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Colorado State University Pueblo

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2025 RMAC Hall of Fame Inductees

Football Ben Greenberg, Sports Communications Director

2014 National Championship Football Team, Ryan Jensen Named to RMAC Hall of Fame

2025 RMAC Hall Ceremony Set for July 10 at Colorado Springs Marriott

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference has announced its 2025 Hall of Fame class, which will consist of six individuals, including former CSU Pueblo football player and eight-year NFL center Ryan Jensen and CSU Pueblo's 2014 NCAA Division II National Championship football team.
 
Among the list of six individuals are former student-athletes who competed in the RMAC in women's soccer, women's basketball, football, men's basketball, and women's track and field. A former head volleyball coach and former RMAC Commissioner Joel Smith joins the list along with the ThunderWolves' 2014 national championship football team.
 
The 2025 RMAC Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will be held on Thursday, July 10, at the Colorado Springs Marriott. Doors will open at 5 p.m. MT with the induction and awards ceremony promptly at 6 p.m. MT. Tickets for the event are available at www.RMACSports.org/Tickets.
 
CSU Pueblo 2014 | National Championship Football Team
The seventh team after CSU Pueblo restored its football program became the first – and to date the only RMAC member – to win the NCAA Division II Football Championship with a 13-0 victory against Minnesota State-Mankato in the 2014 season. The ThunderWolves captured their fourth straight RMAC title after posting an 8-1 record, with the lone loss coming in Week 6 at Fort Lewis. After the loss to Fort Lewis, the Pack won nine consecutive games, including three home NCAA Division II playoff games. CSU Pueblo finished the season with a 14-1 record that included a win at NCAA Division I FCS No. 15 Sam Houston State. Eleven Pack student-athletes earned All-America honors, 15 were All-Region selections, and 18 earned All-RMAC accolades. Defensive lineman Darius Allen was the RMAC Defensive Player of the Year and won the Cliff Harris Award and the Gene Upshaw Division II Lineman of the Year award. Head coach John Wristen earned his third straight RMAC Coach of the Year award and was the consensus NCAA Division II National Coach of the Year.
 
Ryan Jensen | CSU Pueblo Football
Ryan Jensen was a four-year starter at offensive tackle and earned All-RMAC honors three times, including first-team honors in 2011 and 2012. One of the most dominant offensive lineman in ThunderWolves' history, Jensen was a two-time All-American and finalist for the 2012 Gene Upshaw Division II Lineman of the Year Award. He led CSU Pueblo to back-to-back RMAC Football titles and NCAA Division II Playoff appearances in 2011 and 2012, reaching the national quarterfinals in 2012. With Jensen, CSU Pueblo posted a 39-8 overall record and a 31-5 RMAC mark. Following his collegiate career, Jensen was drafted in the sixth round of the 2013 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens and played eight seasons in his NFL career with both Baltimore and Tampa Bay. He was the starting center for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers team that won Super Bowl LIV. Jensen was selected to the 2021 NFL Pro Bowl and was a 2019 Second-Team All-Pro selection by Pro Football Focus. He retired from the NFL after the 2023 season after playing 100 regular season games, including 90 starts at center.

Debbie Hendricks | MSU Denver Volleyball Coach
Hendricks led the Roadrunners to the postseason in all 16 years as their head coach. She compiled a 16-year record of 353- 148 (.704 win percentage), and against RMAC competition, she won at an astounding .800 clip (240-60) in regular-season play. She led the Roadrunners to three regular-season championships and six RMAC Tournament championships, including both championships from 2001 through 2003 while going 54-3 in regular-season RMAC play and her 2002 team peaked at No. 2 in the national rankings. She coached 11 players who earned 15 All-America honors and had a player named first team all-region 24 times and All-First Team RMAC 27 times. Hendricks also coached three RMAC Players of the Year, two RMAC Setters of the Year, four RMAC Defensive Players of the Year, and three RMAC Freshmen of the Year, and had two players named to the RMAC's all-time team.
 
Hayley Hollenga | Fort Lewis Women's Soccer & Women's Basketball
Hollenga, a current member of the Fort Lewis women's soccer coaching staff, played four seasons with the Skyhawks women's soccer team (2007-10), capping her career with Second Team All-American honors in 2010. She was a member of teams that posted a 66-15-12 record, won two RMAC titles, made four NCAA tournament appearances, and reached the NCAA's Elite Eight in 2010. Hollenga set Fort Lewis career records for goals (43), assists (30), points (116), and game-winning goals (15). She was a four-time All-RMAC honoree and a four-time all-region selection. In addition to her prowess on the soccer pitch, Hollenga also was a member of the Skyhawks women's basketball team and was a member of the 2009 Division II Sweet 16 team and the 2010 NCAA Division II National runner-up squad.
 
Brandon Jefferson | MSU Denver Men's Basketball
The 2014 NABC Division II National Player of the Year, Jefferson played on teams that compiled a record of 111-20 (.847), went 76-10 (.884) in the RMAC, won two RMAC regular-season and tournament titles, three NCAA regional titles, played in the 2012-13 national championship game, and reached the 2013-14 national semifinals. Jefferson was named to the 2013 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship's All-Tournament team after leading the Roadrunners to the Division II National Championship game in a season they posted a 32-3 overall record and 20-2 RMAC mark. The following season, Jefferson led the Roadrunners to an unbeaten 22-0 RMAC record and 32-2 overall record, winning 30 consecutive games before falling in the national semifinals. Jefferson finished his Roadrunners career with 1,935 points, 297 assists, and 250 steals and holds the MSU Denver career marks in free throws made (488) and minutes played (4,302). Following his collegiate career, he has played professional basketball in Europe and China and was the MVP of the French B League in 2018-19. He currently plays in France's LNB Elite league with JL Bourg.
 
Lori Moreno Roch | Western Colorado Women's Track & Field
Moreno Roch was Western Colorado's first national champion, winning the 5,000-meter title at the 1987 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. She followed up the next season by winning the 10,000-meter crown at the 1988 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Moreno Roch was the 1988 RMAC Outdoor Champion in the 1,500 and 3,000-meter events, helping then Western State complete a run of three consecutive outdoor titles (1986-88) with her on the roster. She was an NAIA All-American in the indoor mile (1987, 88) and distance medley relay (1987) and in the outdoor 5,000 (1987) and 10,000 (1988) meter events.

Joel "JR" Smith | Former RMAC Commissioner
Smith was the RMAC Commissioner for 12 years (2001-13) and was instrumental in securing championship sites for the RMAC Basketball Shootout, negotiating live television coverage of the RMAC basketball championship games, brokering a broadcast agreement with Altitude Sports and Entertainment, developing and administering over $400,000 in grant resources, and developing corporate partnerships to generate additional revenue for the conference. He also implemented the RMAC Hall of Fame in 2002. Surrounding his time as RMAC Commissioner, Smith was the Director of Athletics at Fort Lewis College (1996-2001), the Director of Athletic Development and Assistant Director of Athletics at Metropolitan State College of Denver (1985-1996), and Athletics Director at Chadron State College (2013-2024). In addition, he was active on several NCAA committees, including the regional advisory committees for football, baseball, and men's basketball. He was the chair of the NCAA West Regional Baseball Committee as well as a member of the Division II Championships committee and the D-II Television Task Force. Smith was the Vice President of the Division II Collegiate Commissioners Association and President of the Colorado chapter of the National Football Foundation.
 
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