From Dirks to dynasty: Video chronicles Skyhawks soccer's championship legacy

In 1999 a team established a program, put a school on the map, and captivated a town. The 1999 Fort Lewis College men's soccer team did all that in a magical season that saw them get as close to hoisting a national championship trophy as you can get without actually getting to touch it.

Despite falling short of their highest goal, from that season emerged a Skyhawks men's soccer program that has since forged and fielded teams that have won NCAA Division II National Championship titles in 2005, 2009, and 2011.

The 2005 team that captured FLC its first soccer national title will be enshrined in the Skyhawks Hall of Fame on January 24. But the roots of championship soccer at Fort Lewis College reach back more than three decades.

That history embraces a whole cast of lively and spirited soccer backers, boosters, players, and coaches who raised FLC soccer from a "loosey goosey" club in the 1970s to the national powerhouse it is today.

And then there are those zealous -- and sometimes crazed -- Durango and campus fans and "Hooligans" ...

The story of Skyhawks men’s soccer is captured in "From Dirks to dynasty", a video produced to celebrate the 2009 national championship team.

The video gives a up-close look at the history of the program and the unique and devoted fans who fill Dirks Field for home games in record numbers to show their exuberant support for their beloved Skyhawks.