By: Cody Bush, Associate Commissioner / Strategic Communications
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference announced the recipients of the 2025-26 Brechler Awards on Thursday, recognizing the top-performing academic teams across the league’s 22 sponsored sports.
The Brechler Award winners will be recognized during the 2026 RMAC Hall of Fame & Awards Banquet on Thursday, July 9, at COS City Hub in Colorado Springs. 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.
Colorado Mesa University led all institutions with six teams receiving Brechler Awards this season. Colorado State University Pueblo followed with three teams earning honors, while Colorado Christian University, Regis University, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, and Western Colorado University each had two teams recognized. Black Hills State University, Colorado School of Mines, Metropolitan State University of Denver, South Dakota Mines, and Westminster University all had one team honored.
Regis women’s soccer team claimed its ninth Brechler Award while its men’s soccer team scored its eighth award. Colorado School of Mines baseball team and Western Colorado women’s swimming and diving team each won their sixth Brechler Award.
The seven first-time Brechler Award recipients include the Colorado Mesa women’s basketball, men’s lacrosse, and women’s wrestling teams, UCCS’ men's and women’s cross-country teams, and CSU Pueblo’s women’s golf and women’s indoor track and field teams.
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 two 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).
2025-26 Brechler Award Winners
| Sport |
Team |
GPA |
Times
Received |
Head Coach |
| Baseball |
Colorado School of Mines |
3.500 |
6th |
Robby Bales |
| Men’s Basketball |
Western Colorado |
3.712 |
4th |
Zac Claus |
| Women’s Basketball |
Colorado Mesa |
3.800 |
1st |
Taylor Wagner |
| Men’s Cross Country |
UCCS |
3.595 |
1st |
Mark Misch |
| Women’s Cross Country |
UCCS |
3.785 |
1st |
Corey Kubatzky |
| Football |
South Dakota Mines |
3.229 |
2nd |
Charlie Flohr |
| Men’s Golf |
Westminster |
3.478 |
5th |
Denise Larson |
| Women’s Golf |
CSU Pueblo |
3.866 |
1st |
John Wristen |
| Men’s Lacrosse |
Colorado Mesa |
3.469 |
1st |
Troy Moyer |
| Women’s Lacrosse |
Colorado Mesa |
3.689 |
4th |
Ashley Delaney |
| Men’s Soccer |
Regis |
3.704 |
8th |
Taylor Diem |
| Women’s Soccer |
Regis |
3.778 |
9th |
Jeff Frykholm |
| Softball |
Black Hills State |
3.710 |
4th |
Ashlyn Englehorn |
| Men’s Swimming and Diving |
Colorado Mesa |
3.402 |
3rd |
Mickey Wender |
| Women’s Swimming and Diving |
Western Colorado |
3.822 |
6th |
Vickie Fellows |
| Men’s Indoor Track & Field |
Colorado Christian |
3.419 |
2nd |
Evan Verbal |
| Women’s Indoor Track & Field |
CSU Pueblo |
3.693 |
1st |
Matt Morris |
| Men’s Outdoor Track & Field |
Colorado Christian |
3.419 |
2nd |
Evan Verbal |
| Women’s Outdoor Track & Field |
CSU Pueblo |
3.693 |
2nd |
Matt Morris |
| Volleyball |
MSU Denver |
3.875 |
4th |
Jenny Glenn |
| Men’s Wrestling |
Colorado Mesa |
3.319 |
4th |
Mike Mendoza |
| Women’s Wrestling |
Colorado Mesa |
3.314 |
1st |
Travis Mercado |
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 71 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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