Western Colorado University Athletics

The first play of Bruce Otten's Western Colorado football career was a play to the left tackle's side and went the distance for a touchdown thanks to a key block by the freshman. By game four, Otten was a starter and never looked back on what is now a hall-of-fame career as the Centerville, Ohio, native was inducted into the Mountaineer Sports Hall of Fame on Oct. 25, 2019.
 
Otten was a three-time All-RMAC performer for the Mountaineers, helping Western Colorado go 32-8 during his career with three RMAC titles and two national playoff appearances.
 
The 1978 team, led by head coach and Mountaineer Sports Hall of Fame inductee Bill Noxon, finished the regular season with a perfect 9-0 record, winning the sixth consecutive Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference title.
 
The Mountaineers defeated Central Arkansas 21-17 in the NAIA Division I quarterfinals. Following the conclusion of the game, the NAIA president told Otten he had voted for him as the most valuable player of the game. Western fell to the eventual national champions, Angelo State University, in the semifinals his freshman year and the Mountaineers finished the season ranked third in the national poll.
 
Otten was one of 19 all-conference performers on the Mountaineer squad in 1978. The team itself was inducted into the MSHOF in 2013 and Otten is one of five players and three coaches from that team to be inducted into the hall as individuals.
 
The following season, Otten helped the Mountaineers to another RMAC championship and an appearance in the NAIA quarterfinals. Otten would also be named an All-RMAC First Team selection. Otten would earn his third All-RMAC nod in 1980 as a First Team selection.
 
"He was a true freshman four-year starter on a national championship-caliber team, and that is pretty outstanding," teammate and MSHOF inductee Justin Cross said. "Always have felt (Otten) was one, if not the most, deserving of all the players since the start of the Mountaineer Sports Hall of Fame. Unselfish, hard working and very underrated in his talent. One of the best O-lineman I ever played with."
 
Otten graduated from Western with a business administration degree in 1981 with a 3.4 grade-point average.