The School of Mines received word this summer from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) that it has been accepted as an NCAA Div. II institution. The Hardrockers applied to become NCAA affiliated June 1, along with Black Hills State University and 10 other NAIA institutions.

“This is fantastic news for the Hardrockers,” said School of Mines President Dr. Robert Wharton. “Our student-athletes are incredible in the classroom and on the field, and this move allows us to pursue greater opportunities for growth and development of talent. This is a great benefit for the community and our alumni as well. It raises the stature of our athletic programs, and we anticipate much greater community interest and involvement.”

The Hardrockers now begin the three-year process of transferring to NCAA Div. II affiliation from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). SD Mines will remain in the NAIA and the Dakota Athletic Conference for the 2010-11 season, followed by a year of candidacy and then a year of probation before gaining official NCAA Div. II status for the 2013-14 season.

The transition affects the athletes in different ways. Graduating seniors will not see any changes, juniors and sophomores will not get to experience being a part of NCAA Div. II, and freshman will be the first graduating class to experience being a part of the new NCAA Div. II legacy.

“This is very exciting for the future of Hardrocker athletics,” said SD School of Mines Athletics Director Dick Kaiser. “It is the beginning of a new era that will open up all sorts of positive possibilities for our student-athletes and alumni.”

With NCAA Div. II status granted, the next task will be identifying an athletic conference to join. Currently the Hardrockers have received interest from the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. Both leagues are looking to expand membership and talks have been ongoing with both School of Mines and Black Hills State.

The fall season is finally here. The Tech Soccer Club is again preparing for the Great Plains League which starts within the next two weeks.

“The soccer season is definitely one of the highlights of the year” says Matthew Johnson, senior civil engineering student, and one of the team leaders. “It requires some time commitment but it is a great way of getting into shape, taking a break from the books, and getting to know people.”

The Tech Soccer Club plays one home game and one away game against each Great Plains League team. They will battle South Dakota State University, Augustana College, North Dakota State University, University of North Dakota and Minnesota State University at Moorhead.

“Getting together a consistent group of players who can commit to playing both home and away games is key in order to succeed in the league” said Austin Nelson, a graduate student that has been involved with the club since his freshman year.

The team is currently welcoming new players. Soccer practices are at 4 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays (subject to change) on the practice field behind the King Center gymnasium. Games are played on the weekends.

The Tech Soccer Club encourages students who are not playing on the team to cheer at home games.

“Having someone watch and cheer us on is always a great motivation and we encourage people to come and watch our games,” said Ziad Zuhair, an industrial engineering sophomore from Saudi Arabia.

Sad that World Cup is over? Luckily there are live games to be watched here in town throughout September and October! All home games are played at Sioux Park on the west side of town.

Contact soccer.sdsmt@gmail.com if you are interested in joining the team and/or want to know more about the soccer activities the club is involved with throughout the year.

Date               Time               Opponent

Sept. 11         5:00 p.m.        SDSU
Sept. 12        10:00 a.m.      Augustana
Sept. 25        7:00 p.m.        UND
Oct. 9             7:00 p.m.        MSUM
Oct. 10          10:00 p.m.      NDSU

Locations: All at Sioux Park, Rapid City.

Gone are the lazy days of summer… wakeboarding, swimming, waterskiing, tubing, knee-boarding, and the ever challenging sport of tanning.  It’s nearly impossible to get the perfect tan (via old-fashioned UV rays from the sun, not a tanning booth).  Fair-skinned blondes like myself tend to turn the flattering color of tomato-red, followed by peeling, and then possibly turning a slightly darker shade of off-white.  Others seem to never overcome the challenge of the farmer’s tan- more often the farmer’s burn. Another attractive look is the sock tan line (plus it shows that you put safety first by wearing boots to mow and such).  We must not forget those who remember to protect their eyes with stylish sunglasses.  My newest sunglasses fetish may make me look totally rad, but when I walk in a building and remove my sunglasses, my tan lines are revealed, showing off my winter-time color.

Soon blizzards will be blowing in and tennis, golf, and all water sports will cease to be played outdoors.  But don’t fret!  Technology has provided us with game consoles such as the Wii and virtual golf to help us make it through the long, cold winter months.  Even for those who just play recreational mini-golf, disc golf, and yard games, Wii Sports Resort offers a virtual likeness to play inside while a rain, snow, or sub-zero temperatures prevent you from exploring beyond the confines of your home.  Additionally, Sports Resorts also has canoeing, wakeboarding, and jet-skiing – the canoeing is actually very tiring.   But hey, maybe you want to pick up a new winter activity!  You could cross country ski, ice skate, or even join a curling team!

A new intramural season is underway, and with the new season comes new intramural directors in charge and new students participating.  This season, Rachel Janzen, assistant women’s basketball coach, will take over the fall intramurals and Jennie Malone, assistant women’s volleyball coach, will run the spring intramural season.  They will take over for Jennifer Ranum, assistant athletic trainer, due to her new responsibility as the NCAA Compliance Director.

With a new season come a new coveted t-shirt for the championship team.  Last year, the black and white intramural championship t-shirts donned the phrase “We bust ours to kick yours” around campus?  Are you wondering how you could get your hands on one of the new championship shirts?  Well, you could start or join and intramural team.

The process to partake in intramurals is quite easy.  First, find some friends, residents in the dorm, or class mates and form a team. Then, one must only E-mail the roster to Janzen at rachel.janzen@sdsmt.edu.

Currently, intramural flag football and wiffle ball is underway with games beginning Tuesday September 7th.  Kickball, 3 on 3 basketball and volleyball are other intramurals students and staff can participate in throughout the fall season.  A variety of intramurals will be available to become a part of next semester as well.  These include water polo, 5 on 5 basketball, indoor soccer, and dodge ball.

Team player: Tom Lunzman is a civil engineering senior who is one of the football team captains.

Tom Lunzman, civil engineering senior, is September’s Senior Spotlight for many reasons. He is one of the Hardrocker Football Team Captains, a hardworking free safety, and a four-time All-Conference Player.  Lunzman hails from the great state of Nebraska, where his interest in football started early watching the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Cornhuskers dominate the field.  In his four year career, Lunzman has also torn up the field gaining respect from his teammates, coaches, and opponents.

Making a run for it: Lunzman sprints across the field with the ball.

“Beating BH (Black Hills State University) my sophomore year is by far my favorite memory,” said Lunzman.  The legendary game Lunzman is referring to occurred the 2008 season, in which the Hardrockers defeated the Yellow Jackets 24-23.  This game led to the creation of the epic “Fear What Sting” t-shirts.

Lunzman hopes to make new lasting memories this year. “I’m looking forward to having an experienced team this year,” said Lunzman, “Knowing your teammates and having chemistry helps make a championship team.”

The Hardrockers started off their season with a big win over Montana Tech 13-6. “It was a good start to the season and it is always a good thing to win on the road,” said Lunzman.

Ever notice how Thursday and Friday classes seem to drop in attendance about every other week?  Yes, it is possible that some students are taking an early weekend, but for a select few student athletes, these days are spent on buses and hotel rooms. This past weekend, the Lady Hardrocker volleyball team traveled to Valley City and Jamestown, N.D. On this seven hour bus trip one could find setter Becky Keilholtz listening to her iPod, watching movies and studying her scouting report, middle hitter Paige Corcoran studying for her upcoming test in Engineering Economics while braiding Katherine Hanson’s hair and outside hitter Madi “X-factor” Lane dreaming about hitting through the Lady Vikings block and scoring the winning point of the match as she took a well deserved nap.

After the never-ending bus trip, the team then unpacks into what becomes a “home-away-from-home”: the hotel room.  The team must literally learn to live out of a bag for the duration of the weekend.  Finally after days of preparation, hours spent on the bus and countless time devoted to memorizing the scouting report, the big match arrives.

The stat leaders for the weekend games were sophomore Madisen Lane with 18 kills, 6 solo blocks and 7 assist blocks and junior Paige Corcoran 13 kills, 3 solo blocks and 7 assist blocks. The sophomore libero Reanna Roberson had 19 digs and freshman setter Alex Mader had 33 assists and 11 digs on the weekend.

Coach Tiffany Mastin commented, “We played great at times, but at other times we let both teams go on too many runs of points against us. We need to continue working hard at a consistent level , really pushing ourselves to get better. Jessie Guthals and Madisen Lane both had a great weekend for us. We need to continue working on offensively putting balls away when needed, as well as finishing matches.  We are working to continue to get better and be positive.  We need to take a good look at this past weekend, learn lessons appropriately, and then move onto pushing the other DAC schools in every match.”

The Hardrocker football team is making this year one to remember. The boys are starting out the season with an impressive 3-0 opening record. The team has experience and plain old hard work to thank for their accomplishments.

“The biggest difference from last year’s team to this year’s team is our confidence level,” senior tightend Jason Bilstein said. “We are having good practices and our tempo is upbeat.”

The defense for the Rockers has been strong in years past, scoring more conversion points from defensive plays in the back field. But this year the boys got it figured out and are developing a strong offensive threat.

“We have a new and more mobile offensive line. This gives us the opportunity to explore our offensive options,” Coach Daniel Kratzer said. “Our defense is an experienced group of young players including some young linebackers that are as good as there are in this league!”

The Rockers won their first game against Montana Tech, 25 to 22, with an overtime field goal by Pierre kicker, Andy Smith.

“I was really nervous before I got out on the field, so I had to have faith that everyone else was going to their job,” electrical engineering junior Andy Smith said. “But it was a team win and I can’t take all the credit. Everyone did their job and did great.”

After a three week break, the boys dominated the Dakota State Trojans 41 to 7 for an M Day win. The M Day win was a fun one to watch with the defense dominating DSU.

Then the Rockers rolled over Mayville State in a 48-28 win. Sophomore Jamie Dale rushed over 232 yards and finished with two touchdowns and quarterback Nick Russell passed for three touchdowns.

“Our defense didn’t do their best,” junior Joe Berke said. “But our offense made up for it.”

For the second week in a row, the South Dakota School of Mines football team received votes in the NAIA Football Top 25 Coaches’ Poll. The School of Mines current record is 3-0.

The Rockers travel to Jamestown on Saturday, Oct. 3, for their fourth game.