The South Dakota Mines Hardrockers (also referred to as the South Dakota Tech Hardrockers, SDSMT Hardrockers, and SDSM&T Hardrockers) are the athletic teams that represent

South Dakota School of Mines and Technology The South Dakota School of Mines & Technology (South Dakota Mines, SD Mines, or SDSM&T) is a public university in Rapid City, South Dakota. It is governed by the South Dakota Board of Regents and was founded in 1885. South Dakota Mines offers ba ...

, located in

Rapid City, South Dakota Rapid City ( lkt, link=no, Mni Lúzahaŋ Otȟúŋwahe; "Swift Water City") is the second most populous city in South Dakota and the county seat of Pennington County. Named after Rapid Creek, where the settlement developed, it is in western So ...

, in Division II intercollegiate sports of the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

(NCAA). The Hardrockers primarily compete as a member of the

Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC), commonly known as the Rocky Mountain Conference (RMC) from approximately 1910 through the late 1960s, is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (N ...

for all 11 varsity sports. The men's soccer team competed in the

Great Northwest Athletic Conference The Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. It has historically operated in the northwestern United States, but al ...

(GNAC) from the 2013 to the 2014 fall seasons, and

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

, which also joined the GNAC from the 2014 to the 2015 fall seasons. On January 20, 2014, South Dakota Mines had accepted an invitation to join the RMAC; most Hardrockers teams joined the RMAC on July 1, 2014 while men's soccer and football moved from the GNAC after the 2014 and 2015 fall seasons respectively.

History

The South Dakota Mines (SDSM&T) athletic teams are called the Hardrockers, coming from its mining background. Miners would use a

rocker box A rocker box (also known as a cradle) is a gold mining implement for separating alluvial placer gold from sand and gravel which was used in placer mining in the 19th century. It consists of a high-sided box, which is open on one end and on top ...

as a more efficient means of panning for gold. The history of the athletic programs stretch back to 1895 when the first school football team formed, originally named the "Longhairs". The Hardrockers formerly competed as members of the

Dakota Athletic Conference The Dakota Athletic Conference (DAC) was a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). As the name implies, member teams were located in the states of North Dakota and South Dakota. T ...

(DAC) of the

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic scholarships to its stu ...

(NAIA) from 2000–01 to 2010–11, and were former members of the

South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference The South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference (SDIC) was an NAIA-associated collegiate athletic conference that ceased operations following the 1999–2000 academic school year when it merged with the North Dakota College Athletic Conference to form ...

(SDIC) (also from the NAIA) until after the 1999–2000 school year. South Dakota Mines completed the transition form the NAIA to the NCAA in July 2013. South Dakota Mines' chief rival is

Black Hills State University Black Hills State University (BHSU) is a public university in Spearfish, South Dakota. Close to 4,000 students attend classes at its campus in Spearfish, at sites in Rapid City and Pierre, and through distance offerings. Enrollment comes from ...

, located less than 50 miles away in

Spearfish, South Dakota Spearfish (Lakota: ''Hočhápȟe'') is a city in Lawrence County, South Dakota. The population was 12,193 at the time of the 2020 census. History Before the Black Hills Gold Rush of 1876, the area was used by Native Americans (primarily bands ...

. The last football game of the regular season between the two schools is called the Black Hills Brawl, whose winner gets the traveling Homestake Trophy. The Hardrockers' other current rivalries include

Colorado School of Mines The Colorado School of Mines, informally called Mines, is a public research university in Golden, Colorado, founded in 1874. The school offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees in engineering, science, and mathematics, with a focus on ener ...

and

Chadron State College Chadron State College is a public college in Chadron, Nebraska, US. It is one of three public colleges in the Nebraska State College System. It has open admission and an acceptance rate of 100%. According to College Factual, it has a six-year g ...

. The Eagle-Rock Trophy was created in 2016 to commemorate the past football games and proximity with Chadron State.

Varsity sports

Teams

Men's sports * Basketball * Cross Country *

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

* eSports * Golf * Soccer * Track & Field Women's sports * Basketball * eSports * Cross Country * Golf * Track & Field * Volleyball

References

External links

* {{Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference navbox Sports clubs established in 1895 1895 establishments in South Dakota Sports in Rapid City, South Dakota