Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Conference Explained
Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Conference |
Font Color: | white |
Founded: | 1976 |
Conference: | MCLA |
Teams: | 14 |
Sports: | College lacrosse |
Region: | Mountain |
Headquarters: | Durango, Colorado |
Commissioner: | John Robinette |
Website: | http://mcla.us/RMLC/ |
Map Size: | 250 |
The Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Conference (RMLC) is one of ten conferences in the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association. Currently the RMLC consists of 15 teams encompassing four Rocky Mountain states; Colorado, Utah, Montana, and Wyoming. It is divided into two divisions, Division I and Division II. Division II is separated further by region; Northwest and Southeast[1]
History
The RMLC, first known as the RMLA, was formed in 1976 with founding members Colorado State University, University of Colorado, Regis University, Air Force Academy, University of Denver, and Colorado School of Mines. In 1997, the Conference changed names to the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Lacrosse League (RMILL) and went to a club-only league as a member of the US Lacrosse Intercollegiate Associates (USLIA), which reorganized into the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA) in 2006.
The RMLC has been the home conference of the MCLA Division I National Champions in 1999, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2012 and 2013 (Colorado State University);[2] in 1997, 2000, 2007, 2011 (Brigham Young University);[3] and in 2014 (University of Colorado). In Division II, Westminster College were National Champions in 2008,[4] and the University of Utah won in 2022.[5]
In 2017, Utah announced that they were going to elevate their program to play as an NCAA Division 1 Independent, turning them from a club team to an NCAA team.[6] After the 2018 season, they left the conference. In 2019, the RMLC announced that the University of Texas and the University of Oklahoma would join the conference at the Division 1 level starting in the 2020 season.[7] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, their first game in the conference had to be pushed back to 2021. In 2021, it was revealed that Oklahoma would leave the conference to go back to the Lone Star Alliance.[8] With the news, Oklahoma would leave the conference without playing a single game in the conference.
Teams
Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Team Nickname | Primary conference |
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Division I |
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Brigham Young University | Provo, Utah | 1875 | Private (LDS) | 34,802 | Cougars | West Coast (Division I) |
University of Colorado Boulder | Boulder, Colorado | 1876 | Public | 37,956 | Buffaloes | Pac-12 (Division I) |
Colorado State University | Fort Collins, Colorado | 1870 | Public | 32,777 | Rams | Mountain West (Division I) |
University of Utah | Salt Lake City, Utah | 1850 | Public | 34,464 | Utes | Pac-12 (Division I) |
Utah Valley University | Orem, Utah | 1941 | Public | 41,262 | Wolverines | Western (Division I) |
Division II |
---|
United States Air Force Academy | Colorado Springs, Colorado | 1954 | Public | 4,181 | Falcons | Mountain West (Division I) |
Colorado School of Mines | Golden, Colorado | 1873 | Public | 7,172 | Orediggers | Rocky Mountain (Division II) |
University of Denver | Denver, Colorado | 1864 | Private | 14,130 | Pioneers | Big East (Division I) |
Fort Lewis College | Durango, Colorado | 1911 | Public | 3,550 | Skyhawks | Rocky Mountain (Division II) |
Metropolitan State University of Denver | Denver, Colorado | 1965 | Public | 17,678 | Roadrunners | Rocky Mountain (Division II) |
Montana State University | Bozeman, Montana | 1893 | Public | 16,841 | Bobcats | Big Sky (Division I) |
Southern Utah University | Cedar City, Utah | 1897 | Public | 13,611 | Thunderbirds | WAC (Division I) |
Utah State University | Logan, Utah | 1888 | Public | 27,426 | Aggies | Mountain West (Division I) |
Utah Tech University | St. George, Utah | 1911 | Public | 12,266 | Trailblazers | WAC (Division I) |
University of Wyoming | Laramie, Wyoming | 1886 | Public | 11,479 | Cowboys | Mountain West (Division I) |
Division III |
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University of New Mexico | Albuquerque, New Mexico | 1889 | Public | 21,738 | Lobos | Mountain West (Division I) |
Western Colorado University | Gunnison, Colorado | 1901 | Public | 3,692 | Mountaineers | Rocky Mountain (Division II) | |
Former teams
Institution | Location | Nickname | Enrollment | New Conference |
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Boise State University | Boise, Idaho | Broncos | 25,540 | PNCLL (MCLA) |
Colorado College | Colorado Springs, Colorado | Tigers | 2,012 | SCAC (NCAA Division III) |
Johnson & Wales University | Denver, Colorado | Wildcats | 1,291 | Defunct |
Northern Arizona University | Flagstaff, Arizona | Lumberjacks | 29,569 | SLC (MCLA) |
Regis University | Denver, Colorado | Rangers | 8,368 | Defunct |
University of Denver | Denver, Colorado | Pioneers | 12,931 | Big East (NCAA Division I) |
University of Colorado Colorado Springs | Colorado Springs, Colorado | Mountain Lions | 12,031 | Defunct |
University of Colorado Denver | Denver, Colorado | Lynx | 24,267 | Defunct |
University of Northern Colorado | Greeley, Colorado | Bears | 12,084 | Defunct |
University of Oklahoma | Norman, Oklahoma | Sooners | 28,564 | LSA (MCLA) |
University of Texas at Austin | Austin, Texas | Longhorns | 51,090 | LSA (MCLA) |
University of Utah | Salt Lake City, Utah | Utes | 32,818 | ASUN (NCAA Division I) |
Weber State University | Ogden, Utah | Wildcats | 26,681 | Defunct |
Westminster College | Salt Lake City, Utah | Griffins | 2,887 | RMAC (NCAA Division II) |
|
Conference Championships
Division I!Year!Champion!Runner-up1991 | Air Force | Colorado College |
1992 | | |
1993 | Colorado | Denver |
1994 | Colorado College | Denver |
1995 | Colorado College | Denver |
1996 | Colorado College | Denver |
1997 | Brigham Young | |
1998 | Brigham Young | Colorado State |
1999 | Brigham Young | Colorado State |
2000 | Colorado State | Colorado |
2001 | Brigham Young | Colorado State |
2002 | Colorado State | Brigham Young |
2003 | Colorado State | Brigham Young |
2004 | Colorado State | Colorado |
2005 | Brigham Young | Colorado State |
2006 | Colorado State | Colorado |
2007 | Brigham Young | Colorado State |
2008 | Brigham Young | Colorado State |
2009 | Brigham Young | Colorado |
2010 | Colorado State | Brigham Young |
2011 | Colorado State | Brigham Young |
2012 | Colorado State | Brigham Young |
2013 | Colorado State | Colorado |
2014 | Colorado | Brigham Young |
2015 | Colorado | Brigham Young |
2016 | Brigham Young | Colorado |
2017 | Brigham Young | Colorado |
2018 | Utah | Colorado |
2019 | Colorado | Utah Valley |
2020 | No Championship due to Covid-19 Pandemic |
2021 | No Championship due to Covid-19 Pandemic |
2022 | Brigham Young | Colorado |
2023 | Utah Valley | Brigham Young |
2024 | Brigham Young | Colorado State | |
Division I Championship Records!Team!Championships!Championship Years!Runner-ups!Runner-up YearsBrigham Young | 12 | 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2016, 2017, 2022, 2024 | 8 | 2002, 2003, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2023 |
Colorado State | 9 | 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 | 7 | 1998, 1999, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2024 |
Colorado | 4 | 1993, 2014, 2015, 2019 | 9 | 2000, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2022 |
Colorado College | 3 | 1994, 1995, 1996 | 1 | 1991 |
Air Force | 1 | 1991 | | |
Utah | 1 | 2018 | | |
Utah Valley | 1 | 2023 | 1 | 2019 |
Denver | | | 3 | 1994, 1995, 1996 | |
- Note: Bold text denotes MCLA National Champion
- Note: Italic text denotes MCLA National Champion runner-up
Division II!Year!Champion!Runner-up1999 | Utah | Colorado School of Mines |
2000 | Utah Valley | Northern Colorado |
2001 | Utah Valley | Boise State |
2002 | Boise State | Utah State |
2003 | Utah Valley | Fort Lewis |
2004 | Fort Lewis | Utah Valley |
2005 | Utah Valley | Montana State |
2006 | Utah Valley | Northern Colorado |
2007 | Westminster | Northern Colorado |
2008 | Westminster | Fort Lewis |
2009 | Northern Colorado | Westminster |
2010 | Utah Valley | Westminster |
2011 | Westminster | Northern Colorado |
2012 | Westminster | Fort Lewis |
2013 | Westminster | Fort Lewis |
2014 | Montana State | Northern Colorado |
2015 | Utah State | Fort Lewis |
2016 | Montana State | MSU Denver |
2017 | MSU Denver | Montana State |
2018 | Montana State | Colorado Denver |
2019 | Utah State | Montana State |
2020 | No Championship due to Covid-19 Pandemic |
2021 | No Championship due to Covid-19 Pandemic |
2022 | Utah | Montana State |
2023 | Air Force | Montana State |
2024 | Air Force | Montana State | |
Division II Championship Records!Team!Championships!Championship Years!Runner-ups!Runner-up YearsUtah Valley | 6 | 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2010 | 1 | 2004 |
Westminster | 5 | 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013 | 2 | 2009, 2010 |
Montana State | 3 | 2014, 2016, 2018 | 5 | 2017, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024 |
Utah State | 2 | 2015, 2019 | 1 | 2002 |
Air Force | 2 | 2023, 2024 | | |
Boise State | 1 | 2002 | 1 | 2001 |
Fort Lewis | 1 | 2004 | 5 | 2003, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2015 |
Northern Colorado | 1 | 2009 | 5 | 2000, 2006, 2007, 2011, 2014 |
MSU Denver | 1 | 2017 | 1 | 2016 |
Utah | 1 | 2022 | | |
Colorado School of Mines | | | 1 | 1999 | |
- Note: Bold text denotes MCLA National Champion
- Note: Italic text denotes MCLA National Champion runner-up
Notes and References
- Web site: MCLA . About the RMLC. June 27, 2017.
- Web site: CSU Lacrosse . CSUlacrosse.com.
- Web site: BYU Men's Lacrosse . lacrosse.byu.edu.
- Westminster Lacrosse website, http://www.westminstergriffins.com/index.aspx?path=mlax
- Web site: Utah Rolls to Division II Title . 2022-07-29 . Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association . en.
- Web site: Utah adds Lacrosse as NCAA D1 Sport.
- Web site: Oklahoma, Texas Heading to RMLC .
- Web site: LSA adds Three New D-1 Programs.