UCCS has 12 NCAA Division II teams, but do they have the same rival? Who even is UCCS’ main rival school?
I reached out over email to almost every NCAA athlete at UCCS and asked them who they considered to be their team’s rival school, why they chose that school and if their teammates would agree with their selection.
Of the athletes I reached out, 23 from lacrosse, men’s and women’s track and field, men’s cross country, baseball, softball, men’s soccer and women’s basketball responded.
Common answers included Colorado Mesa, Colorado School of Mines and CSU Pueblo.
Lacrosse
The lacrosse team said Colorado Mesa is enemy No. 1.
“I think this is our team’s biggest rival because we have yet to beat them within our programs history,” said junior attacker Allie Schell. “Last year, we lost to them in overtime, which is the closest we’ve been to beating them, so this year we are on the hunt.”
The sentiment was echoed by junior midfielder Peyton Ross, “In the locker room, at practices, and even off the field there’s such a ‘Beat Mesa’ mentality.”
The lacrosse team will play Colorado Mesa on March 16 at Mountain Lion Stadium.
Men’s Track and Field
Caiden Macktinger says Colorado School of Mines has always been the team’s biggest rival, “Historically, we’ve gone toe-to-toe with them in conference, and they consistently bring top-tier individual talent,” he said.
Four more athletes listed Colorado School of Mines as their chief rival, but sophomore Evan Atkin said their team’s rival is Colorado Mesa. “We are always very close in competition and often butt heads at meets,” he said.
Men’s track and field won the 2025 RMAC Indoor Championship, with Colorado School of Mines taking second, 31 points behind.
Women’s Track and Field
Like the men’s team, sophomore jump athlete Dallis Robinson said Colorado School of Mines is their main rival, but doesn’t know if her teammates would agree, “Some people believe we don’t really have a rival, just whoever is competing to win RMAC.”
Senior thrower Victoria Malaki said Colorado School of Mines or CSU Pueblo is their rival.
The women’s track and field team took second in the 2025 RMAC Indoor Championship, 9 points behind Colorado School of Mines. This is the third consecutive year that UCCS fell to second place behind Mines.
Men’s Cross Country
Redshirt juniors Jack Donze and Will Lamb say their rival is CSU Pueblo. Both cite Pueblo’s proximity to Colorado Springs as a reason for the rivalry.
“CSU Pueblo is by far the most annoying school to compete against. After big brothering them in almost everything running for the last several years, they have resorted to recruiting talent from overseas to try and get relevant,” Donze said.
Donze and Lamb are both also on the men’s track and field team.
Baseball
Three players from the baseball team listed CSU Pueblo as their top rival.
Junior infielder Ronan Hella says the rivalry is based on CSU Pueblo’s proximity to Colorado Springs.
Redshirt sophomore Trevor Dale said, “From what I’ve heard from my teammates, we’ve always have had more aggression toward them.”
The Mountain Lions will play CSU Pueblo in their final series of the regular season in May. They’ve won 14 of 32 games against CSU Pueblo.
Softball
Junior pitcher Kailey Bond says she thinks Colorado Mesa is softball’s rival, although some of her teammates might disagree. “They have been good for so long. They are also chirpy with us, so it tends to always be a dog fight.”
Sophomore catcher and outfielder Katelyn Kilgore said CSU Pueblo is their rival.
Softball will host Colorado Mesa for a 4-game series on March 22 and 23. They play an away series against CSU Pueblo in April. The Mountain Lions have won 26 of 44 games against CSU Pueblo.
Men’s Soccer
“Our rival school has always been CSU Pueblo. My teammates will tell you why,” senior defender Bogdan Verdernikov said.
CSU Pueblo and UCCS trend among the best soccer teams in RMAC. “We all have a natural hatred for CSU Pueblo,” said freshman defender Sean Belzer.
Graduate student midfielder Jackson Million adds that CSU Pueblo is a notoriously physical team and “talks the most junk.”
UCCS has beaten CSU Pueblo in 36 matches and tied 7 out of 70 matches.
Women’s Basketball
Junior shooting guard Gia Bradley kept it brief: “Regis.”
UCCS lost to Regis, 76-64, in last year’s RMAC Championship Tournament game when both teams were part of a 4-way tie for RMAC regular season champion. The Mountain Lions beat Regis by 5 points, 78-73, in January but lost to them in their final regular season game on March 1, 86-69.
The Mountain Lions have won 22 of 62 games against Regis.