The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament is the annual conference basketball championship tournament for the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. The tournament has been held every year since 1993, when the RMAC became an NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) Division II conference. It is a single-elimination tournament and seeding is based on regular season records.[1]
| RMAC Men's Basketball Tournament | |
|---|---|
| Conference basketball championship | |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Conference | Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference |
| Number of teams | 8 |
| Format | Single-elimination tournament |
| Current stadium | Auraria Event Center |
| Current location | Denver, CO |
| Played | 1993–present |
| Current champion | Fort Lewis (6th) |
| Most championships | Metro State (11) |
| Official website | RMAC men's basketball |
The winner, declared conference champion, receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Men's Division II Basketball Championship.
Tournament format
editSince its foundation in 1993, the tournament has featured only the top 8 teams from the conference playing in a single-elimination style tournament.[2] The first rounds are always played at the gym of the higher-seeded team while the semifinal and championship rounds are played at a pre-determined site, usually on the campus of one of the RMAC ( Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) members.
Results
edit| Year | Champions | Score | Runner-Up | Tournament MVP | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Western State | 78–64 | Mesa State | – | Paul Wright Gymnasium (Gunnison, CO) |
| 1994 | Fort Hays State | 81–79 | Mesa State | Dennis Edwards (Fort Hays State) | Auraria Event Center (Denver, CO) |
| 1995 | Fort Hays State | 84–70 | Mesa State | Chad Baar (Mesa State) | Auraria Event Center (Denver, CO) |
| 1996 | Fort Hays State | 85–79 | Nebraska–Kearney | Alonzo Goldston (Fort Hays State) | Auraria Event Center (Denver, CO) |
| 1997 | Fort Hays State | 83–79 OT | Nebraska–Kearney | Alonzo Goldston (Fort Hays State) | Auraria Event Center (Denver, CO) |
| 1998 | Nebraska–Kearney | 85–62 | Southern Colorado | Mike Hancock (Nebraska–Kearney) | Auraria Event Center (Denver, CO) |
| 1999 | Metro State | 83–73 | Mesa State | DeMarcos Anzures (Metro State) | Auraria Event Center (Denver, CO) |
| 2000 | Metro State | 82–66 | Mesa State | Lee Barlow (Metro State) | Magness Arena (Denver, CO) |
| 2001 | Metro State | 94–85 | Nebraska–Kearney | Kane Oakley (Metro State) | Magness Arena (Denver, CO) |
| 2002 | Fort Lewis | 71–70 OT | Nebraska–Kearney | Trevor Lorz (Fort Lewis) | Magness Arena (Denver, CO) |
| 2003 | Metro State | 79–69 | Fort Hays State | Patrick Mutombo (Metro State) | Broadmoor World Arena (Colorado Springs, CO) |
| 2004 | Metro State | 99–78 | Nebraska–Kearney | C. J. Massingale (Metro State) | Broadmoor World Arena (Colorado Springs, CO) |
| 2005 | Metro State | 66–57 | Mesa State | Mark Worthington (Metro State) | Broadmoor World Arena (Colorado Springs, CO) |
| 2006 | Nebraska–Kearney | 71–68 | Metro State | Dusty Jura (Nebraska–Kearney) | Massari Arena (Pueblo, CO) |
| 2007 | Metro State | 70–60 | Adams State | Jesse Wagstaff (Metro State) | Massari Arena (Pueblo, CO) |
| 2008 | Fort Lewis | 79–73 | Colorado Christian | Tim Crowell (Fort Lewis) | Massari Arena (Pueblo, CO) |
| 2009 | Metro State | 84–78 | Fort Lewis | Jesse Wagstaff (Metro State) | Massari Arena (Pueblo, CO) |
| 2010 | Metro State | 83–79 | New Mexico Highlands | Donte Nicholas (Metro State) | Massari Arena (Pueblo, CO) |
| 2011 | Fort Lewis | 72–67 | Colorado Mines | Daniel Steffensen (Fort Lewis) | Massari Arena (Pueblo, CO) |
| 2012 | Colorado Mines | 82–62 | Colorado Mesa | Dale Minschwaner (Colorado Mines) | Massari Arena (Pueblo, CO) |
| 2013 | Metro State | 61–60 | Fort Lewis | Brandon Jefferson (Metro State) | Auraria Event Center (Denver, CO) |
| 2014 | Metro State | 77–71 | UC Colorado Springs | Nick Kay (Metro State) | Auraria Event Center (Denver, CO) |
| 2015 | UC Colorado Springs | 82–65 | Metro State | Derrick White (UC Colorado Springs) | Auraria Event Center (Denver, CO) |
| 2016 | Fort Lewis | 73–72 | Colorado Mines | Joshua Blaylock (Fort Lewis) | Whalen Gymnasium (Durango, CO) |
| 2017 | Colorado Mines | 102–98 OT | Fort Lewis | Gokul Natesan (Colorado Mines) | Lockridge Arena (Golden, CO) |
| 2018 | Regis | 88–80 | Fort Lewis | Jarrett Brodbeck (Regis) | Whalen Gymnasium (Durango, CO) |
| 2019 | New Mexico Highlands | 79-66 | Black Hills State | Gerard Davis (New Mexico Highlands) | Lockridge Arena (Golden, CO) |
| 2020 | Colorado Mesa | 69–61 | Colorado Mines | Tommy Nuno (Colorado Mesa) | Burns Arena (St. George, UT) |
| 2021 | Colorado Mesa | 75–74 (OT) | Colorado Mines | Ethan Menzies (Colorado Mesa) | Brownson Arena (Grand Junction, CO) |
| 2022 | Black Hills State | 69–66 | Regis | Donald E. Young Center (Black Hills State) | Donald E. Young Center (Spearfish, SD) |
| 2023 | Fort Lewis | 82–76 | Colorado Mines | Akuel Kot (Fort Lewis) | Brownson Arena (Grand Junction, CO) |
| 2024 | Fort Lewis | 86–75 | Colorado Mines | Obi Agbim (Fort Lewis) | Brownson Arena (Grand Junction, CO) |
Championship appearances by school
edit| School | Finals Record | Finals Appearances | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Metro State | 11–2 | 13 | 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014 |
| Fort Lewis | 6–4 | 10 | 2002, 2008, 2011, 2016, 2023, 2024 |
| Fort Hays State‡ | 4–1 | 5 | 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997 |
| Colorado Mesa | 2–8 | 10 | 2020, 2021 |
| Nebraska–Kearney‡ | 2–5 | 7 | 1998, 2006 |
| Colorado Mines | 2–4 | 6 | 2012, 2017 |
| Black Hills State | 1–1 | 2 | 2022 |
| Regis | 1–1 | 2 | 2018 |
| New Mexico Highlands | 1–1 | 2 | 2019 |
| UCCS (UC Colorado Springs) |
1–1 | 2 | 2015 |
| Western Colorado (Western State) |
1–0 | 1 | 1993 |
| Colorado Christian | 0–1 | 1 | |
| Adams State | 0–1 | 1 | |
| CSU Pueblo | 0–1 | 1 |
- Chadron State, South Dakota Mines, and Westminster have yet to advance to the RMAC tournament final.
- Utah Tech (Dixie State) and Western New Mexico never qualified for the RMAC tournament final before departing the conference.
- ‡Former member of the RMAC.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "RMAC Men's Shootout History" (PDF). Year-by-year records. RMAC. 2016. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
- ^ "What is March Madness: The NCAA tournament explained | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com. Retrieved 2024-09-26.