University of Montana President Royce Engstrom and the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference office in Colorado Springs, Colorado anounced jointly today that the school will leave the Big Sky Conference to join the RMAC effective July 1, 2014. The RMAC includes schools in Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico and South Dakota.
Engstrom said "the step down is a proper decision" for an institution that has continued to reduce its foot print in intercollegiate athletics over the past six decades." Montana departed the defunct Pacific Coast Conference in 1950 before becoming a member of the Skyline Conference from 1951 to 1962 when Utah, Wyoming, BYU and New Mexico broke away to form the Western Athletic Conference. Montana became a founding member of the Big Sky Conference in 1963.
UM Athletic Director Kent Haslam said that the move to the RMAC will allow the school to add women's field hockey along with women's softball which had already been planned. Montana State University, which left the RMAC to become an original member of the Big Sky Conference, announced that they will not be joining UM in the move. MSU President Waded Cruzado says "our options remain open as regards the future of our intercollegiate athletic program."
Engstrom said "the step down is a proper decision" for an institution that has continued to reduce its foot print in intercollegiate athletics over the past six decades." Montana departed the defunct Pacific Coast Conference in 1950 before becoming a member of the Skyline Conference from 1951 to 1962 when Utah, Wyoming, BYU and New Mexico broke away to form the Western Athletic Conference. Montana became a founding member of the Big Sky Conference in 1963.
UM Athletic Director Kent Haslam said that the move to the RMAC will allow the school to add women's field hockey along with women's softball which had already been planned. Montana State University, which left the RMAC to become an original member of the Big Sky Conference, announced that they will not be joining UM in the move. MSU President Waded Cruzado says "our options remain open as regards the future of our intercollegiate athletic program."
