From left to right: Barb Schroeder, Nicole Thompson, Jeff Frykholm and Athletic Director, Thomas Gilhooly.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The Regis University Department of Athletics was honored to celebrate the induction of Barb Schroeder to the 19th annual Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) Hall of Fame and Awards Banquet, hosted at the Colorado Springs Marriott on Thursday.
Schroeder was one of three Regis award winners Thursday as softball head coach Nicole Thompson and women's soccer coach Jeff Frykholm were also on hand to accept RMAC Brechler Awards, recognizing the conference's best team grade-point averages for each of its 21 NCAA-sponsored sports throughout the academic year.
BARB SCHROEDER (1981-2010)
Already a member of the Regis Athletics Hall of Fame (Class of 2016) for her tenure as women's basketball and tennis coach, physical education professor, Associate Director of Athletics, and Athletic Director, she now joins the RMAC Hall of Fame.
Starting as the head coach of the Regis women's basketball program, Schroeder served in that role for a decade. From 1981-90, she led the program to a 134-118 record, winning an RMAC East title in 1981-82, and appearances in the NAIA District VII Playoffs in 1981-82 and 1983-84.
Schroeder's administrative career was not only successful but groundbreaking, first serving as Associate Director of Athletics from 1987-1995 before being elevated to lead the Regis athletic department as athletic director from 1995-2010; the only female athletic director in the conference during that time.
"What really makes this special is seeing what the RMAC was and what it is now. I never really thought this award would happen, but it really is a special honor to be inducted," Schroeder said. "I said it in my speech and I meant it that Regis really was my dream job. I wanted to be an Athletic Director and Regis was the place I wanted to be at."
During her decades of service as an administrator and coach, Schroeder served on a number of national committees, was president of the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletic Administrators (NACWAA), NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Committee member, and chair of the NCAA Division II Championships Committee from 1998-2000.
Schroeder's dedication to Regis student-athletes and the department was consistently honored with accolades for her institutional enhancements. During her tenure as an administrator, she collected awards such as two-time Regis Administrator of the Year, NACWAA District VI Administrator of the Year (1998), and General Sports Turf Systems NCAA DII West Region Athletic Director of the Year in 2005.
Schroeder was also a recipient of the Sportswomen of Colorado Leadership Award, and a member of the Division II Board of Directors in 2006 and 2007, along with being inducted into the Colorado Coaches of Girls Sports Hall of Fame.
Brechler Awards: Baseball, Softball, Men's Cross Country, Women's Lacrosse and Women's Soccer
The Brechler Awards are named in honor of Paul W. Brechler, a former RMAC commissioner (1976-90), and his wife Wanda Brechler, are awarded each year to the teams that compile the highest grade-point average (GPA) for each of the conference's 21 sponsored sports. Each team's GPA is calculated by dividing the total quality points by the total number of credits for each semester. Team GPAs are submitted to the RMAC office by each institution's compliance administrator.
Thursday's award marked the eighth-consecutive season in which the Regis women's soccer and softball programs have earned Brechler Awards for their respective sport. Brechler Awards were not awarded in 2019-20 due to the nature of the COVID-19 pandemic and the influence it had on athletic seasons and student-athletes.
Regis softball posted a team GPA of 3.78 and women's soccer boasted a 3.73 for the 2022-23 academic year.
