By: Cody Bush, Associate Commissioner / Strategic Communications

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Colorado School of Mines graduate student Loic Scomparin is the 2024 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Academic Athlete of the Year and leads the First Team Academic All-RMAC Teams presented by Barnes & Noble College and announced Thursday as selected by the league’s cross country athletic communications directors.

Scomparin, from Dublin, California, entered this season with a 3.87 GPA while working toward a second master’s degree in hydrology at Colorado School of Mines after earning his first master’s degree in advanced energy systems. He completed a bachelor’s degree in environmental engineering with a 3.95 GPA while being named a College Sports Communicators Academic All-American three times. A 12-time U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-American in cross country and track & field, Scomparin finished second at the RMAC Men’s Cross Country Championships this season and followed that with an eighth-place finish at the NCAA Division II Men’s Cross Country Championships.  

Scomparin leads a 14-member First Team Academic All-RMAC group, representing seven of the league’s 15 institutions. He was one of seven to repeat as First Team Academic All-RMAC from the 2023 team. Colorado Mesa’s Chase Brown and Kevin DeGree, Colorado Christian’s Klay Grant and Matthew Storer, Chadron State’s Kyle Shirley, and University of Colorado Colorado Springs Jagger Zlotoff join Scomparin as returning first-team selections.

In addition, the RMAC recognized 102 student-athletes, including the 14 Academic All-RMAC honorees, on its 2024 Men’s Cross Country Academic Honor Roll.
The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Academic Honor Roll recognizes student-athletes in each conference-sponsored sport who academically maintain at least a 3.30 cumulative grade-point average, have completed two consecutive semesters at their current institution, and have used a season of competition.

Each institution’s athletic communications directors nominate student-athletes who academically maintain at least a 3.50 cumulative grade point average, along with the other criteria for the Academic Honor Roll, for recognition on the First Team Academic All-RMAC in each sport. The league’s athletic communications directors for that sport vote to compose the First Team Academic All-RMAC and select the Academic Player of the Year. They are not permitted to vote for their own student-athletes.  

About the RMAC
The RMAC is a premier NCAA Division II conference located in Colorado Springs, Colo., with 15 member institutions. The RMAC sponsors 22 varsity NCAA sports and has produced 67 NCAA Division II national champions and 54 national runners-up since 1992.
 

2024 First Team Academic All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference
(as selected by RMAC athletics communications directors)
Student-Athlete	School	Class.	GPA	Major	Hometown
Wyatt Bly	Chadron State	So.	4.00	Mathematics	Conifer, Colo.
Chase Brown (1)	Colorado Mesa	RSo.	4.00	Civil Engineering	Otsego, Mich.
Brett Davis	UCCS	So.	3.68	Mechanical Engineering	Thornton, Colo.
Kevin DeGree (1)	Colorado Mesa	RJr.	3,91	Mechanical Engineering Technology	Big Bear Lake, Calif.
Klay Grant (1)	Colorado Christian	Jr.	4.00	English	Muskegon, Mich.
Dawson Gunn	Colorado School of Mines	RSo.	3.51	Mechanical Engineering	Sweetwater, Texas
Romain Legendre	Adams State	Sr.	3.66	Sports Leadership	Carpentras, France
Juan Rosales	Adams State	Sr.	3.77	Sociology/Criminology	Murrieta, Calif.
Loic Scomparin (1)	Colorado School of Mines	Gr.	3.95 3.87	B.S. Environmental Engineering M.S. Advanced Energy Systems, Hydrology (grad.)	Dublin, Calif.
Kyle Shirley (1)	Chadron State	Gr.	4.00	B.A. General Business	Queen Creek, Ariz.
David Standish	Black Hills State	Sr.	3.99	Exercise Science	Sheridan, Wyo.
Matthew Storer (1)	Colorado Christian	RJr.	3.71 4.00	B.B.A. Business Business Administration Economics (grad.)	Colorado Springs, Colo.
Jeremiah Vaille	Colorado School of Mines	RSr.	3.73 3.90	B.S. Civil Engineering Civil Engineering (grad.)	Dillon, Colo.
Jagger Zlotoff (1)	UCCS	RJr.	3.50	Computer Science	Gilbert, Ariz.
Notes: A (1) indicates the student-athlete was a 2023 First-Team Academic All-RMAC honoree.