Conference realignment in collegiate sports has a larger impact than just changing which teams will be on the schedule in the coming season. It creates new recruiting battles, affects team travel during the season, forces new school merchandise to match its new affiliation and changes the revenue generated by each school and the conference as a whole. It is a major decision to add an institution to an NCAA athletic conference, and it has happened twice in the past month for the RMAC.

South Dakota School of Mines and Technology as well as Westminster College have accepted invitations to become the newest members of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. The two schools were invited by the 14 current presidents of each RMAC institution this past January after agreeing upon it in the summer RMAC meetings. CMU Athletic Director Tom Spicer explained that extending the conference membership to 16 was a benefit for every party involved.

“The decision was made by the leaders of the conference to expand our operational opportunities to 16 schools because that seems to be the norm in Division I or Division II so that you can control cost, competition and scheduling,” Spicer said. “Realistically, it’s just a good business decision for the existing 14 schools as well as Westminster and South Dakota School of Mines.”

The Hardrockers of South Dakota School of Mines and Technology accepted the invitation to become the 15th member of the RMAC last month. SDSM&T were previously members of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) in football and men’s soccer. In football, the Hardrockers posted a 6-4 record with a win over current RMAC opponent Black Hills State, while in men’s soccer they failed to record a win, finishing 0-16-1 including a 3-0 loss to CMU this past fall. With the move into the RMAC, they will also be represented in men’s and women’s basketball, cross-country, track & field, golf, and women’s volleyball.

The Westminster College Griffins were once members of the RMAC from 1967-1979 before cancelling varsity athletics until 1999. They currently compete in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, or the NAIA, but will become a member of NCAA Division II once again pending NCAA approval. The Griffins will compete in 14 RMAC sponsored sports, including men’s and women’s basketball, soccer, cross-country, track & field, golf, women’s volleyball, and women’s lacrosse. They also boast one of the top skiing and snowboarding programs in the country. The college currently has 23 student-athletes competing in the Sochi Winter Olympics and has had more than 100 US Ski and Snowboard Team members enroll there in the past 10 years. According to Spicer, the addition of Westminster opens CMU up to new recruiting opportunities in the surrounding area.

“The addition of Westminster is good for Colorado Mesa because it brings us into another market in Salt Lake City, which is only four hours northwest,” Spicer said. “There is an opportunity there for us to develop a good rivalry. It’s a great destination point because there is a lot of things to do there… and it opens up a new recruiting area in Utah that we would be interested in because of our proximity to the Colorado-Utah border.”

Spicer also explained that jumping from 14 to 16 teams creates even eight-team divisions, which will cut down on travel costs and give athletic departments more money to spend on emerging sports.

“Evening out each division at eight teams allows us to look at creative scheduling, which will eliminate some of the longest trips on both ends of the conference,” he said. “There are just way too many positive things about this expansion, and I’m happy that we are a part of it.”

South Dakota School of Mines and Technology will begin competing in the RMAC next year, while Westminster will wait an additional year before competing in the 2015-2016 season.

mfreter@mavs.coloradomesa.edu