Rocky_Mountain_Athletic_Conference

Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference
Formerly	Colorado Faculty Athletic Conference (1909–1910); Rocky Mountain Faculty Athletic Conference (1910–1967)
Association	NCAA
Founded	1909
Commissioner	Chris Graham (since 2013)
Sports fielded	22 men's: 11; women's: 11; ;
Division	Division II
No. of teams	15
Headquarters	Colorado Springs, Colorado
Region	Mountain States and Great Plains
Official website	rmacsports.org
Locations

Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference

Collegiate athletic conference in the western United States

The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC), commonly known as the Rocky Mountain Conference (RMC) from approximately 1910 through the late 1960s, is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level, which operates in the western United States. Most member schools are in Colorado, with additional members in Nebraska, New Mexico, South Dakota, and Utah.

Quick Facts Formerly, Association ...

History

Founded in 1909, the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference is the fifth oldest active college athletic conference in the United States, the oldest in NCAA Division II, and the sixth to be founded after the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association, the Big Ten Conference, the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association, the Ohio Athletic Conference, and the Missouri Valley Conference. For its first 30 years, the RMAC was considered a major conference, equivalent to today's NCAA Division I, before seven of its larger members left in 1938 to form the Mountain States Conference, also called the Skyline Conference.

The original name of Colorado Faculty Athletic Conference was changed to Rocky Mountain Faculty Athletic Conference (RMFAC) on May 7, 1910. The presidents assumed control of the league from the faculty in 1967 and changed the name to Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. The Colorado Athletic Conference dissolved in 1996, with the RMAC absorbing the remaining CAC teams. The RMAC became an NCAA member in 1992 after competing in the NAIA through 1991.^[1]^[2]

Timeline

Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Member Locations

300km
200miles

MSU Denver

Westminster

New Mexico
Highlands

Black Hills State

South Dakota Mines

Chadron State

Colorado Mines

CSU Pueblo

UCCS

Adams State

Fort Lewis

Colorado Mesa

Western Colorado

Regis

Colorado Christian

Location of RMAC members:

full member

1909: On 6 March 1909, the Colorado Faculty Athletic Conference was formed. The four charter members were: the University of Colorado, Colorado Agricultural College (now Colorado State University), Colorado College, and the Colorado School of Mines.
1910: After its debut season, the league changed its name to the Rocky Mountain Faculty Athletic Conference (RMFAC). The University of Denver and the University of Utah joined the league, but Colorado College dropped out after a falling out with Colorado Mines. Membership was at five schools.
1914: Colorado College re-joined the RMFAC. Utah State University also joined the league to bring membership up to seven.
1917: Montana State University joined the RMFAC as the eighth member.
1918: Brigham Young University (BYU) joined the RMFAC as the ninth member.
1921: The University of Wyoming joined the RMFAC to bring membership up to ten.
1924: Western State College (now Western Colorado University) and the University of Northern Colorado joined the RMFAC, giving membership up to 12 members.
1937: Colorado, Colorado State, Brigham Young, Utah, Utah State, Wyoming, and Denver left the conference to form the Skyline Conference. The five remaining members of the RMFAC were Colorado College, Colorado Mines, Montana State, Northern Colorado, and Western State.
1948: Idaho State University joined the RMFAC as the sixth member.
1956: Adams State College (now Adams State University) joined the RMFAC as the seventh member.
1958: Idaho State left the RMFAC, and membership was brought back down to six.
1959: Montana State left the RMFAC, and membership was brought back down to five.
1967: The RMFAC changed its name to the current Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC). Eleven schools joined the conference in 1967. They were: Emporia State University, Fort Hays State University, Fort Lewis College, the University of Nebraska at Omaha (now athletically branded as Omaha), Pittsburg State University, the University of Southern Colorado (now Colorado State University Pueblo), Southern Utah State University (now Southern Utah University), Regis College (now Regis University), Washburn University, Western New Mexico University and Westminster College (now Westminster University) of Utah. Colorado College was not included in this new league. The new league was divided into two divisions: Mountains and Plains.
1968: New Mexico Highlands University joined the RMAC.
1969: New Mexico Highlands left the RMAC due to financial aid restrictions.
1972: For economic reasons, the two divisions were split into two separate conferences. The Mountain Division kept the RMAC name while the Plains Division became known as the Great Plains Athletic Conference. The two allied conferences worked under the name of the Mountain and Plains Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MPIAA). RMAC membership stood at eight with Adams State, Colorado Mines, Fort Lewis, Regis, Southern Utah State, Western New Mexico, Western State, and Westminster. Northern Colorado ended up leaving the association to become independent.
1974: New Mexico Highlands re-joined the RMAC as the ninth member.
1975: Mesa College (now Colorado Mesa University), became the 10th member of the RMAC.
1976: The MPIAA was dissolved for economic reasons, and the two conferences went their separate ways. CSU–Pueblo switched conferences and joined the RMAC as its 11th member.
1978: The RMAC began sponsoring women's championships.
1979: Westminster dropped athletics and, as a result, left the RMAC, leaving the league with ten members.
1983: Regis left the RMAC to become independent, leaving the league with nine teams.
1986: Southern Utah left the RMAC, dropping membership to eight.
1988: New Mexico Highlands withdrew from the conference to shrink the membership to seven schools.
1989: Chadron State College, Kearney State College (now the University of Nebraska at Kearney), and Wayne State College announced intentions to join; Fort Hays State would also re-join the RMAC.
1990: Wayne State and Nebraska–Kearney withdrew their interest in joining the RMAC after staying for one season. Western New Mexico and CSU–Pueblo also announced that they were leaving the RMAC. Fort Lewis announced its intention to leave, however, it stayed on as an associate member of the conference. New Mexico Highlands re-joined the RMAC again.
1992: The RMAC became affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level.
1994: Fort Lewis once again became a full member of the RMAC. Nebraska-Kearney also was voted into membership.
1996: Colorado Christian University and Metropolitan State College of Denver joined the RMAC. Regis and CSU–Pueblo re-joined the league. Also, the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs (now athletically branded as UCCS) and the University of Denver joined the RMAC as an affiliate and associate members, respectively. The RMAC, at that time comprising fourteen schools, was split into two seven-team divisions.
1997:
- Denver left to move up to Division I.
- Colorado-Colorado Springs became a full member.
- San Francisco State University joined the RMAC as an associate member in wrestling only.
2006: Fort Hays State left the RMAC for the MIAA, although it did remain in the RMAC as an associate member in wrestling. Western New Mexico re-joined the conference, keeping membership at 14 schools.
2007:
- Grand Canyon University joined the RMAC as an associate member only in wrestling.
- Montana State University Billings joined the RMAC as an associate member for women's golf and men's and women's tennis.
2008:
- The University of Texas–Permian Basin and the University of the Incarnate Word joined the RMAC as associate members for swimming only.
- Grand Canyon added men's and women's swimming to its RMAC membership.
2009: Northern State University and Minnesota State University Moorhead joined the RMAC as associate members in swimming.
2012:
- Nebraska–Kearney left the RMAC to join the MIAA.
- Black Hills State University moved from the NAIA to NCAA Division II and joined the RMAC to keep the number of full members at 14.
- Fort Hays State wrestling left once the MIAA began sponsoring that sport.
- Minnesota State–Moorhead and Northern State women's swimming left when their full-time home of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference began sponsoring the sport.
2013:
- California Baptist University became an RMAC associate in three sports: men's and women's swimming, plus wrestling.
- Two schools joined for women's lacrosse only: Lindenwood University and Rockhurst University.
- Grand Canyon and Incarnate Word ended their RMAC associate memberships and started transitions to NCAA Division I and the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) & the Southland Conference, respectively.
- UT–Permian Basin moved its swimming teams to the single-sport New South Intercollegiate Swim Conference.
2014: South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (SDSM&T or South Dakota Mines) joined the RMAC.^[3]
2015:
- Westminster (Utah) re-joined the RMAC.^[4]^[5] Rockhurst added men's lacrosse to its RMAC membership.
- Oklahoma Baptist University joined in women's lacrosse, plus men's and women's swimming.
2016:
- Western New Mexico left for the Lone Star Conference, dropping the RMAC's full-time membership to 15.
- Two schools joined as associate members: Dixie State University (now Utah Tech University) in football and Maryville University in men's lacrosse.
2017:
- Maryville men's lacrosse left the RMAC when its primary home of the Great Lakes Valley Conference began sponsoring the sport.
- Oklahoma Christian University became an associate in men's and women's swimming.
2018:
- Dixie State became an all-sports RMAC member.
- California Baptist ended its RMAC associate memberships to move to Division I; both swimming teams joined CBU's new home of the WAC, while wrestling became an independent (that sport would later be accepted by the Big 12 Conference effective in 2022).
- Rockhurst men's lacrosse left the RMAC to join the school's other sports in the GLVC.
- The RMAC dropped men's tennis as a conference sport.
2019:
- Dixie State announced it would leave the RMAC to join Division I and the WAC in 2020.
- Lindenwood and Rockhurst women's lacrosse left the RMAC to join the school's other sports in the GLVC.
- The RMAC dropped women's tennis as a conference sport.
2023:
- The RMAC added women's wrestling as a conference sport, and added Simon Fraser University and Texas Woman's University as inaugural associate members for the sport. Simon Fraser also joined as an associate member for men's wrestling, as well as swimming & diving for both sexes.
- Concordia University Irvine joined as an associate member for men's lacrosse.
2024: Dominican University of California will join as an associate member for men's lacrosse.

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined
Adams State University	Alamosa, Colorado	1921	Public	3,138	Grizzlies	1956
Black Hills State University	Spearfish, South Dakota	1883	Public	3,425	Yellow Jackets	2012
Chadron State College	Chadron, Nebraska	1911	Public	2,250	Eagles	1989
Colorado Christian University	Lakewood, Colorado	1914	Christian (Evangelical)	8,964	Cougars	1996
University of Colorado–Colorado Springs (UCCS)	Colorado Springs, Colorado	1965	Public	11,431	Mountain Lions	1997^{[lower-alpha 1]}
Colorado Mesa University	Grand Junction, Colorado	1925	Public	8,905	Mavericks	1975
Colorado School of Mines (Colorado Mines)	Golden, Colorado	1873	Public	7,408	Orediggers	1909
Colorado State University–Pueblo (CSU Pueblo)	Pueblo, Colorado	1933	Public	6,617	ThunderWolves	1967; 1976; 1996^{[lower-alpha 2]}
Fort Lewis College	Durango, Colorado	1911	Public	3,360	Skyhawks	1967; 1994^{[lower-alpha 3]}
Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU Denver)	Denver, Colorado	1965	Public	16,995	Roadrunners	1996
New Mexico Highlands University	Las Vegas, New Mexico	1893	Public	2,645	Cowboys & Cowgirls	1968; 1974; 1990^{[lower-alpha 4]}
Regis University	Denver, Colorado	1877	Catholic (Jesuit)	4,668	Rangers	1967; 1996^{[lower-alpha 5]}
South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (South Dakota Mines)	Rapid City, South Dakota	1885	Public	2,493	Hardrockers	2014^{[lower-alpha 6]}
Western Colorado University	Gunnison, Colorado	1901	Public	3,551	Mountaineers	1924
Westminster University	Salt Lake City, Utah	1875	Private (Nonsectarian)	1,287	Griffins	1967; 2015^{[lower-alpha 7]}

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined	RMAC sport	Primary conference
Concordia University Irvine	Irvine, California	1976	Lutheran LCMS	2,564	Golden Eagles	2023–24	men's lacrosse	Pacific West (PacWest)
University of Nebraska at Kearney^{[lower-alpha 1]}	Kearney, Nebraska	1905	Public	6,275	Lopers	2014–15	women's swimming & diving	Mid-America (MIAA)
Oklahoma Baptist University	Shawnee, Oklahoma	1910	Baptist	1,510	Bison	2016–17^m.sw. 2016–17^w.sw.	men's swimming & diving; women's swimming & diving	Great American (GAC)
Oklahoma Christian University	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	1950	Churches of Christ	2,213	Eagles & Lady Eagles	2017–18^m.sw. 2017–18^w.sw.	men's swimming & diving; women's swimming & diving	Lone Star (LSC)
San Francisco State University	San Francisco, California	1899	Public	30,155	Gators	1997–98	men's wrestling	California (CCAA)
Simon Fraser University	Burnaby, British Columbia	1965	Public	30,380	Red Leafs	2023–24	men's swimming & diving; women's swimming & diving; men's wrestling; women's wrestling	Great Northwest (GNAC)
Texas Woman's University	Denton, Texas	1901	Public	16,238	Pioneers	2023–24	women's wrestling	Lone Star (LSC)

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined	Left	Current conference
Brigham Young University	Provo, Utah	1875	LDS Church	34,100	Cougars	1918	1938	Big 12^{[lower-alpha 1]}
University of Colorado Boulder	Boulder, Colorado	1876	Public	33,246	Buffaloes	1909	1938	Pacific-12 (Pac-12)^{[lower-alpha 1]}
Colorado College	Colorado Springs, Colorado	1874	Nonsectarian	2,011	Tigers	1909; 1914	1910; 1967^{[lower-alpha 2]}	Southern (SCAC)^{[lower-alpha 3]}
Colorado State University	Fort Collins, Colorado	1870	Public	34,166	Rams	1909	1938	Mountain West^{[lower-alpha 1]}
University of Denver^{[lower-alpha 4]}	Denver, Colorado	1864	Nonsectarian	11,952	Pioneers	1910	1938	Summit^{[lower-alpha 1]}
Emporia State University	Emporia, Kansas	1863	Public	5,887	Hornets	1967	1972	Mid-America (MIAA)
Fort Hays State University^{[lower-alpha 5]}	Hays, Kansas	1902	Public	14,658	Tigers	1967; 1989	1972; 2006^{[lower-alpha 6]}	Mid-America (MIAA)
Idaho State University	Pocatello, Idaho	1901	Public	12,805	Bengals	1948	1958	Big Sky^{[lower-alpha 1]}
Montana State University	Bozeman, Montana	1893	Public	16,766	Bobcats	1917	1959	Big Sky^{[lower-alpha 1]}
University of Nebraska Omaha	Omaha, Nebraska	1908	Public	15,431	Mavericks	1967	1972	Summit^{[lower-alpha 1]}
University of Nebraska at Kearney^{[lower-alpha 7]}	Kearney, Nebraska	1905	Public	7,504	Lopers	1989;^{[lower-alpha 8]} 1994	1990; 2012^{[lower-alpha 9]}	Mid-America (MIAA)
University of Northern Colorado	Greeley, Colorado	1889	Public	12,862	Bears	1924	1972	Big Sky^{[lower-alpha 1]}
Pittsburg State University	Pittsburg, Kansas	1903	Public	7,102	Gorillas	1967	1972	Mid-America (MIAA)
Southern Utah University	Cedar City, Utah	1897	Public	10,196	Thunderbirds	1967	1986	Western (WAC)^{[lower-alpha 1]}
University of Utah	Salt Lake City, Utah	1850	Public	33,000	Utes	1910	1938	Pacific-12 (Pac-12)^{[lower-alpha 1]}
Utah State University	Logan, Utah	1888	Public	27,691	Aggies	1915	1938	Mountain West^{[lower-alpha 1]}
Utah Tech University^{[lower-alpha 10]}^{[lower-alpha 11]}	St. George, Utah	1911	Public	12,650	Trailblazers	2018	2020	Western (WAC)^{[lower-alpha 1]}
Washburn University	Topeka, Kansas	1865	Public	7,971	Ichabods	1967	1972	Mid-America (MIAA)
Wayne State College	Wayne, Nebraska	1910	Public	4,202	Wildcats	1989^{[lower-alpha 8]}	1990	Northern Sun (NSIC)
Western New Mexico University	Silver City, New Mexico	1893	Public	3,820	Mustangs	1967; 2006	1990; 2016^{[lower-alpha 12]}	Lone Star (LSC)
University of Wyoming	Laramie, Wyoming	1886	Public	12,450	Cowboys	1921	1938	Mountain West^{[lower-alpha 1]}

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined	Left	RMAC sport(s)	Primary conference^{[lower-alpha 1]}
California Baptist University	Riverside, California	1950	Baptist	11,491	Lancers	2013–14	2017–18	men's swimming & diving; women's swimming & diving; wrestling	Western (WAC)^{[lower-alpha 2]}^{[lower-alpha 3]}
Grand Canyon University	Phoenix, Arizona	1949	For-profit (Nondenominational)	25,000	Antelopes	2007–08^wr.; 2008–09^m.sw.; 2008–09^w.sw.	2012–13^wr.; 2012–13^m.sw.; 2012–13^w.sw.	wrestling; men's swimming & diving; women's swimming & diving	Western (WAC)^{[lower-alpha 2]}^{[lower-alpha 4]}
University of the Incarnate Word	San Antonio, Texas	1881	Catholic (CCIW)	9,366	Cardinals	2008–09^m.sw.; 2008–09^w.sw.	2012–13^m.sw.; 2012–13^w.sw.	men's swimming & diving; women's swimming & diving	Southland^{[lower-alpha 2]}^{[lower-alpha 5]}
Lindenwood University	St. Charles, Missouri	1827	Presbyterian	4,822	Lions	2013–14^w.lax.; 2014–15^m.sw.; 2014–15^w.sw.	2018–19^w.lax.; 2015–16^m.sw.; 2015–16^w.sw.	women's lacrosse; men's swimming & diving; women's swimming & diving	Ohio Valley (OVC)^{[lower-alpha 2]}^{[lower-alpha 6]}
Maryville University	St. Louis, Missouri	1872	Catholic	5,504	Saints	2016–17	2016–17	men's lacrosse	Great Lakes Valley (GLVC)
Minnesota State University Moorhead	Moorhead, Minnesota	1887	Public	5,547	Dragons	2009–10	2011–12	women's swimming & diving	Northern Sun (NSIC)
Montana State University Billings	Billings, Montana	1927	Public	4,600	Yellowjackets	2007–08^m.ten.; 2007–08^w.ten.	2014–15^m.ten.; 2014–15^w.ten.	men's tennis; women's tennis	Great Northwest (GNAC)^{[lower-alpha 7]}
Northern State University	Aberdeen, South Dakota	1901	Public	3,431	Wolves	2009–10	2011–12	women's swimming & diving	Northern Sun (NSIC)
Oklahoma Baptist University	Shawnee, Oklahoma	1910	Baptist	2,097	Bison	2016–17	2019–20	women's lacrosse	Great American (GAC)^{[lower-alpha 8]}
Rockhurst University	Kansas City, Missouri	1910	Catholic	2,746	Hawks	2013–14^w.lax.; 2015–16^m.lax.	2018–19^w.lax.; 2017–18^m.lax.	women's lacrosse; men's lacrosse	Great Lakes Valley (GLVC)
University of Texas Permian Basin	Odessa, Texas	1973	Public	7,628	Falcons	2008–09^m.sw.; 2008–09^w.sw.	2012–13^m.sw.; 2012–13^w.sw.	men's swimming & diving; women's swimming & diving	Lone Star (LSC)^{[lower-alpha 9]}

Sport	Men's	Women's
Baseball	Y
Basketball	Y	Y
Cross Country	Y	Y
Football	Y
Golf	Y	Y
Lacrosse	Y	Y
Soccer	Y	Y
Softball		Y
Swimming & Diving	Y	Y
Track & Field Indoor	Y	Y
Track & Field Outdoor	Y	Y
Volleyball		Y
Wrestling	Y	Y

Rocky_Mountain_Athletic_Conference

Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference

History

Timeline

Member schools

Current members

Affiliate members

Future affiliate members

Former members

Former affiliate members

Membership timeline

Sponsored sports

Men's sponsored sports by school

Women's sponsored sports by school

Other sponsored sports by school

Conference facilities

Football champions

Basketball champions

References

External links

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School	Men	Women		Co-ed
School	Tennis	Beach Volleyball ^‡	Tennis	Skiing ^‡
Colorado Mesa	PacWest	IND	PacWest
CSU Pueblo			IND
Metro State	PacWest		PacWest
Westminster				RMISA

School	Football		Basketball
School	Stadium	Capacity	Arena	Capacity
Adams State	Rex Stadium	2,800	Plachy Hall	500
Black Hills State	Lyle Hare Stadium	4,200	Donald E. Young Center	3,500
Chadron State	Elliott Field at Don Beebe Stadium	3,500	Chicoine Center	1,750
Colorado Christian	non-football school		Colorado Christian Event Center	1,500
Colorado Mesa	Stocker Stadium	8,000	Brownson Arena	1,800
Colorado Mines	Campbell Field	4,090	Lockridge Arena	3,000
CSU Pueblo	Neta and Eddie DeRose ThunderBowl	6,500	Massari Arena	3,900
Fort Lewis	Ray Dennison Memorial Field	4,000	Whalen Gymnasium	2,750
MSU Denver	non-football school		Auraria Event Center	2,300
New Mexico Highlands	Perkins Stadium	5,000	Wilson Complex	4,250
Regis	non-football school		Regis Field House	1,800
South Dakota Mines	O'Harra Stadium	4,000	King Center	3,000
UCCS	non-football school		Gallogly Events Center	1,250
Western Colorado	Mountaineer Bowl	4,000	Paul Wright Gymnasium	1,800
Westminster	non-football school		Behnken Field House	1,200