Mines Tabbed as Favorite in RMAC Coaches' Poll
July 31st, 2024 9:00am
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Colorado School of Mines claims the top spot in the 2024 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Football Preseason Coaches’ Poll, the league announced Wednesday. The RMAC Football preseason poll is voted on by the league’s 10 head coaches. Head coaches are not permitted to vote for their own program.
Colorado School of Mines leads the way in the 2024 preseason poll with seven first-place votes and 79 total points after a dominant 2023 campaign that saw the Orediggers return to the NCAA Division II Championship Game. Head coach Pete Sterbick enters his second year at the helm of the Orediggers program, which recorded a 14-1 overall record in his first year.
Western Colorado checks in at No. 2 in the RMAC Football Preseason Poll with 74 points and three first-place votes. The Mountaineers are coming off an incredibly successful season in which they finished with a 10-2 overall record and earned a berth to the 2024 NCAA DII Football Championship. Behind coach Jas Bains, the Mountaineers are poised to make another run at the RMAC conference title.
Colorado State University Pueblo rounds out the top three programs in the league’s preseason poll with 66 points. The ThunderWolves are also led by a second-year head coach, Philip Vigil. Under Vigil, CSU Pueblo went 8-3 overall in 2023 and finished the season with the third-best record in the conference. With a year under his belt, Vigil aims to lead the ThunderWolves to even more success in the 2024 season.
Colorado Mesa holds fourth place in the preseason poll after tallying 50 points, while Black Hills State falls closely behind in fifth place with 49 points. South Dakota Mines garners 42 points, placing them sixth overall in the 2024 RMAC preseason poll.
Chadron State occupies seventh place with 39 points, followed by Adams State with 21 points. New Mexico Highlands (18 points) and Fort Lewis (12 points) close out the 2024 RMAC Football Preseason Poll.
2024 RMAC Football Preseason Poll
| School (First-place votes) | Points |
| 1. Colorado School of Mines (7) | 79 |
| 2. Western Colorado (3) | 74 |
| 3. CSU Pueblo | 66 |
| 4. Colorado Mesa | 50 |
| 5. Black Hills State | 49 |
| 6. South Dakota Mines | 42 |
| 7. Chadron State | 39 |
| 8. Adams State | 21 |
| 9. New Mexico Highlands | 18 |
| 10. Fort Lewis | 12 |
