RMAC Hall of Fame Page | Ike Armstrong | Jack Hancock
This is the third profile of seven individuals being inducted into the RMAC Hall of Fame on Friday, July 8 at the Colorado Springs Marriott Hotel. The 1982 and 1983 CMU Football teams are also being inducted. Tickets for the Hall of Fame and Awards Banquet can be purchased by clicking here.
History will be made at the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Hall of Fame and Awards Banquet on Friday, July 8. For the first time, an RMAC men’s soccer player will be among those inducted into the Hall of Fame. It’s fitting that it’s one of the RMAC’s best who will be first in.
Luc Cisna left an everlasting impact during his career at Fort Lewis. He was a defender who played for the Skyhawks from 1995 to 1999, missing a season in 1996 because of injury but bouncing back stronger than ever.
Cisna played in 76 games during his illustrious, award-winning career, tallying 17 total points. The awards are plentiful for Cisna. Twice he was both an All-American and an Academic All-American. He was also a two-time all-region performer and a two-time team captain at Fort Lewis. Remarkably, he was a four-time academic all-conference winner, earning the award every year he was eligible for it.
Without a doubt, the Aspen, Colorado native was a remarkable competitor.
“When it was business he was ready to play. He was just a true warrior and true competitor,” former Fort Lewis coach Jeremy Gunn explained. “Once you get into the season, you look into your locker room and you figure out, okay who is going to lead the group; who is going to step up into the front? Luc is one of those guys.”
Gunn was a first-year head coach at Fort Lewis during Cisna’s final year in 1999. Cisna and Gunn quickly formed a tight bond, which helped the young head coach lead his veteran team.
“I would bring him [Luc] with me on recruiting trips and when you’re driving six hours up to Denver, you got to talk about different things…I really got to know him as a person and I got to really enjoy working with him.”
Cisna was a two-time team captain throughout his career. His enthusiasm, leadership and passion for the game guided to the Skyhawks’ to four RMAC Championships and a NCAA national title game in 1999.
When that 1999 team stepped out onto the field prior to the national championship contest they made RMAC and Skyhawk history, becoming the first men’s soccer team to play in a national title game. The Skyhawks fell 2-1 in double overtime Southern Connecticut State, but that team, led by Cisna, was the foundation for a program that would go on to capture three national championship titles over the next 11 years.
Cisna was named 1999-2000 Fort Lewis Male Athlete of the Year and continued his career in the professional leagues, playing for several different teams. He was chosen to play in the 2000 Umbro Bowl Selection game, which featured top collegiate players from all NCAA and NAIA divisions. Cisna was inducted in to the Fort Lewis Hall of Fame in 2005 and again in 2010 as a member of the 1999 men’s soccer team. In 2009, he was named to the RMAC Men’s Soccer All-Century Team.
“It’s fantastic you know, you think of all the things you’ve achieved as a player [and] that’s pretty special,” Gunn said. ”What you achieve when you’re down at the Fort and what you’ve moved on to and what a great honor and great tribute.”
Today, Cisna serves as the Associate Director of HR/OD at Colorado State University-Global Campus in Greenwood Village, Colorado.