- Westminster University fields 17 NCAA Division II varsity teams in the RMAC, from soccer and lacrosse to a nationally distinctive alpine ski program — a full athletic department inside Salt Lake City.
- Parker Stebbing, Grace Szwedko, Westminster Men's Soccer, Westminster Women's Lacrosse connect back to Westminster University and the wider soccer picture.
- The story is backed by 2 sources and a visible last-verified date.
June 15, 2026
June 15, 2026
4 min / 844 words
2 official links
Westminster University runs an unusually broad small-college athletic department: 17 NCAA Division II varsity teams competing primarily in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC), all based on a single campus in the heart of Salt Lake City.
For a private university of Westminster's size, that breadth is unusual. The Griffins sponsor men's and women's teams across alpine ski, basketball, cross country, golf, lacrosse, soccer, and indoor and outdoor track and field, plus women's volleyball. That lineup gives Salt Lake City a downtown Division II program with real range — not just a basketball school, but a full department.
The RMAC home
Westminster competes in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, one of the strongest Division II leagues in the western United States. The RMAC stretches across Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and the surrounding region, which means Griffins teams log real travel and face established Division II competition every week.
The university's path to the RMAC is part of the story. Westminster spent years in the NAIA's Frontier Conference before transitioning to NCAA Division II, joining the RMAC for the 2015-16 cycle. That move reset the program's competitive ceiling and put Westminster athletes on a national Division II stage.
Soccer and lacrosse anchor the city identity
On the field, Westminster men's soccer and Westminster women's lacrosse are two of the program's most visible teams, playing at Dumke Field. Soccer fits Salt Lake City's deep player base naturally, and lacrosse gives the Griffins a foothold in one of the fastest-growing sports in the Mountain West.
Athletes like Parker Stebbing on the men's soccer side and Grace Szwedko in women's lacrosse anchor Beehive Athletes' Westminster coverage, where the city identity matters as much as the scoreline. A downtown campus means home games sit minutes from the rest of Salt Lake City's sports calendar.
A nationally distinctive ski program
Among Westminster's 17 teams, the alpine ski programs reach the widest national stage. The men's and women's ski teams compete through the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association (RMISA), the collegiate skiing circuit affiliated with the NCAA, against powerhouse programs from Utah, Denver, and the broader Rocky Mountain region.
Collegiate alpine skiing draws elite international and domestic talent, and Westminster's location — minutes from several of the country's best ski resorts — makes it a natural home for the sport. For recruits chasing both a degree and serious mountain access, few campuses can match the setup.
Indoor venues and leadership
Basketball and volleyball play at Behnken Field House, the program's primary indoor venue. The athletic department is led by athletic director Shelley Jarrard. Together, the indoor and outdoor venues let a compact city campus host a surprisingly wide athletic calendar across the fall, winter, and spring.
That range is part of what makes Westminster worth tracking. A single mid-sized private university sustaining 17 varsity sports — including a national-caliber ski program — is a genuinely uncommon model in Utah college athletics.
Where Westminster fits in Utah's sports map
Westminster's athletes don't exist in isolation. Many came up through Salt Lake County's club and high-school pipelines, the same grassroots system documented in Beehive Athletes' community sports hub. The Griffins represent the Division II tier of that map: a step above the rec and club game, a different lane from the state's Division I flagships, and a durable home for athletes who want to compete at a high level while staying in the city.
For Salt Lake City sports fans, that makes Westminster a program worth following across all 17 of its teams — not just the ones that make the highlight reels. Follow the Griffins on the Westminster hub as the coverage grows.
The city campus as a recruiting advantage
Westminster's location is not just a backdrop; it is part of the recruiting pitch. A downtown Salt Lake City campus puts athletes minutes from an international airport, a major-league sports city, and — for the ski teams — some of the best mountain terrain in North America. For a Division II program competing against larger state schools for talent, that lifestyle argument carries real weight.
It also shapes the kind of athlete Westminster attracts. The school draws students who want a smaller academic setting without giving up high-level competition, and athletes who value being in a city rather than a college town. That profile fits the RMAC's mix of urban and rural campuses, and it gives the Griffins a clear identity inside the conference.
The breadth of the program reinforces that identity. Sustaining cross country, golf, and track and field alongside the marquee team sports means Westminster keeps a year-round athletic calendar running on one compact campus — a logistical feat that says as much about the department's ambition as any single result.
## Key facts: - School: Westminster University, Salt Lake City, Utah - Division: NCAA Division II (joined RMAC in 2015-16, previously NAIA Frontier Conference) - Varsity sports: 17 teams, including a distinctive alpine ski program in the RMISA - Venues: Behnken Field House (basketball/volleyball), Dumke Field (soccer/lacrosse) - Athletic director: Shelley Jarrard - Sources: Westminster University Athletics, Westminster University
