The 2021 Mines Athletics Auction and Hall of Fame will take place Oct. 2 at Lockridge Arena. Tickets are now on sale at minesathletics.com/auction.
   

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The architect of an unprecedented era of success for Mines Football, coach Bob Stitt joins the Mines Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2021 in recognition of his 15 seasons with the Orediggers.

Arriving in Golden in 2000, Stitt won a program-record 108 games during his tenure, including RMAC Championships in 2004, 2010, and 2014 and the program's first NCAA appearances in those years. Stitt put Mines Football on the national map with a reputation as one of college football's leading offensive innovators, and his teams produced record-shattering numbers with nearly every single-season offensive record broken during his time. 

The 2004 team won Mines' first conference crown in 46 years as the Orediggers went 12-1, a record for wins that would stand unmatched until 2019. Stitt was the RMAC Coach of the Year in 2004 and 2010 and the AFCA regional coach of the year in 2004, and he coached 16 All-Americans, 31 All-Region selections, and 129 all-RMAC performers during his 15 seasons. Stitt's .635 winning percentage is surpassed only by current head coach Gregg Brandon, who took the helm when Stitt accepted the head coaching position at the University of Montana after the 2014 season.

Stitt coached several other Mines Hall of Famers including Clay Garcia (class of 2019) and Harlon Hill Trophy winner Chad Friehauf (Class of 2010), and his 2004 team was inducted into the Hall in 2010. 

After departing Mines, Stitt coached at Montana, Oklahoma State, and Texas State, but the legacy he left behind in Golden was impressive: Stitt's teams had a program-record string of eight consecutive winning seasons through 2014, a run that has continued to 13 straight seasons through today. Mines' program has built on the success started by Stitt with RMAC titles and NCAA berths in 2016, 2018, and 2019.He was also instrumental in the planning behind the renovation of Campbell Field into the impressive Marv Kay Stadium, turning one of the nation's most historical football fields into one of its most modern homes.