Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective

Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference

Collegiate athletic conference in the western United States From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference
Remove ads

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 ...
Remove ads

History

Summarize
Perspective

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]

Chronological timeline

Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Member Locations
Thumb
About OpenStreetMaps
Maps: terms of use
110km
68miles
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 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMFC) was founded as the Colorado Faculty Athletic Conference (CFAC). Charter members included the University of Colorado, Colorado Agricultural College (now Colorado State University), Colorado College and the Colorado School of Mines, beginning the
  • 1910:
    • The CFAC was rebranded as the Rocky Mountain Faculty Athletic Conference (RMFAC).
    • Colorado College dropped out after a falling out with Colorado Mines.
    • The University of Denver and the University of Utah joined the RMFAC. Membership was at five schools.
  • 1914: The Agricultural College of Utah (now Utah State University) joined the RMFAC, with Colorado College rejoining. Membership was brought up to seven schools.
  • 1917: The Montana College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts (now 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. Membership was brought up to ten schools.
  • 1924: Western State College of Colorado (now Western Colorado University) and the State Normal School of Colorado (now the University of Northern Colorado) joined the RMFAC. Membership was brought up to 12 schools.
  • 1937: Colorado, Colorado State, Brigham Young, Utah, Utah State, Wyoming and Denver left the RMFAC to form the Skyline Conference (also known as the Mountain States Conference). The five remaining members of the RMFAC were Colorado College, Colorado Mines, Montana State, Northern Colorado and Western State.
  • 1948: Idaho State College (now 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. Membership was brought back down to six.
  • 1959: Montana State left the RMFAC. Membership was brought back down to five.
  • 1967:
  • 1968: New Mexico Highlands University joined the RMAC as its 16th member.
  • 1969: New Mexico Highlands left the RMAC due to financial aid restrictions. Membership was brought back down to 15.
  • 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 (Utah.). Northern Colorado ended up leaving the association to become independent (who would later join the GPAC back).
  • 1974: New Mexico Highlands rejoined the RMAC as the ninth member.
  • 1975: Mesa College (now Colorado Mesa University) joined the RMAC as its tenth member.
  • 1976:
    • The MPIAA was dissolved for economic reasons, and the two conferences went their separate ways.
    • Colorado State–Pueblo (CSU Pueblo) joined the RMAC as its 11th member, coming from the GPAC.
  • 1978: The RMAC began sponsoring women's championships.
  • 1979: Westminster left the RMAC when the school dropped its athletics program as a result. Membership was brought back down to ten members.
  • 1983: Regis left the RMAC to become an Independent. Membership was brought back down to nine members.
  • 1986: Southern Utah left the RMAC. Membership was brought back down to eight members.
  • 1988: New Mexico Highlands left the RMAC. Membership was brought back down to seven members.
  • 1989: Chadron State College, Kearney State College (now the University of Nebraska at Kearney), and Wayne State College joined the RMAC (with Fort Hays State rejoining). Membership was brought up to 11 members. All of them were with provisional member status.
  • 1990:
    • Colorado State–Pueblo, Fort Lewis, Nebraska–Kearney, Wayne State and Western New Mexico left the RMAC. Membership was brought back down to six members. Reasons: Wayne State and Nebraska–Kearney did it after staying for one season; Western New Mexico and Colorado State–Pueblo would later decide to follow suit; and Fort Lewis did the same, while it stayed on as an associate member of the conference for football, softball and wrestling.
    • New Mexico Highlands rejoined the RMAC again. Membership was brought back down to seven members.
  • 1992: The RMAC became affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II ranks, after spending years in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).
  • 1994: Fort Lewis and Nebraska–Kearney both rejoined the RMAC as full members. Membership was brought back down to nine members.
  • 1996:
  • 1997:
    • Denver left to move up to the Division I ranks.
    • Colorado–Colorado Springs (UCCS) upgraded for all sports. Membership was brought up to 14 members, thus it was split into two seven-team divisions.
    • San Francisco State University joined the RMAC as an associate member for wrestling only.
  • 2006:
    • Fort Hays State left the RMAC to join the MIAA; although it did remain in the RMAC as an associate member for wrestling.
    • Western New Mexico rejoined the RMAC. Membership was kept at 14 members.
  • 2007:
  • 2008:
  • 2009: Northern State University and Minnesota State University Moorhead joined the RMAC as associate members for swimming.
  • 2012:
    • Nebraska–Kearney left the RMAC to join the MIAA.
    • Black Hills State University joined the RMAC. Membership was kept at 14 members.
    • Fort Hays State left the RMAC as an associate member for wrestling; once its primary home conference (the MIAA) began sponsoring that sport.
    • Minnesota State–Moorhead and Northern State left the RMAC as associate members for women's swimming; once their primary home conference (the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, a.k.a. the NSIC) began sponsoring the sport.
  • 2013:
  • 2014: South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (SDSM&T or South Dakota Mines) joined the RMAC.[3] Membership was brought up to 15 members.
  • 2015:
    • Westminster (Utah) rejoined the RMAC.[4][5] Membership was brought up to 16 members.
    • Rockhurst added men's lacrosse to its RMAC associate membership.
    • Oklahoma Baptist University joined the RMAC as an associate member for women's lacrosse, plus men's and women's swimming.
    • Montana State Billings dropped men's and women's tennis, which ended their affiliate membership.
  • 2016:
  • 2017:
  • 2018:
    • Dixie State upgraded for all sports. Membership was brought up to 16 members.
    • California Baptist ended its RMAC associate memberships to move to Division I; both swimming teams joined Cal Baptist's new primary home conference in the WAC, while wrestling became an independent (that sport would later be accepted by the Big 12 Conference effective in 2022).
    • Rockhurst left the RMAC as an associate member for men's lacrosse to join the school's other sports in its primary home conference (the GLVC).
    • The RMAC dropped men's tennis as a conference sport.
  • 2019:
    • Lindenwood and Rockhurst left the RMAC as associate members for women's lacrosse left the RMAC to join the school's other sports in its primary home conference (the GLVC).
    • The RMAC dropped women's tennis as a conference sport.
  • 2020:
    • Dixie State (Utah Tech) left the RMAC to join the NCAA Division I ranks and the WAC.
  • 2022: UT Permian Basin rejoined the RMAC as an associate member for men's and women's swimming and diving.
  • 2023:
  • 2024:
  • 2025:
Remove ads

Member schools

Summarize
Perspective

Current members

The RMAC currently has 15 full members, all but three are public schools:

More information Institution, Location ...
Notes
  1. Represents the calendar year when fall sports competition begins.
  2. The Adams State men's basketball and football teams joined the RMAC a year after becoming a full member for other sports (1957–58).
  3. Colorado–Colorado Springs (UCCS) was an associate member of the RMAC only during the 1996–97 school year for some sports before accepting full membership, effective in the 1997–98 school year.
  4. CSU Pueblo left the RMAC after the 1971–72 school year then rejoined from 1976–77 to 1989–90 before rejoining in the 1996–97 school year.
  5. Fort Lewis was an affiliate member of the RMAC from 1990–91 to 1993–94 before rejoining as a full member in the 1994–95 school year.
  6. New Mexico Highlands left the RMAC after the 1968–69 school year then rejoined from 1974–75 to 1987–88 before rejoining in the 1990–91 school year.
  7. Regis left the RMAC after the 1982–83 school year before rejoining in the 1996–97 school year.
  8. The South Dakota Mines men's and women's basketball and men's soccer teams joined the RMAC a year after becoming a full member for other sports (2015–16); while its football team joined the RMAC two years after (2016–17).
  9. Westminster left the RMAC after the 1978–79 school year before rejoining in the 2015–16 school year.

Affiliate members

The RMAC currently has eight affiliate members; half are private schools, while the other half are public schools:

More information Institution, Location ...
Notes
  1. Represents the calendar year when fall sports competition begins.
  2. Nebraska–Kearney was a full member during the 1989–90 school year; and from 1994–95 to 2011–12.
  3. UT Permian Basin was previously an affiliate member of the RMAC for men's and women's swimming & diving from 2008–09 to 2012–13.

Former members

The RMAC had 21 former full members, all but three were public schools:

More information Institution, Location ...
Notes
  1. Represents the calendar year when fall sports competition begins.
  2. Represents the calendar year when spring sports competition ends.
  3. Currently an NCAA Division I athletic conference
  4. Colorado College withdrew from the RMAC from 1910–11 to 1913–14.
  5. Currently an NCAA Division III athletic conference.
  6. Denver was an affiliate member during the 1996–97 school year.
  7. Fort Hays State competed in the RMAC as an affiliate member for wrestling from 2006–07 to 2011–12.
  8. Fort Hays State withdrew from the RMAC from 1972–73 to 1988–89.
  9. Nebraska–Kearney remains in the RMAC as an affiliate in women's swimming & diving.
  10. Provisional member.
  11. Nebraska–Kearney withdrew from the RMAC from 1990–91 to 1993–94.
  12. Dixie State competed in the RMAC as an affiliate member for football from the 2016 to 2017 fall seasons (2016–17 to 2017–18 school years).
  13. Dixie State officially changed its name to Utah Tech University as of July 1st, 2022.
  14. Western New Mexico withdrew from the RMAC from 1990–91 to 2005–06.

Former affiliate members

The RMAC had 11 former affiliate members, all but four were private schools:

More information Institution, Location ...
Notes
  1. Represents the calendar year when fall sports competition begins.
  2. Represents the calendar year when spring sports competition ends.
  3. Except as noted, this matches the school's current affiliation in its former RMAC sports.
  4. Currently an NCAA Division I athletic conference.
  5. California Baptist is a men's wrestling member of the Big 12 Conference.
  6. Grand Canyon no longer sponsors men's wrestling.
  7. Incarnate Word (UIW) currently competes for swimming & diving in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF).
  8. The OVC sponsors none of Lindenwood's former RMAC sports. All three sports currently compete in the Summit League.
  9. MSU Billings no longer sponsors tennis.
  10. Oklahoma Baptist no longer sponsors women's lacrosse.
  11. The CCAA does not sponsor men's wrestling. San Francisco State competes in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation for that sport only.

Membership timeline

A total of 54 different schools have been associated with the RMAC, either through full or associate membership. Of those schools, only Colorado Mines has been with the conference every year since it was founded in 1909.

Northwest Nazarene UniversityDominican University of CaliforniaTexas Woman's UniversitySimon Fraser UniversityConcordia University IrvineOklahoma Christian UniversityOklahoma Baptist UniversityMaryville UniversityUtah Tech UniversitySouth Dakota School of Mines and TechnologyRockhurst UniversityLindenwood UniversityCalifornia Baptist UniversityBlack Hills State UniversityNorthern State UniversityMinnesota State University MoorheadUniversity of Texas Permian BasinUniversity of the Incarnate WordMontana State University BillingsGrand Canyon UniversitySan Francisco State UniversityUniversity of Colorado Colorado SpringsMetropolitan State University of DenverColorado Christian UniversityUniversity of Nebraska at KearneyWayne State CollegeChadron State CollegeColorado Mesa UniversityNew Mexico Highlands UniversityWestminster University (Utah)Western New Mexico UniversityWashburn UniversitySouthern Utah UniversityRegis UniversityPittsburg State UniversityUniversity of Nebraska OmahaFort Lewis CollegeFort Hays State UniversityEmporia State UniversityColorado State University PuebloAdams State UniversityIdaho State UniversityWestern Colorado UniversityUniversity of Northern ColoradoBrigham Young UniversityMontana State UniversityUtah State UniversityUniversity of WyomingUniversity of UtahUniversity of DenverColorado State UniversityColorado School of MinesColorado CollegeUniversity of Colorado Boulder

 Full member (all sports)   Full member (non-football)   Associate member (football)   Associate member (sport) 

Remove ads
More information Sport, Men's ...

Men's sponsored sports by school

More information School, Baseball ...

Women's sponsored sports by school

More information School, Basketball ...

Other sponsored sports by school

More information School, Men ...
  • — D-I sport
Remove ads

Conference facilities

More information School, Football ...
Remove ads

Football champions

Basketball champions

References

Loading related searches...

Wikiwand - on

Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.

Remove ads