CMC Ski Team Bounces Back After Funding Crisis

Members of the Colorado Mountain College ski team are looking forward to the 2026-27 season. Photo by Ben Suddendorf/Colorado Mountain College

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. — While building the Colorado Mountain College Eagles ski team for the 2026-27 season, head coach Scott Tanner faced the opposite problem he had in years past.

Rather than chase down prospective athletes and aggressively pitch them on joining the team, this season, everyone approached him. Not only were more skiers than ever before interested in joining the team, but Tanner had to turn several away.

“I think I had 30 potential freshmen reach out to me this year, which is pretty awesome,” Tanner says. “Eight years ago, I’d call people and they would say, ‘why would I want to come ski at CMC?’”

Skiers come to CMC because Steamboat Ski Resort and Howelsen Hill are minutes away. The CMC Skigles, as they are affectionately known, embody a genuine ski culture. Many athletes live together, and the team dynamic is tight and supportive. Skiing for CMC offers athletes a chance to reach their potential if they are not yet ready for, or have not earned, a spot on their Division I university dream team.

In addition, most CMC classes average a 12-to-1 student-teacher ratio, which makes learning far more engaging and meaningful than in a typical university classroom. Athletes feel as though they get a high-level academic experience at CMC along with their immersive skiing access.

Preaching from the choir

Tanner used to detail each of these points to prospective Skigles. Now, they don’t need to be told, but CMC’s newly coveted place on the ski college map isn’t due to his own preaching.

“Our success accounts for it a little bit, but our biggest recruiting tool is our own athletes,” he says. “If I’m trying to tell the story, why is a 19-year-old kid going to believe me? You have a great team culture, great training opportunities and a great school, but it’s the athletes talking about it to other athletes that sells it.”

Team pride is running especially strong this season after the CMC Foundation raised more than $650,000 to secure the Skigles’ future, which was in serious jeopardy last season when it appeared the team would lose its funding. Then the CMC Foundation leapt into action. With fast-moving fundraising efforts, an annual fundraising benchmark of $75,000 to $100,000, and a new pay-to-play structure that requires each athlete to contribute $10,000 toward the season, the Skigles are poised to soar for years to come.

“We raised $650,000 in under 12 months. I can’t thank the community enough for that,” Tanner says. “The Foundation did an amazing job. Then we implemented an athlete fee, which is still a good deal in ski racing. A lot of that comes back to them in travel, uniforms and stuff like that. It’s a good deal, especially when you pair it with the low-cost tuition here. We have weathered the storm and now we are probably OK for about five or six years and beyond, if we can continue to have strong annual support.”

New faces

Eight new athletes are joining the Skigles this season. Former U.S. Team skier Nicola Rountree-Williams is also returning. She began her college racing career at CMC, spent two years racing for the University of Denver, then chose to return to CMC for her fifth college season.

“Nicola is a powerhouse,” Tanner says. “We are thrilled to have her back.”

Incoming freshman Jonah Fleischer is from Steamboat Springs. Fellow Steamboat local Kade Lawton is also joining the team, along with CMC’s first Team Summit racer, Abby Snook from Silverthorne.

The Colorado-strong freshmen contingent continues with Hunter Peterson from Eagle, Nicole Wordley from Evergreen and Matthew Bassin, a Ski and Snowboard Club Vail protégé from Canada. Sasha Stern-Pre from Sun Valley, Idaho, and Kye Bessette from Jackson, Wyoming, round out the freshmen squad.

Even before on-snow training kicked off at Copper Mountain, the team showed strong bonds during its fall dryland training period.

“They’re getting along so well. It’s like they show up in the morning and can’t wait to see their friends,” Tanner says. “It’s going to be awesome to carry this energy into the season.”

The team has 19 athletes. Head Coach Tanner and returning Assistant Coach Matthew Graves are joined this season by new assistant coach and CMC alumnus Filip Krota. The Skigles’ race season kicks off with the Colorado Ski Cup – Holiday Classic on the Skigles’ home slope, Howelsen Hill, Dec. 19-22.

For more information or to donate to the team, visit the CMC Eagles page.