COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference announced its 2025-26 Brechler Award recipients Thursday, recognizing the University of Colorado Colorado Springs men's and women's cross country programs for posting the highest team grade point average in the conference for their respective sports during the 2025-26 academic year.
 
The honors mark the first RMAC Brechler Awards for both cross country programs and bring UCCS' department total to seven. Previous Mountain Lion recipients include women's basketball (2018-19), men's golf (2018-19), volleyball (2016-17), and the men's indoor and outdoor track & field programs (2012-13).
 
Established in 2012-13, the Brechler Awards recognize the top team GPA in each of the RMAC's 22 sponsored sports. Team GPAs are calculated using all student-athletes listed on each institution's NCAA eligibility roster during the academic year and are certified by each institution's compliance administrator before submission to the conference office.
 
The UCCS women's cross country team earned the award with a 3.785 team GPA while also producing one of the most successful seasons in program history. The Mountain Lions placed sixth at the NCAA Division II Championships, recorded a program-best runner-up finish at the NCAA South Central Regional, and the program's best finish of second at the RMAC Championships. UCCS also captured the season-opening Rust Buster 5K title before concluding the season with an All-America performance from Kseniya Nikanorov at the NCAA Championships.
 
"I am so happy the women on the team are being recognized with this award," said head women's cross country coach Corey Kubatzky.  "The entire roster represents what it means to truly be student-athletes by committing to excellence both in the classroom and in athletic competition. They are fantastic young ladies who produced exceptional results this year in all areas and deserve all the credit and recognition. Very proud of them!"
 
The men's cross country team posted a 3.595 team GPA to claim the conference honor. On the course, the Mountain Lions advanced to the NCAA Division II Championships and finished 13th nationally after placing fourth at the RMAC Championships and sixth at the NCAA South Central Regional. UCCS also opened the season with a runner-up finish at the Rust Buster 8K and was led at the national championship meet by Brett Davis, who crossed the finish line in 30:57.
 
"Winning the Breacher Award is a complete team effort and that's why we say that every man counts," commented Mark Misch, UCCS head men's cross country coach.  "I always tell the guys that I don't take the tests in the classroom, and I don't wear the uniform in the races, so they make the team what they want it to be. They all do a tremendous job of balancing their academics, jobs, internships, training and racing and they all deserve credit for this award."
 
The award is named in honor of Paul W. Brechler, who served as RMAC Commissioner from 1976-90. Brechler and his wife, Wanda, were the inaugural inductees into the RMAC Hall of Fame. He also served as athletics director at the University of Iowa and later as commissioner of the Western Athletic Conference.
 
 
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As a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs competes in 14 varsity sports in NCAA Division II intercollegiate athletics.