Yes, it was that long ago — the spring of 1969, to be exact.

But next week that will change, and in a big way. Not one, but two NCAA Championship Finals tournaments will be held in the Denver metro area as both the men’s and women’s Division II events come to town.

The DII men will compete May 17-21 at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club in northeast Denver, home of the CoBank Colorado Open Championships. And the DII women will be at CommonGround Golf Course, which is owned and operated by the CGA, from May 18-21.

An NCAA golf final was last held in Colorado in 1969 when The Broadmoor hosted the Division I men for the fifth time in 17 years. The finals for the Division I women, or the tournaments for either gender in Division II or III have never before come to Colorado, though there have been various NCAA Regionals.

Next week’s national tournaments, part of the NCAA Division II National Championships Festival in which titles in six sports (M&W golf, M&W tennis, softball and women’s lacrosse) will be at stake, will be hosted by Metro State and the Denver Sports Commission.

The men’s NCAA DII finals at Green Valley Ranch May 17-21 will feature 108 competitors — 20 teams and eight individuals. The format will be three rounds of stroke play, followed by two days of medal-match play. The individual champion will be determined after the first three rounds. The top eight teams after 54 holes of stroke play will advance to the medal-match play portion of the championship. The men’s DII finals have utilized a medal-match play format since 2011.

The women’s Division II finals at CommonGround May 18-21 will include a field of 72 golfers — 12 teams and 12 individuals. They’ll all play 72 holes of stroke play.

Tickets for the DII National Festival will be $5 per person per day, or $15 for an all-session pass for the week. Tickets purchased at one site will be valid at all other competition sites.

For more information on the Spring Sports Festival, CLICK HERE.

Though no one from Colorado schools qualified for the NCAA DII finals — the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs’ Colin Prater was the closest, losing out in a playoff at the DII regionals — the fields will be formidable, though the players may not be as recognizable as the top Division I college golfers.

Men’s Finals at GVR

But keep in mind that individual winners of the men’s DII national title have included two-time U.S. Open champion Lee Janzen (1986, from Florida Southern), CBS analyst Gary McCord (1970, from Cal-Riverside), Briny Baird (1994 and ’95, from Valdosta State) and four-time European Tour winner Jeev Milkha Singh (1993, from Abilene Christian).

More close to home, Cheyenne, Wyo., product Josh Creel won the 2012 title, playing for Central Oklahoma after transferring from the University of Colorado.

While 2015 champion Nova Southeastern won’t be back to defend its team title — nor will individual champ Sam Migdal, who was a senior at Central Missouri last year — the top three ranked teams (according to Golfstat) at GVR will be No. 1 Chico State (Calif.), No. 2 Saint Leo University (Fla.) and No. 3 Lynn University (Fla.).

John Coultas, a sophomore at Florida Southern, is the top-ranked Division II player in the nation, according to Golfstat.

Here are the team and individual qualifiers for the DII men finals at GVR:

Teams
St. Thomas Aquinas
Southern New Hampshire
Concordia (New York)
Wilmington (Delaware)
Le Moyne
Central Missouri
Southeastern Oklahoma State
Bellarmine
Tiffin
Central Oklahoma
Lynn
Saint Leo
Florida Southern
West Florida
Barry
Chico State
Oklahoma Christian
Dallas Baptist
California Baptist
Brigham Young-Hawaii

Individuals
Blaze Hogan, Mercyhurst
Tyler Maiman, West Chester
Talon Supak, Illinois-Springfield
Bryce Burke, Arkansas Tech
Richard Mansell, Nova Southeastern
Griffin Brown, Limestone
Brandon Lee, Sonoma State
Calum Hill, Western New Mexico

Women’s Finals at CommonGround

At the women’s DII finals at CommonGround, Indianapolis will be back to defend its team title. Also in the field will be five-time national champ Rollins College (Fla.) and four-time winner Nova Southeastern (Fla.). Rollins is the top ranked women’s team in DII, according to Golfstat. Nova Southeastern is fourth and Indianapolis 10th.

No former individual national champions are in the women’s field at CommonGround. Here are the team and individual qualifiers for the DII women’s finals:

Teams
Augustana (South Dakota)
Northeastern State
Missouri Western State
Indianapolis
Grand Valley State
Findlay
Nova Southeastern
Rollins
Saint Leo
Tarleton State
Dallas Baptist
West Texas A&M

Individuals
Daniela Martinez, Central Oklahoma
Caroline Fredensborg, Arkansas Tech
Rachel Gray, Concordia-St. Paul
Ali Green, Ashland
Kasey Frazier, Wheeling Jesuit
Anastasia Carter, Southern Indiana
Felicia Leftinger, Florida Tech
Paloma Vaccaro, West Florida
Elaine Wood, Montevallo
Erica Wang, California Baptist
Audrey Meisch, Oklahoma Christian
Sterling Hawkins, Academy of Art
 

Meanwhile, University of Colorado senior Alexis Keating (pictured) shot a 6-under-par 66 and moved within a stroke of the individual lead at the formidable Pac-12 Conference tournament, and Jessica Carty continued to hold the top spot at the Summit League Championship as her University of Denver team all but assured itself its 13th consecutive conference title. Another local setting the pace in league championships is Coloradan Jaylee Tait of Montana State (Big Sky).

— The Metro State women defeated Colorado-Colorado Springs 4-0-1 in Tuesday’s title match of the RMAC Championship in Avondale, Ariz. Winning individual matches for MSU on Tuesday were Allie Johnston, Valerie Cruz, Dani Look and Lindsey Gullikson. On Monday, Taylor Walters of Colorado Mesa earned the individual title after rounds of 72-71.

— In the men’s RMAC title match in Goodyear, Ariz., CU-Colorado Springs defeated the Colorado School of Mines 3-1-1. Winning their matches for UCCS on Tuesday were Colin Prater, Zach Berhost and Chris Reina. CU-Colorado Springs won the regular-season RMAC title before also prevailing in the medal-match format at the RMAC tournament. Tuesday’s victory gives UCCS an automatic berth in the NCAA Division II West/South Central Region Championships. Meanwhile, claiming the individual RMAC title on Tuesday was Western New Mexico’s Calum Hill (69-67–136).

— At the women’s Pac-12 meet in Pleasanton, Calif., Keating made a big move with a seven-birdie 66, which left her a shot behind Southern California’s Gabriella Then going into Wednesday’s final round. Keating placed fifth at the 2015 Pac-12 meeting, shooting a final-round 66 at Boulder Country Club. On Tuesday, CU carded a sub-par team score for the second straight day — in this case a 4-under-par 284, which gives the Buffs a 6-under 570 total, leaving them in fifth place.

— At the women’s Summit League tournament in Nebraska City, Denver opened up a 40-stroke lead in its quest for consecutive conference title No. 13. DU shot a 5-under-par 283 as a team on Tuesday. The Pioneers’ five players are all within the top six individually, with Carty (69-72–141) leading the way by four strokes.

— At the women’s Big Sky tournament in Boulder City, Nev., Tait kept the top individual spot as an even-par 72 left her with a 3-under 141 total and a one-stroke advantage going into the final round.

— And at the women’s MWC championship in Rancho Mirage, Calif., freshman Katrina Prendergast of Colorado State sits in second place, one stroke back of UNLV’s Alexandra Kaui. Prendergast fired a 1-over-par 73, leaving her at even-par 144.

Here are the results for local teams and players at various conference championships:

Men’s RMAC Championship
April 17-19, 2016 (final) in Goodyear, Ariz.
TEAM
Title Match
CU-Colorado Springs def. Colorado School of Mines 3-1-1
Chris Reina, UCCS def. Taylor MacKay 71-75
Mike McNulty, Mines def. Kyle Southard 72-76
Zach Berhost, UCCS def. Conrad Smith 73-80
Zach Tripp, UCCS tied with George Markham 75-75
Colin Prater, UCCS def. Nick Berry 69-82

Semifinals
CU-Colorado Springs def. Colorado Mesa 3-2
Colorado School of Mines def. Colorado Christian 3-2

Quarterfinals
CU-Colorado Springs def. Regis 3-2
Colorado Mesa def. Western New Mexico 3-2
Colorado Christian def. Fort Lewis 3-2
Colorado School of Mines def. CSU-Pueblo 2-1-2

Top 5 Individual Finishers
1. Calum Hill, Western New Mexico 69-67–136
2. (tie) Colin Prater, UCCS 72-69–141
Jacob Allenback, CSU-Pueblo 76-65–141
4. Luke Condon, Colorado Chritian 73-69–142
5. Chris Reina, UCCS 75-71–146

Women’s RMAC Championship

April 17-19, 2016 (final) in Avondale, Ariz.
TEAM
Title Match
Metro State def. Colorado-Colorado Springs 4-0-1
Allie Johnston, MSU def. Forre Zook 71-75
Valerie Cruz, MSU def. Amanda Crites 73-77
Dani Look, MSU def. Raquell Castillo 80-86
Cha Cha Willhoite, MSU tied with Timbrelee McNair 75-75
Lindsey Gullikson, MSU def. Alex Darwin 78-79

Third-Place Match
CSU-Pueblo def. Western New Mexico 4-0-1

Top 5 Individual Finishers
1. Taylor Walters, Colorado Mesa, 72-71–143
2. Alex Darwin, Colo-Colo Springs, 73-72–145
3. (tie) Courtney Ewing, CSU-Pueblo 74-73–147
Lindsey Gullikson, Metro State 72-75–147
5. Shelby Turner, Western New Mexico 76-72–148

Women’s Summit League Championship
April 18-20, 2016 in Nebraska City, Neb.
1. (out of 9 teams) Denver 295-283–578
1. Jessica Carty 69-72–141; 2. Sophie Newlove 76-69–145; 4. Mariell Bruun 76-71–147; 5. Kathi Baratta 74-74–148; 6. Jessica Dreesbeimdieke 78-71–149.

Women’s Mountain West Conference Championship
April 18-20, 2016 in Rancho, Mirage, Calif.
6. (out of 9 teams) Colorado State 309-305–614
2. Katrina Prendergast 71-73–144; 15. Sarah Archuleta 77-75–152; 33. Brianna Becker 80-78–158; 36. Elisabeth Rau 81-79–160; 36. Mikayla Tatman 81-79–160.

Also
40. Coloradan Kathleen Kershisnik, Wyoming 80-83–163

Women’s Pac-12 Conference Championship
April 18-20, 2016 in Pleasanton, Calif.
5. (out of 11 teams) Colorado 286-284–570
2. Alexis Keating 70-66–136; 18. Esther Lee 70-73–143; 26. Brittany Fan 72-73–145; 39. Natalie Vivaldi 73-73–147; 39. Gillian Vance 75-72–147.

Women’s Big Sky Conference Championship

April 18-20, 2016 in Boulder City, Nev.
7. (out of 12 teams) Northern Colorado 302-299–601
20. Janet Yeo 76-73–149; 26. Amanda Myers 82-69–151; 31. Nicole Okada 75-78–153; 37. Kala Keltz 75-80–155; 37. Baile Winslow 76-79–155.

Also
1. Coloradan Jaylee Tait, Montana State 69-72–141