By: Cody Bush, Associate Commissioner / Strategic Communications

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference announced the recipients of the 2024-25 Brechler Awards on Thursday, recognizing the top-performing academic teams across the league’s 22 sponsored sports.

Regis University and Colorado Mesa University led all institutions, with four teams receiving Brechler Awards. Chadron State College followed with three teams, while Black Hills State University, Colorado School of Mines, and Westminster University saw two teams honored. Colorado State University Pueblo, Metropolitan State University of Denver, South Dakota Mines, Western Colorado University, and affiliate member Texas Woman’s University also had teams recognized.

Eight programs won their first Brechler Award, which was established in 2012-13: Colorado School of Mines men’s cross country, CSU Pueblo women’s cross country, South Dakota Mines football, Chadron State women’s golf, Westminster women’s soccer, Colorado mesa men’s outdoor track & field, Chadron State women’s outdoor track & field, and Texas Woman’s women’s wrestling.

On the other end of the spectrum, Westminster men’s lacrosse won its ninth Brechler Award, winning the award in all nine seasons it's been awarded for men’s lacrosse. The Regis men’s soccer and baseball programs won their seventh Brechler Award in the 12 seasons it has been awarded in those sports.

Established in 2012-13, the Brechler Awards recognize the conference’s top team grade point average (GPA) in each of its 22 sports. Grades were used from the 2024-25 academic year. All student-athletes who were on the institution’s NCAA eligibility list were included in the teams’ GPA calculation. The team GPA is calculated by dividing the total quality points for each semester by the total number of credits. Team GPAs were submitted to the RMAC Office by each institution’s compliance administrator.

The award is named after Paul W. Brechler, a former RMAC Commissioner (1976-1990), who, along with his wife Wanda, were the first inductees into the RMAC Hall of Fame. Paul was also the former athletic director of the University of Iowa and served as Commissioner of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).

The Brechler 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. 
 

2024-25 Brechler Award Winners

Sport	Team	GPA	Times Rec’d	Head Coach
Baseball	Regis	3.432	7th	Pat Jolley
Men’s Basketball	Regis	3.495	2nd	Brady Bergeson
Women’s Basketball	Black Hills State	3.865	3rd	Rachel Erickson
Men’s Cross Country	Colorado School of Mines	3.595	1st	Chris Siemers
Women’s Cross Country	CSU Pueblo	3.828	1st	Matt Morris
Football	South Dakota Mines	3.297	1st	Charlie Flohr
Men’s Golf	Colorado Mesa	3.417	4th	Scott Sullivan
Women’s Golf	Chadron State	3.750	1st	Dr. John Ritzen
Men’s Lacrosse	Westminster	3.400	9th	Joe Kerwin
Women’s Lacrosse	Regis	3.790	4th	Sarah Kellner
Men’s Soccer	Regis	3.648	7th	Taylor Diem
Women’s Soccer	Westminster	3.767	1st	Tony LeBlanc
Softball	Black Hills State	3.660	3rd	Ashlyn Englehorn
Men’s Swimming and Diving	Colorado Mesa	3.474	2nd	Mickey Wender
Women’s Swimming and Diving	Western Colorado	3.601	5th	Vickie Fellows
Men’s Indoor Track & Field	Colorado School of Mines	3.563	5th	Matt Sparks
Women’s Indoor Track & Field	Chadron State	3.730	2nd	Jake Gruver
Men’s Outdoor Track & Field	Colorado Mesa	3.544	1st	Travis Floeck
Women’s Outdoor Track & Field	Chadron State	3.750	1st	Jake Gruver
Volleyball	MSU Denver	3.809	3rd	Jenny Glenn
Men’s Wrestling	Colorado Mesa	3.525	3rd	MIke Mendoza
Women’s Wrestling	Texas Woman's	3.413	1st	Randi Miller

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.