After watching Metro lose to the University of Nebraska-Kearney in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championship, one thing stuck with me on the drive home from Pueblo.

It wasn't so much what happened in the 'Runners defeat, but something Lopers co-head coach Tom Kropp said in the news conference afterward.

"(The Roadrunners are) the team we try to emulate with our program," Kropp said.

That came from the man Sports Illustrated rated one of the top-10 greatest sport celebrities in Nebraska. In 16 years as a coach, Kropp has compiled a 349-127 record and has built a reputation as one of the premier basketball coaches in college basketball. When he was still an athlete, both the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Denver Nuggets drafted him.

Regardless of his accomplishments, Kropp showed a great deal of respect for Metro head coach Mike Dunlap and the Roadrunners. He credited Metro as a model program in NCAA Division II basketball.

The rivalry between Metro and Nebraska-Kearney isn't one of hatred. It is, instead, a rivalry of mutual esteem between two storied basketball programs.

In the nine years since Dunlap began coaching Metro, the Roadrunners have been the team to beat.

As an underdog in the RMAC Shootout this year, the Roadrunners defended their conference title admirably. Metro began the season with nine new players on the roster.

"This is supposed to be a rebuilding year for Metro," broadcaster Irv Brown said during the RMAC title game. "They weren't supposed to be here."

People said that all season, but the 'Runners never listened.

Instead, Metro won 18 of 23 games since Dec. 16. The Roadrunners upset No. 5 Fort Hays State University in a David vs. Goliath conference semifinal, and exposed the Tigers as the D-II equivalent of the Indianapolis Colts.

No matter how Metro fares in the upcoming NCAA Regional, one thing will remain true: the Roadrunners are one of the most professional programs in amateur sports.

I've watched the 'Runners play for the past three years. This was my first year watching them as a reporter. At the beginning of the season, I was, to say the least, intimidated by the prospect.

Now that the regular season is over and the Roadrunners are in the tournament, I feel privileged to have watched nearly every game.

The same goes for Metro's women's team. Though the women Lopers cut their season short, nothing can take away from the fact that the Roadrunners had another strong season.

Women's basketball in the RMAC has deeper issues than its fierce competition. It's often the team that finishes with the fewest bruises that wins a game. That's why teams like Regis University are allowed to muscle their way to victory.

Watching games as a broadcaster, as well as a reporter, has made me much better at watching basketball.

John Romero and I have been on the air for nearly every game in 2006 and we'll follow the Roadrunners wherever they go. It's been great broadcasting both from home and on the road to bring Roadrunners basketball to you.

We'll be there on metradio.mscd.edu, doing our best to cover Metro for the conclusion of this season and the entirety of the next one.