By: Cody Bush, Associate Commissioner / Strategic Communications
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Western Colorado University senior wrestler Dean Noble is the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference’s Man of the Year, the league announced Wednesday.
Noble, a Wellington, Colorado, native, becomes the first Western Colorado student-athlete and first RMAC men’s wrestler to receive one of the RMAC’s four major individual awards.
Noble finished his career on the mat with a fourth-place finish in the 149-pound weight class at the NCAA Division II Men’s Wrestling Championships. It capped a stellar season that saw him earn First Team All-RMAC and finish third at the NCAA Division II Super Region VI Championships, helping the Mountaineers to a third-place team finish. He posted an 8-1 record in RMAC duals and a 22-5 overall mark.
After starting his career as the league’s Co-Freshman of the Year and a Second Team All-RMAC selection in 2021, he finished second in that year’s Region VI championship. He followed that with a 5-2 record in RMAC competition in 2022 and a fifth-place finish at the regional. Noble continued his steady climb, earning Second Team All-RMAC honors and winning the Region VI title at 141 pounds. He moved up to the 149-pound class in 2024. Noble didn’t miss a step, earning Second Team All-RMAC honors, finishing second at regionals, and then claiming seventh place at the Division II Championships to set up his senior campaign. Noble finished his WCU career with a 95-41 record.
The fifth-year senior recently earned two bachelor’s degrees as a double major in business administration and exercise sports science with a 3.50 grade-point average. He was a two-time National Wrestling Coaches Association Scholar All-American (2023-24 and 2024-25) and a three-time RMAC Academic Honor Roll honoree. Noble was also recently recognized as a College Sports Communicators Academic All-District® honoree.
Beyond the mat and classroom, Noble helped build the Western Colorado program as a team captain in 2024-25 and assisted with the program’s Crab Feed Fundraiser and annual wrestling camps as a coach and official.
Also nominated for the 2024-25 Man of the Year honor were Colorado Christian's Adam Duncan, MSU Denver’s Caleb McGill, South Dakota Mines’ Jake Martinelli, and UCCS’ Caleb Stubbings.
The RMAC Man & Woman of the Year Awards, first presented in 2015-16, honor a graduating student-athlete with outstanding academic achievements, athletic accomplishments, community service, and leadership throughout their career. Each member institution may nominate a student-athlete for each award.
Noble and the rest of the league’s award winners will be recognized during the 2025 RMAC Hall of Fame & Awards Banquet on Thursday, July 10, at the Colorado Springs Marriott. Doors will open at 5 p.m. MT, and the induction and awards ceremony will follow promptly at 6 p.m. Tickets are available at RMACSports.org/Tickets.
About the RMAC
The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, headquartered in Colorado Springs, is a premier NCAA Division II conference with 15 institutions located in Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico, South Dakota, and Utah. The RMAC currently competes in 22 NCAA Division II sports and has earned 67 national championships and 53 national runners-up since 1992. Founded in 1909, the RMAC is the most historic athletic conference in the western United States and Division II.
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