Say hello to the new kid on the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference block.
The league announced Monday that the other member schools voted unanimously last Friday to admit South Dakota School of Mines and Technology as the 15th member of the RMAC.
According to a news release from the conference, the RMAC Presidents Council met in San Diego last week in conjunction with the NCAA Convention, and South Dakota Mines President Heather Wilson made the school’s presentation to the council, with the vote taking place Friday.
The RMAC will begin woking in the Hardrockers’ 13 sponsored sports during the 2014-15 academic year. South Dakota Mines, located in Rapid City, S.D., participates in men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s cross country, football, men’s and women’s golf, men’s soccer, men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor track and field and volleyball.
“This is a great day for Hardrockers athletics,” South Dakota Mines interim director of athletics Tiffany McCampbell said in a news release. “The RMAC is a premier NCAA Division II league, and I’m so happy the Hardrockers are able to be a part of it.”
The drive from Durango to Rapid City is approximately 740 miles, a drive time of about 12½ hours according to directions obtained from mapquest.com.
SDSMT’s academic offerings include bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees and currently has a student population of 2,640 students. This academic year is the first full year of full membership in Division II for the Hardrockers, who were members of the NAIA and the Dakota Athletic Conference before the transition.
“The RMAC is pleased that the South Dakota School of Mines has accepted our invitation to join the conference,” RMAC Presitends Council chairman Stephen Jordan said in a news release. “Mines is a great fit academically and athletically with the 14 members of NCAA Division II’s most historic athletic conference.”
The 15 members mark the highest membership in the RMAC since 16 teams were conference members in 1969. The league sponsors 22 varsity sports and has been around since 1909.
heraldsports@durangoherald.com
