4-3-1) Lovington (NMAA point system)

2. 1952 ( 8-1) Lovington (NMAA point system) (Co-champions with Capitan)

3. 1957 ( 6-3) Lovington 20, Raton 6

4. 1958 ( 5-4) Lovington 28, Santa Fe St. Michael's 6

5. 1960 ( 7-2) Lovington 26, Aztec 7

6. 1968 ( 9-2-1) Lovington 13, Aztec 12

7. 1969 ( 9-3) Lovington 46, West Las Vegas 14

8. 1970 ( 9-3-1) Lovington 29, Santa Fe St. Michael's 7

9. 1986 (13-0) Lovington 20, Ruidoso 7

10. 1987 ( 9-3-1) Lovington 0, Artesia 0 (Co-champions)

11. 1990 (12-0) Lovington 13, Bloomfield 7

12. 1995 (14-0) Lovington 24, Silver City 7

13. 2000 (11-3) Lovington 42, Bayard Cobre 7

14. 2001 (13-0) Lovington 59, Las Vegas Robertson 3

15. 2004 ( 8-5) Lovington 40, Santa Fe St. Michael's 14

(see http://www.nmact.org/football_ath)

In addition, the Lovington Wildcats have played in the state championship game on five additional occasions, the last time being 2005. The school is currently classified as Class AAA in New Mexico. Lovington High's fight song utilizes the stirring tune of "Stars and Stripes Forever."

References

External links

[http://lovington.leaco.net/index.htm Lovington, New Mexico Economic Development]