Photo by: Roger Carry
Colorado Skiers Set For NCAA Championships
March 06, 2018 | Skiing
Buffs Looking For 21st Title in Skiing, 29th Overall National Crown
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS — The 65th annual NCAA Skiing Championships are set to begin here Wednesday, with 20-time champion Colorado looking for a ninth title under head coach Richard Rokos.
Here is everything you need to know about the 2018 NCAA Skiing Championship.
Quickly
The 65th NCAA Ski Championships are set for March 7-10 in Steamboat Springs, the 14th time the state of Colorado is hosting the event with the last six all in Steamboat (dating back to 1979; the University of Colorado is the official host and has won six times when the event has been in the Buffs' home state ... The Buffaloes have won 20 national championships in skiing: 11 men's (1959-60-72-73-74-75-76-77-78-79-82), eight coed (1991-95-98-99-2006-11-13-15) and one women's (1982, AIAW) ... CU has finished first (2006-11-13-15) or second (2008-09-10-17) in nine of the last 12 NCAAs (third in '07 and '12, fourth in '14) ... The skiers are gunning for CU's 12th national championship since 2000, as CU has five in men's cross country (2002, 2004, 2006, 2013, 2014) and two in women's cross country (2000, 2004) to go with the 2006, 2011, 2013 and 2015 ski crowns (all titles transferred to the Pac-12 count, which stands at 504) ... CU has finished in the top three in 71 of its last 76 ski meets (a school-record 31 straight is within this run); the Buffs have finished first or second 52 of their last 62 times out (29 wins) ... Of CU's 20 ski titles, 10 have been won in the west and 10 in the east ... The University of Vermont will host the 2019 NCAA Championships (March 6-9); Montana State will host the 2020 affair and Middlebury in 2021 ... Official website for these championships: www.CUBuffs.com/NCAAski, with a live stream of all events at http://www.ncaa.com/liveschedule.
A Closer Look At The NCAA's
Utah enters as the defending champion, as the Utes won their first title in 2017 since 2003; they had won five of the first six coed titles between 1983 and 1988 (Denver is the only school to repeat this millennium, with a pair of "three-peats" (2000-02, 2008-10). The last time one school swept all five meets in the west was in 2013 (Colorado), as the last five winters have been topsy-turvy: CU won three times and Denver twice this winter; CU won three and Utah twice in 2017; Utah won three times and CU and DU once in 2016; CU won thrice and Utah and New Mexico once in 2015; and Denver and Utah won twice and UNM once in '14. So, over the last five regular seasons, CU has 10 wins, Utah eight, DU five and New Mexico two. Denver (RMISA & West Regional), Dartmouth (EISA & East Regional) and Northern Michigan (Central Regional) enter as this year's champions.
In 2006, CU became the first school to win the NCAA title without a full 12-skier team, participating minus one men's alpine skier, and in 2008, Denver won the title being down a women's Nordic skier – these are the only two times a team without a full roster has won. The leader at the midway point has claimed 12 of the last 17, while schools leading after three days (or six events) have won 19 of the last 23 times, though Utah rallied from 34½ points behind Denver to win the 2017 crown. The last three teams to lead from wire-to-wire were Denver (2002, 2010) and CU (2011). In 2011 (at Middlebury), Vermont led after each of the first three days, taking a 54-point lead over Colorado into the final two events (Nordic freestyle), but the Buffs would pull off the largest final day rally in the history of the event to take home the title. Western schools had posted at least three of the top four finishes every year from 1993 through 2011 (when Dartmouth broke through and finished fourth in 2012 when UVM won ). The west has had at least three in the top four in 32 of the 35 previous coed meets, capturing all four top spots in 2002, 2004, 2009, 2010 and 2016 – it had been since 1966 since one region (west) claimed a one-through-four sweep. The west also had five of the top six in 2002, 2009 and 2016, and four of the top five numerous times. Dartmouth is the last team from the east to win in the east (the '07 title); UVM is the last from back east to win in the west ('12).
Traditional Favorites
Colorado (24 top two finishes, with 17 wins), Utah (23; 11 titles), Vermont (21; six titles) and Denver (19; 13 wins) have dominated NCAA college skiing over the past 51 seasons (dating back to 1967). Only three other schools, Wyoming (one win and four seconds), New Mexico (one crown and two runner-ups) and Dartmouth (two titles) and have been able to crack the top two in this span. Since 1990, Denver has won nine titles, CU eight, Utah five and Vermont four; the only three other schools that have won a title since the sport went coed (in 1983) are Wyoming (1985), New Mexico (2004) and Dartmouth (2007). Middlebury (1980, women) is the last school to win other than the aforementioned seven. Dartmouth snapped a 12-year reign by western schools with its win in 2007 and UVM returned to the top in 2012, but the west still has 21 of the last 23 titles and 29 of 35 coed crowns dating back to 1983.
Participants
A total of 23 schools will be represented in Steamboat (*—qualified full 12-skier roster): *Alaska-Anchorage, Alaska-Fairbanks, Bates, Boston College, Bowdoin, Colby, *Colorado, *Dartmouth, *Denver, Harvard, Michigan Tech, Middlebury, *Montana State, New Hampshire, *New Mexico, Northern Michigan, Plymouth State, St. Lawrence, St. Michael's, St. Scholastica, Utah, *Vermont and Williams. Seven qualified the NCAA maximum of 12: Alaska-Anchorage, CU, Dartmouth, Denver, Montana State, New Mexico and Vermont (Utah did as well, but had a late scratch on its women's alpine team due to injury, thus a St. Michael's women's alpine skier was added to the lineup; Middlebury qualified 11, Alaska-Fairbanks and Northern Michigan the full six on the Nordic side. The most schools that ever competed in the NCAA's were 24 in 2007, with 23 previously doing so in 1996, 2002, 2004, 2013 and 2015.
The Schedule
The GIANT SLALOM races will open the NCAA Championships on Wednesday, March 7, with the men's first run at 9:00 a.m. MST, followed by its second run at around 10:30 a.m.; the women's runs follow at 12:30 p.m. and 2:00 p.m., respectively. The CLASSICAL races open the Nordic events on Thursday, March 8, with the women's 5-kilometer race at 9 a.m. and men's 10k at 10:30 a.m. The SLALOM races are set for Friday night (a Steamboat tradition), March 9, with the women's first run at 6:45 p.m., followed by the men's first run at 7:30 p.m.; the second runs will follow at 9 p.m. for the women and 9:30 p.m. for the men. The FREESTYLE races will finish off the NCAA meet on Saturday, March 10: the men are first with their 20-kilometer run at 9 a.m., with the women's 15k to follow at 11 a.m. Flower ceremonies follow each event, and the awards presentation is set for about Noon on Saturday. (All times listed are mountain)
Results Analysis
Though CU had "only" nine different CU skiers this year record podium (top three) finishes, eight came out of the dozen set to participate in the NCAA Championships (the Buffs had 12 accomplish the feat in 2017, which they also had in 2006 and tying for the most since the 13 in 1995 and 1991). Last year CU finished second in the NCAA after winning the title those other three years with 12 or more different athletes finishing in the top three. But looking inside the numbers, there's usually not a lot of correlation between the two, just more of a fun fact.
For example, this winter sophomore David Ketterer missed all of January while competing for a spot on Germany's Olympic team; he didn't record a podium finish after returning but is a threat to do so at NCAA's where he swept the alpine titles as a freshman. In all, six different CU skiers won 13 combined races, with six posting runner-up efforts. The Buffs have now won 10 or more races in six out of the last seven seasons and have done that in 18 of the 28 seasons under head coach Richard Rokos. CU and Utah tied for the most RMISA individual victories with 13, while Denver had 12. The Buffs have won 160 western races (out of 561) over the last 13 seasons, topping DU (139) and the Utes (116). When including the NCAA's, CU's 2006 and 2008 teams own the single season school mark with 21 wins since the sport went coed in 1983; the 1991 and 1998 teams had 19, followed by 16 in 2009 and 15 in 1999, 2013 and 2017.
Colorado is almost always at or near the top in the most top five and top 10 performances, and this winter was no different; for the second straight year, the Buffaloes were first in top five finishes and second in top 10 efforts (see list below). Only Denver had more 10 top finishes – and just one at that – but among CU's skiers going to NCAA, there were 14 missed races among that group this year (of those, six were by senior Petra Hyncicova while representing her native
Czech Republic at Pyeonchang, and the five by Ketterer as mentioned above). Colorado has led the west in top 10 finishes in five of the last 11 years, with its 967 over that period of time, well ahead of the rest.
Colorado's success was fairly balanced this winter, as in addition to winning three meets overall, it scored the most Nordic points three times (second and third once), and had the high alpine point total once (finishing second and third twice each); the women's Nordic squad was the most dominant, winning four times and second once. CU's three wins came by a combined 149.5 points and Denver's two over the Buffs by 105.5.
CU has led the RMISA in team points seven of the last 11 years, leading the regular season race (four meets) this year with 2,603 points, besting Denver (2,446.5) and Utah (2,285.5). The constant scoring base changes through the years have created assorted "high water marks" as currently around 650 point will usually win a competition (whereas in the east with a higher base, 900-plus usually earns the win). Denver's 710.5 points in the RMISA Championships at Steamboat was the team-high for the year; the Pioneers 369.5 points in the alpine races was also the season high. Colorado's 363 points in the Nordic action at Utah's meet topped the charts in that discipline. A breakdown of the CU top finishes in 2018:
Wins (13): Ola Johansen 3, Tonje Trulsud 3, Hedda Baangman 2, Alvar Alev 2, Nora Christensen 2, Petra Hyncicova 1.
Runner-Up Finishes (14): Petra Hyncicova 4, Ola Johansen 4, Petter Reistad 2, Tonje Trulsrud 2, Nora Christensen 1, Christina Rolandsen 1.
Top 5 Finishes (68): Ola Johansen 9, Anne Siri Lervik 9, Petter Reistad 9, Tonje Trulsrud 8, Hedda Baangman 7, Alvar Alev 6, Nora Christensen 5, Petra Hyncicova 5, Christina Rolandsen 4, David Ketterer 2, Sondre Bollum 1, Ane Johnsen 1, Max Luukko 1, Joey Young 1.
Top 10 Finishes (110): Petter Reistad 11, Christina Rolandsen 11, Alvar Alev 10, Ola Johansen 10, Anne Siri Lervik 10, Tonje Trulsrud 10, Hedda Baangman 8, Sondre Bollum 7, Nora Christensen 7, Ane Johnsen 6, Petra Hyncicova 5, Joey Young 5, David Ketterer 4, Max Luukko 4, Isabelle Fidjeland 1, Andrew Potyk 1.
Breakdown by School
Alpine (26 top 5, 41 top 10): men 13/23, women 13/18. Nordic (42 top 5, 69 top 10): men 16/29, women 26/40.
Team (68 top 5, 110 top 10): men 29/52, women 39/58.
Individual Wins (48): Colorado 13, Utah 13, Denver 12, Montana State 5, New Mexico 4, Alaska-Anchorage 1.
Podium Finishes (Top 3; 144): Colorado 42, Denver 41, Utah 26, Montana State 22, New Mexico 8, Alaska-Anchorage 4, Westminster 1.
Top 5 Finishes (241): Colorado 68, Denver 62, Utah 40, Montana State 37, New Mexico 22, Alaska Anchorage 9, Westminster 3.
Top 10 Finishes (480): Denver 111, Colorado 110, Utah 90, Montana State 83, New Mexico 45, Alaska Anchorage 18, Westminster 16, Alaska Fairbanks 7.
Historically
The NCAA first sponsored a men's national championship in skiing in 1954, though national title meets (National Intercollegiate Championships) were held as early as 1946, the same year CU's program began. Women's programs came into being in the late 1970s, with then-CU head coach Bill Marolt at the forefront of making it a reality. CU has competed in all but three of the previous 64 NCAA's, but on one of those occasions (1964), several team members had trained for and competed in the Winter Olympics, and in 1967, sent only a few skiers as individuals to Maine for financial reasons. The AIAW sponsored women's titles between 1977 and 1982; in 1983, the NCAA absorbed the AIAW but combined male and female competition, as was the case in rifle and fencing. A complete look at the NCAA Championship history of the Buffaloes is on page 9 of the PDF of the notes that are linked at the top of the page.
The Buffaloes have won the second-most titles of any school in the sport, trailing only Denver's 23, with their last championships coming in 2015 when the Buffs won the national championship in Lake Placid. Utah is the defending champions, having edged Colorado for the 2017 title by just 16½-point margin
CU is coming off a second-place finish in the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association championships, an event that also doubled as the NCAA West Regional.
Colorado had a dominant regular season, taking the RMISA crown by a 156-point margin after winning 3-of-4 meets prior to regionals. However, it was at the RMISA Championships that CU saw the Pioneers beat the Buffs for the crown by a 91½-point margin of victory.
Of CU's 20 ski titles, 10 have been won in the west and 10 in the east. Six of Colorado's championships have been won within the state - one in Durango, three in Winter Park and two in Steamboat Spring, the most recent being in 2006 when Colorado became the first school ever to take a title without a full 12-skier squad (missing one men's alpine skier).
This is the eighth time Steamboat Springs is playing host to the NCAA Championships and the fifth time with Colorado serving as the host (1993, 2006, 2010, 2016).
The Buffs are hoping to draw on their experience gained at NCAA this week in Steamboat. Colorado was one of six schools (Alaska Anchorage, Dartmouth, Denver, New Mexico and Vermont) that is fielding a full 12-skier team at the Championships with Utah and Middlebury both having 11.
Here is everything you need to know about the 2018 NCAA Skiing Championship.
Quickly
The 65th NCAA Ski Championships are set for March 7-10 in Steamboat Springs, the 14th time the state of Colorado is hosting the event with the last six all in Steamboat (dating back to 1979; the University of Colorado is the official host and has won six times when the event has been in the Buffs' home state ... The Buffaloes have won 20 national championships in skiing: 11 men's (1959-60-72-73-74-75-76-77-78-79-82), eight coed (1991-95-98-99-2006-11-13-15) and one women's (1982, AIAW) ... CU has finished first (2006-11-13-15) or second (2008-09-10-17) in nine of the last 12 NCAAs (third in '07 and '12, fourth in '14) ... The skiers are gunning for CU's 12th national championship since 2000, as CU has five in men's cross country (2002, 2004, 2006, 2013, 2014) and two in women's cross country (2000, 2004) to go with the 2006, 2011, 2013 and 2015 ski crowns (all titles transferred to the Pac-12 count, which stands at 504) ... CU has finished in the top three in 71 of its last 76 ski meets (a school-record 31 straight is within this run); the Buffs have finished first or second 52 of their last 62 times out (29 wins) ... Of CU's 20 ski titles, 10 have been won in the west and 10 in the east ... The University of Vermont will host the 2019 NCAA Championships (March 6-9); Montana State will host the 2020 affair and Middlebury in 2021 ... Official website for these championships: www.CUBuffs.com/NCAAski, with a live stream of all events at http://www.ncaa.com/liveschedule.
A Closer Look At The NCAA's
Utah enters as the defending champion, as the Utes won their first title in 2017 since 2003; they had won five of the first six coed titles between 1983 and 1988 (Denver is the only school to repeat this millennium, with a pair of "three-peats" (2000-02, 2008-10). The last time one school swept all five meets in the west was in 2013 (Colorado), as the last five winters have been topsy-turvy: CU won three times and Denver twice this winter; CU won three and Utah twice in 2017; Utah won three times and CU and DU once in 2016; CU won thrice and Utah and New Mexico once in 2015; and Denver and Utah won twice and UNM once in '14. So, over the last five regular seasons, CU has 10 wins, Utah eight, DU five and New Mexico two. Denver (RMISA & West Regional), Dartmouth (EISA & East Regional) and Northern Michigan (Central Regional) enter as this year's champions.
In 2006, CU became the first school to win the NCAA title without a full 12-skier team, participating minus one men's alpine skier, and in 2008, Denver won the title being down a women's Nordic skier – these are the only two times a team without a full roster has won. The leader at the midway point has claimed 12 of the last 17, while schools leading after three days (or six events) have won 19 of the last 23 times, though Utah rallied from 34½ points behind Denver to win the 2017 crown. The last three teams to lead from wire-to-wire were Denver (2002, 2010) and CU (2011). In 2011 (at Middlebury), Vermont led after each of the first three days, taking a 54-point lead over Colorado into the final two events (Nordic freestyle), but the Buffs would pull off the largest final day rally in the history of the event to take home the title. Western schools had posted at least three of the top four finishes every year from 1993 through 2011 (when Dartmouth broke through and finished fourth in 2012 when UVM won ). The west has had at least three in the top four in 32 of the 35 previous coed meets, capturing all four top spots in 2002, 2004, 2009, 2010 and 2016 – it had been since 1966 since one region (west) claimed a one-through-four sweep. The west also had five of the top six in 2002, 2009 and 2016, and four of the top five numerous times. Dartmouth is the last team from the east to win in the east (the '07 title); UVM is the last from back east to win in the west ('12).
Traditional Favorites
Colorado (24 top two finishes, with 17 wins), Utah (23; 11 titles), Vermont (21; six titles) and Denver (19; 13 wins) have dominated NCAA college skiing over the past 51 seasons (dating back to 1967). Only three other schools, Wyoming (one win and four seconds), New Mexico (one crown and two runner-ups) and Dartmouth (two titles) and have been able to crack the top two in this span. Since 1990, Denver has won nine titles, CU eight, Utah five and Vermont four; the only three other schools that have won a title since the sport went coed (in 1983) are Wyoming (1985), New Mexico (2004) and Dartmouth (2007). Middlebury (1980, women) is the last school to win other than the aforementioned seven. Dartmouth snapped a 12-year reign by western schools with its win in 2007 and UVM returned to the top in 2012, but the west still has 21 of the last 23 titles and 29 of 35 coed crowns dating back to 1983.
Participants
A total of 23 schools will be represented in Steamboat (*—qualified full 12-skier roster): *Alaska-Anchorage, Alaska-Fairbanks, Bates, Boston College, Bowdoin, Colby, *Colorado, *Dartmouth, *Denver, Harvard, Michigan Tech, Middlebury, *Montana State, New Hampshire, *New Mexico, Northern Michigan, Plymouth State, St. Lawrence, St. Michael's, St. Scholastica, Utah, *Vermont and Williams. Seven qualified the NCAA maximum of 12: Alaska-Anchorage, CU, Dartmouth, Denver, Montana State, New Mexico and Vermont (Utah did as well, but had a late scratch on its women's alpine team due to injury, thus a St. Michael's women's alpine skier was added to the lineup; Middlebury qualified 11, Alaska-Fairbanks and Northern Michigan the full six on the Nordic side. The most schools that ever competed in the NCAA's were 24 in 2007, with 23 previously doing so in 1996, 2002, 2004, 2013 and 2015.
The Schedule
The GIANT SLALOM races will open the NCAA Championships on Wednesday, March 7, with the men's first run at 9:00 a.m. MST, followed by its second run at around 10:30 a.m.; the women's runs follow at 12:30 p.m. and 2:00 p.m., respectively. The CLASSICAL races open the Nordic events on Thursday, March 8, with the women's 5-kilometer race at 9 a.m. and men's 10k at 10:30 a.m. The SLALOM races are set for Friday night (a Steamboat tradition), March 9, with the women's first run at 6:45 p.m., followed by the men's first run at 7:30 p.m.; the second runs will follow at 9 p.m. for the women and 9:30 p.m. for the men. The FREESTYLE races will finish off the NCAA meet on Saturday, March 10: the men are first with their 20-kilometer run at 9 a.m., with the women's 15k to follow at 11 a.m. Flower ceremonies follow each event, and the awards presentation is set for about Noon on Saturday. (All times listed are mountain)
Results Analysis
Though CU had "only" nine different CU skiers this year record podium (top three) finishes, eight came out of the dozen set to participate in the NCAA Championships (the Buffs had 12 accomplish the feat in 2017, which they also had in 2006 and tying for the most since the 13 in 1995 and 1991). Last year CU finished second in the NCAA after winning the title those other three years with 12 or more different athletes finishing in the top three. But looking inside the numbers, there's usually not a lot of correlation between the two, just more of a fun fact.
For example, this winter sophomore David Ketterer missed all of January while competing for a spot on Germany's Olympic team; he didn't record a podium finish after returning but is a threat to do so at NCAA's where he swept the alpine titles as a freshman. In all, six different CU skiers won 13 combined races, with six posting runner-up efforts. The Buffs have now won 10 or more races in six out of the last seven seasons and have done that in 18 of the 28 seasons under head coach Richard Rokos. CU and Utah tied for the most RMISA individual victories with 13, while Denver had 12. The Buffs have won 160 western races (out of 561) over the last 13 seasons, topping DU (139) and the Utes (116). When including the NCAA's, CU's 2006 and 2008 teams own the single season school mark with 21 wins since the sport went coed in 1983; the 1991 and 1998 teams had 19, followed by 16 in 2009 and 15 in 1999, 2013 and 2017.
Colorado is almost always at or near the top in the most top five and top 10 performances, and this winter was no different; for the second straight year, the Buffaloes were first in top five finishes and second in top 10 efforts (see list below). Only Denver had more 10 top finishes – and just one at that – but among CU's skiers going to NCAA, there were 14 missed races among that group this year (of those, six were by senior Petra Hyncicova while representing her native
Czech Republic at Pyeonchang, and the five by Ketterer as mentioned above). Colorado has led the west in top 10 finishes in five of the last 11 years, with its 967 over that period of time, well ahead of the rest.
Colorado's success was fairly balanced this winter, as in addition to winning three meets overall, it scored the most Nordic points three times (second and third once), and had the high alpine point total once (finishing second and third twice each); the women's Nordic squad was the most dominant, winning four times and second once. CU's three wins came by a combined 149.5 points and Denver's two over the Buffs by 105.5.
CU has led the RMISA in team points seven of the last 11 years, leading the regular season race (four meets) this year with 2,603 points, besting Denver (2,446.5) and Utah (2,285.5). The constant scoring base changes through the years have created assorted "high water marks" as currently around 650 point will usually win a competition (whereas in the east with a higher base, 900-plus usually earns the win). Denver's 710.5 points in the RMISA Championships at Steamboat was the team-high for the year; the Pioneers 369.5 points in the alpine races was also the season high. Colorado's 363 points in the Nordic action at Utah's meet topped the charts in that discipline. A breakdown of the CU top finishes in 2018:
Wins (13): Ola Johansen 3, Tonje Trulsud 3, Hedda Baangman 2, Alvar Alev 2, Nora Christensen 2, Petra Hyncicova 1.
Runner-Up Finishes (14): Petra Hyncicova 4, Ola Johansen 4, Petter Reistad 2, Tonje Trulsrud 2, Nora Christensen 1, Christina Rolandsen 1.
Top 5 Finishes (68): Ola Johansen 9, Anne Siri Lervik 9, Petter Reistad 9, Tonje Trulsrud 8, Hedda Baangman 7, Alvar Alev 6, Nora Christensen 5, Petra Hyncicova 5, Christina Rolandsen 4, David Ketterer 2, Sondre Bollum 1, Ane Johnsen 1, Max Luukko 1, Joey Young 1.
Top 10 Finishes (110): Petter Reistad 11, Christina Rolandsen 11, Alvar Alev 10, Ola Johansen 10, Anne Siri Lervik 10, Tonje Trulsrud 10, Hedda Baangman 8, Sondre Bollum 7, Nora Christensen 7, Ane Johnsen 6, Petra Hyncicova 5, Joey Young 5, David Ketterer 4, Max Luukko 4, Isabelle Fidjeland 1, Andrew Potyk 1.
Breakdown by School
Alpine (26 top 5, 41 top 10): men 13/23, women 13/18. Nordic (42 top 5, 69 top 10): men 16/29, women 26/40.
Team (68 top 5, 110 top 10): men 29/52, women 39/58.
Individual Wins (48): Colorado 13, Utah 13, Denver 12, Montana State 5, New Mexico 4, Alaska-Anchorage 1.
Podium Finishes (Top 3; 144): Colorado 42, Denver 41, Utah 26, Montana State 22, New Mexico 8, Alaska-Anchorage 4, Westminster 1.
Top 5 Finishes (241): Colorado 68, Denver 62, Utah 40, Montana State 37, New Mexico 22, Alaska Anchorage 9, Westminster 3.
Top 10 Finishes (480): Denver 111, Colorado 110, Utah 90, Montana State 83, New Mexico 45, Alaska Anchorage 18, Westminster 16, Alaska Fairbanks 7.
Historically
The NCAA first sponsored a men's national championship in skiing in 1954, though national title meets (National Intercollegiate Championships) were held as early as 1946, the same year CU's program began. Women's programs came into being in the late 1970s, with then-CU head coach Bill Marolt at the forefront of making it a reality. CU has competed in all but three of the previous 64 NCAA's, but on one of those occasions (1964), several team members had trained for and competed in the Winter Olympics, and in 1967, sent only a few skiers as individuals to Maine for financial reasons. The AIAW sponsored women's titles between 1977 and 1982; in 1983, the NCAA absorbed the AIAW but combined male and female competition, as was the case in rifle and fencing. A complete look at the NCAA Championship history of the Buffaloes is on page 9 of the PDF of the notes that are linked at the top of the page.
The Buffaloes have won the second-most titles of any school in the sport, trailing only Denver's 23, with their last championships coming in 2015 when the Buffs won the national championship in Lake Placid. Utah is the defending champions, having edged Colorado for the 2017 title by just 16½-point margin
CU is coming off a second-place finish in the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association championships, an event that also doubled as the NCAA West Regional.
Colorado had a dominant regular season, taking the RMISA crown by a 156-point margin after winning 3-of-4 meets prior to regionals. However, it was at the RMISA Championships that CU saw the Pioneers beat the Buffs for the crown by a 91½-point margin of victory.
Of CU's 20 ski titles, 10 have been won in the west and 10 in the east. Six of Colorado's championships have been won within the state - one in Durango, three in Winter Park and two in Steamboat Spring, the most recent being in 2006 when Colorado became the first school ever to take a title without a full 12-skier squad (missing one men's alpine skier).
This is the eighth time Steamboat Springs is playing host to the NCAA Championships and the fifth time with Colorado serving as the host (1993, 2006, 2010, 2016).
The Buffs are hoping to draw on their experience gained at NCAA this week in Steamboat. Colorado was one of six schools (Alaska Anchorage, Dartmouth, Denver, New Mexico and Vermont) that is fielding a full 12-skier team at the Championships with Utah and Middlebury both having 11.