COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – For the second consecutive year, South Dakota Mines Football has won the prestigious Brechler Award for earning the highest GPA in the RMAC.

South Dakota Mines Football, led by head coach Charlie Flohr, earned a 3.20 GPA in the fall and a 3.25 GPA in the spring, earning a 3.229 overall GPA this past year.

"What a great honor it is for our team to win the Brechler Award for the second year in a row," Flohr said. "I could not be more proud of our student-athletes. I am extremely proud of the hard work, dedication and commitment our players put into their academics. This is an award that is shared with so many people on campus. Special thanks to our academic support staff, faculty and staff and the entire university."

This is the fourth Hardrocker team to win the Brechler Award and second time football has earned the award.

Colorado Mesa led all institutions with six teams receiving Brechler Awards this season. CSU Pueblo followed with three teams earning honors, while Colorado Christian, Regis, the UCCS, and Western Colorado each had two teams recognized. Black Hills State, Colorado School of Mines, MSU Denver, South Dakota Mines, and Westminster all had one team honored.

Established in 2012-13, the Brechler Awards recognize the conference's top team grade point average (GPA) in each of its 22 sports. Grades were used from the 2025-26 academic year. All student-athletes who were on the institution's NCAA eligibility list were included in the teams' GPA calculation. The team GPA is calculated by dividing the total quality points for each semester by the total number of credits. Team GPAs were submitted to the RMAC Office by each institution's compliance administrator.

The award is named after Paul W. Brechler, a former RMAC Commissioner (1976-1990), who, along with his wife Wanda, were the first two inductees into the RMAC Hall of Fame. Paul was also the former athletic director of the University of Iowa and served as Commissioner of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).

The Brechler Award winners will be recognized during the 2026 RMAC Hall of Fame & Awards Banquet on Thursday, July 9, at COS City Hub in Colorado Springs. Doors will open at 5 p.m. MT, and the induction and awards ceremony will follow promptly at 6 p.m. Tickets are available at RMACSports.org/Tickets.