March 7, 2006

Dr. Arthur Kirk

National Collegiate Athletic Association

Chair, Division II Budget and Finance Committee

P.O. Box 6222

Indianapolis, IN 46206

Dear Dr. Kirk:

I am writing this letter on behalf of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference to request financial assistance from the NCAA Division II Budget and Finance Committee. This grant assistance would support a significant increase in RMAC travel expenses in the sport of football, and would allow the conference to extend scheduling opportunities. A brief explanation follows.

Beginning in 2006-07, Fort Hays State University will leave the RMAC for the Mid America Intercollegiate Athletic Association - a move that will bring the number of conference football schools to eight. To replace Fort Hays State, the RMAC has included Western New Mexico University as a conference member. While the inclusion of Western New Mexico offers advantages to the conference, the travel distance for our Nebraska schools will increase from 3-hour and 5-hour one-way bus rides (to Fort Hays State) to 21-hour one-way bus rides (to WNMU in Silver City, New Mexico). Only two of our conference football schools are located closer to Silver City than to Hays, Kansas.

Accepting Western New Mexico University as a conference member allowed the RMAC to maintain its football sponsorship at nine and continue its present scheduling format, which includes a bye week during the season for each team. Because the bye week games have become increasingly more difficult to fill, the RMAC has proposed including Western Oregon University and Humboldt State University in an affiliation that would give each school a home and an away game beginning with the 2007 season. The estimated cost of transportation for Western Oregon and Humboldt State to travel to one of our member schools (and vise versa) is estimated at $28,700 per trip. Therefore, the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference requests a grant of $200,000 annually for two years to support the adjusted football travel expenses within the conference and to add the non-conference games with Western Oregon and Humboldt State. These funds would provide badly needed support to Division II football in the western region, and would be appropriated as follows.

• $100,000 would support airfare for Western New Mexico-Nebraska Kearney-Chadron State travel. It would also provide resources to support the additional cost for other conference schools to travel to Western New Mexico.

• $100,000 would support two home-and-home games with Western Oregon and Humboldt State. Two RMAC schools would travel to WOU and HSU, while WOU and HSU would travel to two RMAC schools each year for two years.

Please do not hesitate to contact me or Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Commissioner Joel Smith if you have questions or if we can provide additional information. Thank you for your consideration. We look forward to your favorable response.

Sincerely,

Douglas A. Kristensen

Chair, RMAC President?s Council

c: Joel Smith, RMAC Commissioner