Indianapolis, Ind. – Just over a year ago, the Horizon League welcomed two new schools to its family, Robert Morris University (RMU) and Purdue University Fort Wayne. For RMU, this past year has been a year of success, learning and building.
 
The decision to join the Horizon League came after many years of prosperity in the Northeast Conference. A big motivation for making the change to the Horizon League was the proximity of all the schools in the conference, and the benefits that come with that.
 
"The geography and location of the Horizon League was one of the many driving forces into our decision making," said Chris King, athletic director at RMU. "Eight Horizon League members are located within 350 miles of RMU, which creates natural rivalries. When you look at the cities in the Horizon League footprint, such as Cleveland, Chicago, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, and Milwaukee, we became a member of a conference with significant media markets."
 
According to King, another key factor in the move was the competitive strength the Horizon League has nationally in all of its sports, from basketball to softball.
 
The athletic department's mission, however, remains the same: the student-athlete experience, student success and student-athlete welfare.
 
"Our student-athletes excel academically, athletically and in life, and that in turn helps breed success on the field and court," said King. "We're looking forward to continuing the initiatives that we've put in place to help all of our student-athletes be successful."
 
One of the school's programs that is used to success is the men's basketball program.
 
The men's basketball program came into the League with a history of winning. Overall, the Colonials have been to the NCAA tournament eight times, the NIT three times, have 11 regular season conference championships and nine conference tournament championships. This past season the team finished with a record of 4-15, but head coach Andrew Toole sees a lot to build on for next season.
 
"We have a lot we need to improve on and get better at," said Toole. I felt like last year gave us great opportunities to learn about the programs in the League. We know we need to get better and get better quickly, that is our focus."
 
According to Toole, next season will bring with it many new players, almost an entirely different roster. Until then, the plan is for everyone to get to know one another and use the summer to practice and prepare for next season beginning in the fall.
 
For the track & field team, the 2021 season was a great success. In addition to finishing fifth overall at the Horizon League Outdoor Track & Field Championships, senior Estelle Katende was conference champion in discus and junior Keturah Hunter was conference champion in the hammer throw. For Katende, it was her second conference title in discus and fifth conference gold overall, with the other three coming in shot put. For Hunter, the gold was her fifth individual crown in hammer throw in five competitions.
 
Head coach Bryan Delsite was thrilled with the victories and the excitement it brings to the program.
 
"It was tremendous having Estelle and Keturah have the success that they had in our first year in the League," said Delsite. "It set a great example moving forward for our student-athletes as they set their sights on what is required for them to perform well in the new conference."
 
The team also finished fifth at the Horizon League Indoor Track & Field Championships and finished in the top three at two indoor meets in February and in the top three at two outdoor meets in March and April as well.
 
On the softball diamond, the Colonials hit the ground running, literally. The team racked up 37 stolen bases on the season and were only caught six times. The Colonials also found the win column early and often, finishing the season with a record of 25-19 and a conference record of 20-14.
 
Graduate student and infielder Natalie Higgins had a career season to finish her time in the blue, white and red, batting .412 with 61 hits, 10 doubles, nine home runs, 43 RBIs and only struck out eight times. Following the season, Higgins received NFCA Division I All-Region Honors and became just the fifth player in program history to earn those honors. She also finished her career with the most doubles in program history and was second in RBIs, third in hits and fourth in home runs.
 
In the circle, junior Dana Vatakis and sophomore Rachael Rhinehart also had solid seasons, with the two hurlers combining for 19 wins overall. Graduate student Madison Riggle also had a fine end to her career with an ERA of 3.77.
 
Head coach Jexx Varner knows it will be a challenge replacing Higgins and Riggle, but also is confident the team is up for the fight.
 
"Last year was just the beginning," said Varner. "Replacing Natalie and Madison Riggle is hard but we've got a great core returning along with talented freshmen. Dana and Rachael represented nearly all of our Ws in the circle last year and we've still got multiple years with them leading the way."
 
Also in their inaugural year, RMU, as well as every other school in the conference, took part in the creation of #OneHL, an initiative to spread the word on social issues in the country and to use the platforms that student-athletes have to make change.
 
One of the biggest undertakings for the program was to get every student athlete in the conference registered to vote for the local and national elections in 2020. Represented by the hashtag #BeTheChange, the movement was a great success, and led to not only more student voters on every campus but to the education of many on the importance of voting in every election.
 
"I believe the #OneHL creation just helped drive home one of our non-negotiables in our program - empowerment," said Varner. "We believe strongly in empowering our women to be invested, unafraid, and vocal in matters that are important to them. #OneHL helped them know that support goes beyond our program and to the entire Horizon League."
 
At the end of the day, the Colonials' first year in the Horizon League was much more than getting acquainted with a new conference. While there were many success stories, there were also as many, if not more, challenges. Looking toward the future, King is confident that the experience from their first year will be beneficial come this fall.
 
"Not only have we had to adjust to a new conference this past season, but we've also had to adjust on the fly as the pandemic continued," King said. "Fortunately, we're seeing light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to the pandemic, and I'm excited about the future of RMU as a member of the Horizon League."
 
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