At 7 a.m. each morning, you can find the Maverick lacrosse team practicing at Community Health Field. At the same time, the wrestling team is drilling moves in their practice room in the MavCenter.
These are only a couple of examples of the length that student-athletes go to better themselves and their teams, whether it means waking up early for daily training or biking 40 miles on a Monday night like the triathlon team does.
Maverick sports provide some of the most fun for students on or close to campus. From packed basketball games in Brownson Arena to a chilly ice rink, sports are a thrilling experience that bonds the university and the Grand Valley community.
Colorado Mesa University (CMU) invests substantial money and manpower into the success of their athletic department. The school provides scholarship assistance in the form of reduced tuition, as well as housing and meal waivers for student athletes.
Recently, CMU started an initiative to fully fund their athletic scholarships. The NCAA sets a maximum amount of scholarship dollars that can be spent for each school. However, CMU does not have the funding right now to award the full amount, like most other Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference schools.
The university must raise an additional $2 million per year, which it plans to accomplish through private donations through the CMU Foundation. The school is planning for the future, and should make it even more competitive than it already is.
Almost every sport is a perennial RMAC contender. In fact, CMU’s athletic department finished ninth in the Division II Learfield Directors’ Cup Standings last year, which ranks schools based on the success of men’s and women’s NCAA and non-NCAA teams.
Colorado School of Mines (Mines) finished sixth, and was the only RMAC member to finish ahead of CMU. Mines already fully funds their athletic scholarships, though, so the fact that CMU was only a couple of spots behind bodes well for the coming years, if the school is indeed able to fundraise enough money to fund the maximum number of scholarships.
The university has yet to win a team NCAA Championship, but has won championships in cycling and beach volleyball in their respective affiliations.
Maverick Athletics should be applauded for their success in establishing CMU as a stallworth in the sports world.
