# 1939 Rocky Mountain Conference football season

The 1939 Rocky Mountain Conference football season was the season of college football played by the five member schools of the Rocky Mountain Conference (RMC) as part of the 1939 college football season.
The Colorado Mines Orediggers, led by head coach John Mason, compiled a perfect 8–0 record and won the RMC championship. They led the RMC in both scoring offense (33.5 points per game) and scoring defense (8.8 points per game). Colorado Mines wingback Lloyd Madden led the nation with 143 points scored.

## Conference overview

| Conf. rank | Team | Head coach | Conf. record | Overall record | Points scored | Points against |
| 1 | Colorado Mines | John Mason | 4–0 | 8–0 | 268 | 44 |
| 2 | Colorado State–Greeley | John W. Hancock | 3–1 | 4–4 | 79 | 70 |
| 3 | Western State (CO) | Paul Wright | 2–5–1 | 1–2 | 42 | 174 |
| 4 | Montana State | Schubert R. Dyche | 0–2 | 2–7 | 54 | 120 |
| 5 | Colorado College | William T. Van de Graaff | 0–3 | 2–5–1 | 99 | 164 |

## Teams
### Colorado Mines

The 1939 Colorado Mines Orediggers football team represented the Colorado School of Mines of Golden, Colorado. In their third year under head coach John Mason, the Orediggers compiled a perfect 8–0 record, outscored opponents by a total of 268 to 44, and won the RMC championship.
Colorado Mines was ranked at No. 93 (out of 609 teams) in the final Litkenhous Ratings for 1939.
Colorado Mines wingback Lloyd Madden won the national scoring title with 141 points scored (23 touchdowns and three extra points). He broke the RMC scoring record set in 1937 by Byron White. He was selected by the Chicago Cardinals with the 16th overall pick in the 1940 NFL draft.
Colorado Mines secured eight of eleven first-team spots on the Associated Press All-Rocky Mountain Conference football team. Six were also given first-team conference honors by the United Press. The first-team honorees were: backs Madden (AP-1, UP-1), Joe Berta (AP-1), Jacky Torpey (AP-1, UP-1), and Taylor (UP-1); end Rex Flynn (AP-1, UP-1); tackles Marv Katzenstein (AP-1, UP-1) and Dick Moe (AP-1, UP-1); guard Dave Geiskieng (AP-1, UP-1); and center Herbert Thornton (AP-1).
| Date | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance |
| September 30 | at Colorado A&M | Colorado FieldFort Collins, CO | W 19–14 | |
| October 7 | Chadron State | Brooks FieldGolden, CO | W 32–0 | |
| October 14 | at Colorado State–Greeley | Jackson FieldGreeley, CO | W 6–3 | 5,000 |
| October 21 | at Montana State | Gatton FieldBozeman, MT | W 20–7 | 2,000 |
| October 28 | Colorado College | Brooks FieldGolden, CO | W 50–7 | |
| November 11 | Western State (CO) | Brooks FieldGolden, CO | W 71–7 | |
| November 18 | Kearney State | Brooks FieldGolden, CO | W 32–0 | |
| December 2 | at Regis | Denver, CO | W 38–6 | |

### Colorado State–Greeley

The 1939 Colorado State–Greeley Bears football team represented Colorado State College at Greeley, Colorado (now known as the University of Northern Colorado). In their eighth year under head coach John W. Hancock, the Bears compiled a 4–4 record (3–1 against RMC opponents) and finished in second place out of five teams in the RMC.
Colorado State–Greeley was ranked at No. 225 (out of 609 teams) in the final Litkenhous Ratings for 1939.
The team played its home games at Jackson Field in Greeley, Colorado.
| Date | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance |
| September 30 | at Southern Idaho | Pocatello, ID | W 13–0 | |
| October 6 | Colorado College | Jackson FieldGreeley, CO | W 26–9 | 3,000 |
| October 14 | Colorado Mines | Jackson FieldGreeley, CO | L 3–6 | 5,000 |
| October 21 | at Western State (CO) | Gunnison, CO | W 13–0 | |
| October 27 | BYU | Jackson FieldGreeley, CO | L 6–18 | |
| November 3 | Montana State | Jackson FieldGreeley, CO | W 12–3 | 1,500 |
| November 11 | at Nevada* | Mackay FieldReno, NV | L 6–15 | |
| November 17 | at Santa Barbara State* | La Playa StadiumSanta Barbara, CA | L 0–19 | |
| *Non-conference game ||||||

### Western State

The 1939 Western State Mountaineers football team represented Western State College of Colorado at Gunnison, Colorado (now known as the Western Colorado University). In their fifth year under head coach Paul Wright, the Mountaineers compiled a 2–5–1 record (1–2 against RMC opponents) and finished in third place out of five teams in the RMC.
| Date | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance |
| September 29 | Weber* | Ogden, UT | W 9–7 | 600 |
| October 6 | at West Texas State* | Canyon, TX | L 0–35 | |
| October 13 | Chadron State* | Chadron, NE | T 0–0 | |
| October 21 | Colorado State–Greeley | Gunnison, CO | L 0–13 | |
| October 28 | Regis* | Gunnison, CO | L 0–9 | |
| November 11 | at Colorado Mines | Brooks FieldGolden, CO | L 7–71 | |
| November 25 | at Colorado College | Washburn FieldColorado Springs, CO | W 12–8 | |
| November 30 | at New Mexico Military | Roswell, NM | L 14–31 | |
| *Non-conference game ||||||

### Montana State

The 1939 Montana State Bobcats football team represented Montana State College (later renamed Montana State University) of Bozeman, Montana. In their tenth season under head coach Schubert R. Dyche, the Bobcats compiled a 2–7 record (0–2 against conference opponents) and finished in fourth place out of five teams in the RMC.
Montana State was ranked at No. 252 (out of 609 teams) in the final Litkenhous Ratings for 1939.
| Date | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance |
| September 15 | at San Jose State* | Spartan StadiumSan Jose, CA | L 0–35 | 5,000 |
| September 22 | at Portland* | Multnomah StadiumPortland, OR | W 14–6 | |
| September 30 | at Idaho* | Neale StadiumMoscow, ID | L 6–7 | |
| October 6 | at Omaha* | Omaha, NE | L 0–12 | |
| October 14 | vs. Montana* | Butte High StadiumButte, MT (rivalry) | L 0–6 | |
| October 20 | Colorado Mines | Gatton FieldBozeman, MT | L 7–20 | |
| October 28 | Idaho Southern Branch* | Gatton FieldBozeman, MT | W 10–6 | |
| November 3 | at Colorado State–Greeley | Jackson FieldGreeley, CO | L 3–12 | 1,500 |
| November 11 | North Dakota Agricultural* | Gatton FieldBozeman, MT | L 14–16 | |
| *Non-conference game ||||||

### Colorado College

The 1939 Colorado College Tigers football team represented Colorado College of Colorado Springs, Colorado. In their 14th and final season under head coach William T. Van de Graaff, the Tigers compiled a 2–5–1 record (0–4 against RMC opponents) and finished in last place out of five teams in the RMC. The team played its home games at Washburn Field in Colorado Springs.
| Date | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance |
| September 30 | Baker | Washburn FieldColorado Spring, CO | W 30–0 | |
| October 6 | at Colorado State–Greeley | Jackson FieldGreeley, CO | L 9–26 | 3,000 |
| October 13 | at Washburn* | Topeka, KS | L 6–22 | |
| October 21 | Grinnell* | Washburn FieldColorado Springs, CO | T 14–14 | 5,000 |
| October 28 | at Colorado Mines | Brooks FieldGolden, CO | L 7–50 | |
| November 11 | Whitman* | Washburn FieldColorado Springs, CO | W 19–7 | |
| November 25 | Western State (CO) | Washburn FieldColorado Springs, CO | L 8–12 | |
| December 2 | at Occidental* | Los Angeles, CA | L 6–33 | |
| *Non-conference game ||||||

## All-conference team

The Associated Press selected the following players as first-team honorees on the all-conference team.