The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference is preparing to celebrate its centennial March 6.

The RMAC is the fourth-oldest collegiate athletics conference, trailing only the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (1888), the Big Ten Conference (1896) and the Missouri Valley Conference (1907). The RMAC is the oldest conference operating in NCAA Division II, and the oldest headquartered western United States.

On March 6, 1909, leaders from Colorado College, the University of Colorado and Colorado Agricultural College (now Colorado State) agreed to eligibility rules and scheduling procedures, forming the Colorado Faculty Athletic Conference. That spring, the conference sponsored baseball, and track and field.

The Colorado School of Mines joined in November 1909 and participated in the league’s first basketball season. Colorado Mines has been a member of the RMAC since. The next schools to join were Utah in March 1910 and Denver in May 1910, which was when the league changed its name to the Rocky Mountain Faculty Athletic Conference.

In 1967, the name changed again to the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.

Over the years, 31 colleges and universities have been members of the RMAC.

Currently, there are 14 member institutions (Adams State, Chadron State, Colorado Christian, Colorado Mines, Colorado State-Pueblo, Fort Lewis, Mesa State, Metropolitan State, New Mexico Highlands, Regis, UC-Colorado Springs, Nebraska-Kearney, Western New Mexico and Western State) and six associate schools (Fort Hays State, Grand Canyon, Montana State-Billings, San Francisco State, Incarnate Word and Texas-Permian Basin) competing in the RMAC.

The conference sponsors 21 sports (baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s cross country, football, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s soccer, softball, men’s and women’s swimming and diving, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s and women’s indoor track and field, men’s and women’s outdoor track and field, women’s volleyball, wrestling) – the highest number in league history.

To commemorate the centennial, all-time teams are being selected in 19 sports (track and field is combined).

The RMAC Centennial Celebration will officially be Saturday, July 11, at the Cheyenne Mountain Resort in Colorado Springs. More than 200 former student-athletes and coaches will be honored as part of the RMAC’s all-time teams. For more information, see www.rmacsports.org.