The Colorado School of Mines Orediggers (also Mines Orediggers) are the athletic teams that represent the

Colorado School of Mines The Colorado School of Mines, informally called Mines, is a public research university in Golden, Colorado, founded in 1874. The school offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees in engineering, science, and mathematics, with a focus on en ...

, located in

Golden, Colorado Golden is a home rule city that is the county seat of Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 20,399 at the 2020 United States Census. Golden lies along Clear Creek at the base of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountai ...

, in

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

intercollegiate sports. The Orediggers compete as members of the

Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC), commonly known as the Rocky Mountain Conference (RMC) from approximately 1910 through the late 1960s, is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (N ...

for all 16 varsity sports.

Varsity sports

The Colorado School of Mines has also been successful athletically as of late. The Orediggers claimed the institution's first-ever

(RMAC) All-Sports Cup during the 2011–12 academic year, and repeated in 2015–16. The 2015–16 season saw Mines win their first NCAA team championship (men's cross country) while claiming five RMAC regular-season and three RMAC Tournament titles.

Teams

Men's sports * Baseball * Basketball * Cross country * Football * Golf * Soccer * Swimming * Indoor / outdoor track & field * Wrestling Women's sports * Basketball * Cross country * Soccer * Softball * Swimming * Indoor / outdoor track & field * Volleyball

National championships

Team

Individual sports

Basketball

In 2012, the men's basketball team was ranked No. 1 and made it to the round of 16 where there they were knocked out by Metropolitan State.

Cross country

The men's cross country team placed 2nd at the 2012 NCAA Division II championships; finishing with 5 all-Americans.CSM Nationals Article
In 2015, the men's cross country won the NCAA DII cross country national championship and brought home 4 all-American awards. It was not only the team's first national title but also first team national title in school history. The men's team won the 2019 NCAA DII national championship, its second national title. The women’s team also had its highest-ever finish at 3rd place. The men had six out of seven runners receive all-American honors while the women had three all-Americans.

Football

Gregg Brandon, the head coach since 2015, has led the team to winning seasons since taking the reins. Under his leadership, the team was Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference co-champions in 2016 and progressed to the second round of the NCAA playoffs. The preceding head coach from 2000–2015, Bob Stitt, led the team to many wins. Stitt is the football coach with the most wins at Mines with an offense that was consistently nationally recognized. Under Stitt, the football team was the RMAC champions in 2004 and co-champions in 2010 and 2014, and progressed to the second round of the NCAA playoffs in 2004.

Volleyball

In women's athletics, the Orediggers have clinched three consecutive RMAC volleyball championships, qualified for the NCAA tournament six years straight and have consistently been ranked in the top 25 in NCAA Division II. The 2014 team finished with a record of 25–4, finishing 10th in the country, and producing two All-Americans and one Honorable Mention All-American.

References

External links

* {{Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference navbox