The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the fourth-oldest collegiate

athletic conference An athletic conference is a collection of sports teams which play competitively against each other in a sports league. In many cases conferences are subdivided into smaller Division (sport), divisions, with the best teams competing at successively ...

in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the

Midwest The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

though with substantial extension into the South in states like

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

, and

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

History

The MVC was established in 1907 (its charter member schools: the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

University of Nebraska A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

, and Washington University in St. Louis) as the

Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association The Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MVIAA) was a college athletic conference and the second college conference formed upon its foundation on January 12, 1907.David A. Campaigne and John R. Thelin, "Big Twelve Conference", ...

(MVIAA), 12 years after the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

, the only Division I conference that is older. It is the fourth-oldest college athletic conference in the United States, after the Big Ten Conference and the

NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is the lowest division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that do not offer athletic scholarships to student- ...

Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) is an List of NCAA conferences, intercollegiate athletic conference that competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's Division III (NCAA), Division III. There are nine ...

(MIAA) and

Ohio Athletic Conference The Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference which competes in the NCAA's Division III. All member institutions are located in Ohio. Formed in 1902, it is the third oldest athletic conference in the United States ...

(OAC). The MVIAA split in 1928, with most of the larger schools (the

, Iowa Agricultural College (now

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricult ...

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant coll ...

, and

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

) forming a conference that retained the MVIAA name; this conference evolved into the

Big Eight Conference The Big Eight Conference was a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-affiliated Division I-A college athletic association that sponsored American football, football. It was formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate ...

. The Big Eight merged with four Texas schools of the

Southwest Conference The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference also included schools from Oklaho ...

to form the

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. It consists of 16 full-member universities (3 private universities and 13 public universities) in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida ...

in 1996. The smaller MVIAA schools (Drake, Grinnell and Washington University in St. Louis), plus Oklahoma A&M (now

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

, which joined the Big Eight in 1957), were joined by Creighton to form the MVC, which retained the old MVIAA's administrative staff. To this day, it has never been definitively established which conference was the original and which was the spinoff, though the Big Eight would go on to become the more prestigious of the two. During the Big Eight's run, both conferences claimed 1907 as their founding date, and the same history through 1927. MVC teams held a 74–27 non-conference record during the 2006–07 college basketball season, including a record of 44–1 at home. The Valley finished in the top six of the RPI and ahead of a BCS conference for the second consecutive year, while also garnering multiple NCAA bids for the ninth straight year and 12th of 14. The MVC has not sponsored

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

since 1985, when it was a hybrid I-A/I-AA (now FBS and FCS, respectively) conference. However, five members have football programs in the

Missouri Valley Football Conference The Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC), formerly the Gateway Football Conference, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the National Collegiate A ...

(MVFC) (known as the Gateway from 1985 to 2008) of Division I FCS, and two others compete in another FCS conference, the

Pioneer Football League The Pioneer Football League (PFL) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference which operates in the United States. The conference participates in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I Fo ...

. The Missouri Valley Conference shares its name with the MVFC, and all three conferences operate from the same headquarters complex in

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

; however, the three are separate administratively. After weeks of speculation,

Wichita State Wichita State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 ...

announced on April 7, 2017, that it would leave the conference to join the

American Athletic Conference The American Athletic Conference (AAC), also known as The American, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States, featuring 13 full member universities and 6 affiliate member universities that compete in t ...

starting with the 2017–18 season. The conference announced it extended an invitation to

Valparaiso University Valparaiso University (Valpo) is a private university in Valparaiso, Indiana, United States. It is an independent Lutheran university with five colleges. It enrolls nearly 2,300 students and has a campus. The university is known for its Luthe ...

on May 9, 2017; and on May 25, the MVC announced that Valparaiso would officially join the following July 1. The most recent changes to the core MVC membership were announced during the 2021–22 school year. On September 28, 2021, the MVC and

Belmont University Belmont University is a Private university, private Christian university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Descended from Belmont Women's College, founded in 1890 by schoolteachers Ida Hood and Susan Heron, the institution was incorporate ...

jointly announced that the school would leave the

Ohio Valley Conference The Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It participates in Division I of the NCAA; the conference's football programs compete in partnership with ...

for the MVC effective July 1, 2022. Then, on November 16,

Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Chicago (Loyola or LUC) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1870 by the Society of Jesus, Loyola is one of the largest Catholic Church, ...

announced it would leave the MVC at the same time, joining the

Atlantic 10 Conference The Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose schools compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. The A-10's member schools are located most ...

. On the same day Loyola announced its departure, CBS Sports reported that the MVC was actively pursuing further expansion, having entered into talks with the

University of Missouri–Kansas City The University of Missouri–Kansas City (UMKC or Kansas City) is a Public university, public research university in Kansas City, Missouri, United States. UMKC is part of the University of Missouri System and has a UMKC School of Medicine, medic ...

(known athletically as Kansas City),

Murray State University Murray State University (MSU) is a public university in Murray, Kentucky, in the Southern United States. In addition to the main campus in Calloway County in southwestern Kentucky, Murray State operates extended campuses offering upper-level an ...

, and the

University of Texas at Arlington The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA or UT Arlington) is a public research university in Arlington, Texas, United States. It is the second oldest university in the University of Texas System and was founded in 1895. It was in the Texas A& ...

(UT Arlington). The report indicated that the latter two were considered the strongest candidates, but that all three were likely to receive invitations in the coming months. On January 7, 2022, the MVC announced that Murray State would officially join the conference on July 1 of that year. UT Arlington would soon remove itself from the list of candidates by announcing a 2022 move to the

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the Western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, Texas, Utah and Washington (state), Washington. Due to ...

. Shortly before Murray State was officially announced as an incoming MVC member, Matt Brown of the ''Extra Points'' college sports blog reported that the MVC was also in membership discussions with the

University of Illinois Chicago The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is a public research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, adjacent to the Chicago Loop. The second campus established under the Universi ...

(UIC), then a member of the

Horizon League The Horizon League is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. Headquartered in Indianapolis, the league's eleven member schools are located in ...

. On the same weekend that Murray State's arrival was officially announced, MVC officials made a site visit to UIC. Brown's sources indicated that an invitation to UIC was likely. Brown noted that with the MVC losing Loyola, league officials believed that maintaining a presence in the city was a top priority, stating (emphasis in original): On January 22, 2022, Matt Norlander of ''CBSSports.com'' reported that UIC's July entry to the MVC was "a done deal", with his sources indicating that the MVC wanted to announce the move before the Conference Commissioners Association held its annual meeting in

Naples, Florida Naples is a city in Collier County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 19,115, down from 19,539 at the 2010 census. Naples is a principal city of the Collier County, Florida, Naples–Marc ...

in early February. UIC's entry was officially announced on January 26. On May 10, 2024, Missouri State announced it would leave the MVC to transition to the

Football Bowl Subdivision The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As ...

(FBS) and join

Conference USA Conference USA (CUSA) is a collegiate athletic conference of member institutions in the Southern and Western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. CUSA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas. Mem ...

, effective for the 2025–26 season. The MVC's decades-long ties with the MVFC were formalized when the latter announced a new conference structure on May 5, 2025, taking effect that July. Under the new structure, the MVFC's top two administrative positions will be filled by the commissioners of the MVC and the also non-football

Summit League The Summit League, or The Summit, is an NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletic conference with its membership mostly located in the Midwestern United States, from Minnesota in the east, to the Dakotas, Nebraska and Colorado to the West, and Mis ...

, and both multisport conferences will share administrative operations. The MVC and Summit are the full-time conference homes of all but one of the MVFC's 10 members in the 2025 season.

Member schools

Current full members

;Notes

Affiliate members

Note: In the case of spring sports, the year of joining is the calendar year before the start of competition. ;Notes

Future affiliate members

Former members

Former full members (25)

;Notes:

Former affiliate members

This list does not include current full members Belmont and Valparaiso. As noted above, the Bruins played men's soccer in the MVC for the 2000 fall season (2000–01 school year), and the Beacons, then known as the Crusaders, played women's soccer in the MVC from the 1996 to 1998 fall seasons (1996–97 to 1998–99 school years). ;Notes:

Membership timeline

DateFormat = yyyy ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:18 Period = from:1907 till:2029 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal PlotArea = right:20 left:0 bottom:50 top:5 #> to display a count on left side of graph, use "left:20" to suppress the count, use "left:20"<# Colors = id:barcolor value:rgb(0.99,0.7,0.7) id:line value:black id:bg value:white id:FullxF value:rgb(0.551,0.824,0.677) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports id:Full value:rgb(0.742,0.727,0.852) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports except for football id:AssocF value:rgb(0.98,0.5,0.445) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for football only id:AssocOS value:rgb(0.3,0.691,0.824) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in some sports, but not all (consider identifying in legend or a footnote) id:OtherC1 value:rgb(0.996,0.996,0.699) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to another conference id:OtherC2 value:rgb(0.988,0.703,0.383) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to another conference where OtherC1 has already been used, to distinguish the two PlotData= width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s bar:1 color:FullxF from:1907 till:1908 text:

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals and creatures * A male duck * Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...

(1907–1952) bar:1 color:Full from:1908 till:1951 bar:1 color:AssocF from:1951 till:1952 bar:1 color:OtherC1 from:1952 till:1957 text: Indep. bar:1 color:FullxF from:1957 till:1971 text:(1956–present) bar:1 color:Full from:1971 till:1986 bar:1 color:FullxF from:1986 till:end bar:2 color:AssocF from:1907 till:1911 text:

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

(1907–1911) bar:2 shift:70 color:OtherC1 from:1911 till:end text:

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives in 1 ...

bar:3 color:FullxF from:1907 till:1908 text: Iowa State (1907–1928) bar:3 color:Full from:1908 till:1928 bar:3 color:OtherC1 from:1928 till:1996 text: Big Eight bar:3 color:OtherC2 from:1996 till:end text:

Big 12 The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. It consists of 16 full-member universities (3 private universities and 13 public universities) in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, Okla ...

bar:4 color:Full from:1907 till:1928 text:

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

(1907–1928) bar:4 color:OtherC1 from:1928 till:1996 text: Big Eight bar:4 color:OtherC2 from:1996 till:end text:

bar:5 color:Full from:1907 till:1928 text:

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

(1907–1928) bar:5 color:OtherC1 from:1928 till:1996 text: Big Eight bar:5 color:OtherC2 from:1996 till:2012 text:

bar:5 color:OtherC1 from:2012 till:end text: SEC bar:6 color:Full from:1907 till:1919 text:

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

(1907–1919, 1921–1928) bar:6 color:OtherC1 from:1919 till:1921 bar:6 color:Full from:1921 till:1928 bar:6 color:OtherC1 from:1928 till:1996 text: Big Eight bar:6 color:OtherC2 from:1996 till:2011 text:

bar:6 color:OtherC1 from:2011 till:end text:

bar:7 color:Full from:1907 till:1943 text: Washington U. (1907–1947) bar:7 color:FullxF from:1943 till:1947 bar:7 color:OtherC1 from:1947 till:1962 text:Independent bar:7 color:OtherC2 from:1962 till:1972 text: SCAC (D-III) bar:7 color:OtherC1 from:1972 till:1986 text:Independent bar:7 color:OtherC2 from:1986 till:end text: UAA (D-III) bar:8 color:Full from:1913 till:1928 text: Kansas State (1913–1928) bar:8 shift:(10) color:OtherC1 from:1928 till:1996 text: Big Eight bar:8 color:OtherC2 from:1996 till:end text:

bar:9 color:Full from:1918 till:1939 text: Grinnell (1918–1939) bar:9 color:OtherC1 from:1939 till:end text: Midwest (D-III) bar:10 color:Full from:1919 till:1928 text:

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

(1919–1928) bar:10 shift:(50) color:OtherC1 from:1928 till:1996 text: Big Eight bar:10 color:OtherC2 from:1996 till:2024 text:

bar:10 color:OtherC1 from:2024 till:end text: SEC bar:11 color:Full from:1925 till:1958 text: Oklahoma A&M (1925–1958) bar:11 color:OtherC1 from:1958 till:1996 text: Big Eight bar:11 color:OtherC2 from:1996 till:end text:

bar:12 color:Full from:1928 till:1943 text: Creighton (1928–1948) bar:12 color:FullxF from:1943 till:1948 bar:12 color:OtherC1 from:1948 till:1976 text:Independent bar:12 color:FullxF from:1976 till:2013 text:(1976–2013) bar:12 color:OtherC1 from:2013 till:end text:

Big East The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...

bar:13 color:Full from:1932 till:1934 text:

Butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments, with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantries, pantr ...

(1932–1934) bar:13 shift:(90) color:OtherC1 from:1934 till:1950 text: IIC bar:13 color:OtherC2 from:1950 till:1978 text: ICC bar:13 color:OtherC1 from:1978 till:1979 bar:13 color:OtherC2 from:1979 till:2001 text: MCC bar:13 color:OtherC2 from:2001 till:2012 text:

Horizon The horizon is the apparent curve that separates the surface of a celestial body from its sky when viewed from the perspective of an observer on or near the surface of the relevant body. This curve divides all viewing directions based on whethe ...

bar:13 shift:(-10) color:OtherC1 from:2012 till:2013 text: A-10 bar:13 color:OtherC2 from:2013 till:end text:

bar:14 color:FullxF from:1934 till:1935 text:

Tulsa Tulsa ( ) is the second-most-populous city in the state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tul ...

(1934–1996) bar:14 color:Full from:1935 till:1986 bar:14 color:FullxF from:1986 till:1996 bar:14 color:OtherC1 from:1996 till:2000 text: WAC bar:14 color:AssocOS from:2000 till:2005 text:(Men's soccer, 2000–2005) bar:14 color:OtherC1 from:2005 till:2014 bar:14 shift:(20) color:OtherC2 from:2014 till:end text: American bar:15 color:Full from:1935 till:1941 text: Washburn (1935–1943) bar:15 color:FullxF from:1941 till:1943 bar:15 shift:(60) color:OtherC1 from:1943 till:1967 text:

CIC CIC may refer to: Organizations Canada * Cadet Instructors Cadre, a part of the Canadian Armed Forces * Canadian Infantry Corps, renamed in 1947 to Royal Canadian Infantry Corps * Canadian International Council * Canadian Islamic Congress * Chemi ...

bar:15 color:OtherC2 from:1967 till:1972 text: RMAC bar:15 color:OtherC1 from:1972 till:1976 text: CPAC bar:15 color:OtherC2 from:1976 till:1989 text: CSIC (NAIA) bar:15 color:OtherC1 from:1989 till:end text: MIAA (D-II) bar:16 color:Full from:1937 till:1950 text:

(1937–1974) bar:16 color:FullxF from:1950 till:1974 bar:16 color:OtherC1 from:1974 till:1975 bar:16 color:OtherC2 from:1975 till:1982 text: Metro bar:16 color:OtherC1 from:1982 till:1991 text: MCC bar:16 color:OtherC2 from:1991 till:1995 text: GMC bar:16 color:OtherC1 from:1995 till:2005 text:

C-USA Conference USA (CUSA) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference of member institutions in the Southern United States, Southern and Western United States. The conference participates in the National Collegiate Athletic Associ ...

bar:16 color:OtherC2 from:2005 till:end text: A-10 bar:17 color:Full from:1945 till:1964 text: Wichita (1945–2017) bar:17 color:Full from:1964 till:1986 text:

bar:17 color:FullxF from:1986 till:2017 bar:17 color:OtherC1 from:2017 till:end text: American bar:18 color:FullxF from:1948 till:1949 text: Bradley (1948–1952, 1955–present) bar:18 color:Full from:1949 till:1951 bar:18 color:AssocF from:1951 till:1952 bar:18 color:OtherC1 from:1952 till:1955 bar:18 color:FullxF from:1955 till:end bar:19 color:Full from:1949 till:1957 text:

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

(1949–1957) bar:19 shift:(40) color:OtherC1 from:1957 till:1980 text:Independent bar:19 color:OtherC2 from:1980 till:2001 text: MCC bar:19 color:OtherC2 from:2001 till:end text:

bar:20 color:Full from:1951 till:1960 text:

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

(1951–1960) bar:20 shift:(40) color:OtherC1 from:1960 till:1972 text:Independent bar:20 color:OtherC2 from:1972 till:1996 text: SWC bar:20 color:OtherC1 from:1996 till:2013 text:

bar:20 color:OtherC2 from:2013 till:2023 text: American bar:20 color:OtherC1 from:2023 till:end text:

bar:21 color:Full from:1957 till:1970 text:

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

(1957–1970) bar:21 shift:(10) color:OtherC1 from:1970 till:1975 text: Indep. bar:21 color:OtherC2 from:1975 till:1991 text: Metro bar:21 color:OtherC1 from:1991 till:1995 text: GMC bar:21 color:OtherC2 from:1995 till:2005 text:

bar:21 color:OtherC1 from:2005 till:2013 text:

bar:21 color:OtherC2 from:2013 till:2023 text: American bar:21 color:OtherC1 from:2023 till:end text:

bar:22 color:Full from:1957 till:1975 text: North Texas State (1957–1975) bar:22 color:OtherC1 from:1975 till:1982 text:Indep. bar:22 color:OtherC2 from:1982 till:1996 text: SLC bar:22 shift:(-10) color:OtherC1 from:1996 till:2000 text: Big West bar:22 color:OtherC2 from:2000 till:2013 text:

Sun Belt The Sun Belt is a region of the United States generally considered stretching across the Southeast and Southwest. Another rough definition of the region is the area south of the Parallel 36°30′ north. Several climates can be found in the re ...

bar:22 color:OtherC1 from:2013 till:2023 text:

bar:22 color:OtherC2 from:2023 till:end text: American bar:23 color:AssocOS from:1963 till:1964 text:

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

(1963–1975) bar:23 color:Full from:1964 till:1975 text: bar:23 shift:(20) color:OtherC1 from:1975 till:1995 text: Metro bar:23 color:OtherC2 from:1995 till:2005 text:

bar:23 color:OtherC1 from:2005 till:2013 text:

bar:23 shift:(-10) color:OtherC2 from:2013 till:2014 text:

AAC AAC may refer to: Aviation * Advanced Aircraft, a company from Carlsbad, California * Airborne aircraft carrier, a type of aircraft * Alaskan Air Command, a radar network * American Aeronautical Corporation, a company from Port Washington, New ...

bar:23 color:OtherC1 from:2014 till:end text: ACC bar:24 shift:(-95) color:Full from:1968 till:1973 text: Memphis State (1968–1973) bar:24 shift:(-2) color:OtherC1 from:1973 till:1975 text: Ind. bar:24 color:OtherC2 from:1975 till:1995 text: Metro bar:24 color:OtherC1 from:1995 till:2013 text:

bar:24 color:OtherC2 from:2013 till:end text: American bar:25 color:FullxF from:1970 till:1972 text:

New Mexico State New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a Public university system, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1888, it is the state's oldest public institution ...

(1970–1983) bar:25 color:Full from:1972 till:1983 text: bar:25 color:AssocF from:1983 till:1984 text: bar:25 shift:(45) color:OtherC1 from:1984 till:2000 text: PCAA/Big West bar:25 color:OtherC2 from:2000 till:2005 text:

bar:25 shift:(10) color:OtherC1 from:2005 till:2023 text: WAC bar:25 color:OtherC2 from:2023 till:end text:

bar:26 color:Full from:1972 till:1986 text: West Texas State (1972–1986) bar:26 color:OtherC1 from:1986 till:1991 bar:26 color:OtherC2 from:1991 till:1994 text: D-II Ind. bar:26 shift:(20) color:OtherC1 from:1994 till:end text: LSC (D-II) bar:27 color:Full from:1975 till:1986 text:

Southern Illinois Southern Illinois is a region of the U.S. state of Illinois comprising the southern third of the state, principally south of Interstate 70. Part of downstate Illinois, it is bordered by the two List of U.S. rivers by discharge, most voluminous ri ...

(1975–present) bar:27 color:FullxF from:1986 till:end bar:28 color:Full from:1976 till:1986 text: Indiana State (1976–present) bar:28 color:FullxF from:1986 till:end bar:29 color:FullxF from:1980 till:1981 text: Illinois State (1980–present) bar:29 color:Full from:1981 till:1986 bar:29 color:FullxF from:1986 till:end bar:30 color:FullxF from:1990 till:2025 text: Southwest Missouri State/Missouri State (1990–2025) bar:30 color:OtherC1 from:2025 till:end text: CUSA bar:31 color:FullxF from:1991 till:end text: Northern Iowa (1991–present) bar:32 color:FullxF from:1994 till:end text:

Evansville Evansville is a city in Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 118,414 at the 2020 census, it is Indiana's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the most populous city in S ...

(1994–present) bar:33 shift:(-170) color:AssocOS from:1996 till:1999 text: Valparaiso (Women's soccer, 1996–1999) bar:33 color:OtherC1 from:1999 till:2007 text: Mid-Con bar:33 color:OtherC2 from:2007 till:2017 text:

bar:33 color:FullxF from:2017 till:end text:(2017–present) bar:34 shift:(-160) color:AssocOS from:2000 till:2001 text: Belmont (Men's soccer, 2000–2001) bar:34 color:OtherC1 from:2001 till:2012 text: ASUN bar:34 color:OtherC2 from:2012 till:2022 text: OVC bar:34 shift:(-20) color:FullXF from:2022 till:end text:(2022–present) bar:40 shift:(-40) color:FullxF from:2013 till:2022 text: Loyola Chicago (2013–2022) bar:40 shift:(30) color:OtherC1 from:2022 till:end text: A-10 bar:42 shift:(-80) color:FullxF from:2022 till:end text: Murray State (2022–present) bar:43 shift:(-40) color:FullxF from:2022 till:end text: UIC (2022–present) ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:5 start:1910 TextData = fontsize:M textcolor:black pos:(0,30) tabs:(400-center) text:^"Missouri Valley Membership History" #> If the chart uses more than one bar color, add a legend by selecting the appropriate fields from the following six options (use only the colors that are used in the graphic.) Leave a blank line after the end of the timeline, then add a line with the selected values from the list, separated by a space. <#

Commissioners

# C. E. McClung (1907–19??) # Arthur (Artie) E. Eilers (1925–1957) # Norvell Neve (1957–1969) # DeWitt T. Weaver (1969–1972) # Mickey Holmes (1972–1979) # David Price (1979–1981) # Richard D. Martin (1981–1985) # James A. Haney (1985–1988) # Doug Elgin (1988–2021) # Jeff Jackson (2021–present)

Sports

The Missouri Valley Conference sponsors championship competition in eight men's and ten women's NCAA sanctioned sports. Ball State (men),

Little Rock Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

(women), and Miami (OH) (men) are affiliates in swimming and diving, and

Bowling Green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...

Northern Illinois Northern Illinois is a region generally covering the northern third of the U.S. state of Illinois. The region is by far the most populous of Illinois, with nearly 9.7 million residents as of 2010. Economics Northern Illinois is dominated by ...

, and

Western Michigan West Michigan and Western Michigan are terms for a region in the U.S. state of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Generally, it refers to the Grand Rapids- Muskegon-Holland area, and more broadly to most of the region along the Lower Peninsula's Lake ...

are affiliates in men's soccer. The most recent change to the roster of sports came in the 2024–25 school year, when the MVC reinstated men's swimming & diving after a 22-year absence. The inaugural season of the relaunched league features 7 sponsoring members, with full members Evansville, UIC, Missouri State, Southern Illinois, and Valparaiso joined by new affiliates Ball State and Miami (OH)— previously, all these programs were housed in the

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Its members co ...

Men's sponsored sports by school

Men's varsity sports not sponsored by the Missouri Valley Conference which are played by Valley schools:

Women's sponsored sports by school

Women's varsity sports not sponsored by the Missouri Valley Conference which are played by Valley schools:

Facilities

; Note # For football venues of the member schools who participate in the sport, see Missouri Valley Football Conference , Facilities and Pioneer Football League , Conference facilities.

Basketball tournament champions by year

The Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball tournament is often referred to as Arch Madness, in reference to the

Gateway Arch The Gateway Arch is a monument in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Clad in stainless steel and built in the form of a weighted catenary Catenary arch, arch, it is the world's tallest arch and List of tallest buildings in Missouri, Missouri's ...

at the tournament's present location of

, Missouri, and a play on "

March Madness The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as March Madness, or The Big Dance, is a single-elimination tournament played in the United States to determine the men's college basketball national champion of the NCAA Division I, Di ...

". The women's tournament is currently promoted as Hoops in the Heartland. NB: Missouri State was known as Southwest Missouri State until August 2005.

Postseason history multiple bids

National team titles by institution

School – Number – NCAA championships *Belmont *Bradley – 2 *Drake – 3 *Evansville – 0+5* *UIC *Illinois State – 0+1* *Indiana State – 1 *Missouri State – 0 +2* *Murray State *UNI – 1+2* *Southern Illinois – 5+3* *Valparaiso – 0 NCAA Championships as of March 2013 (*-Titles won by schools in Division II/College Division prior to their moving to Division I in the late 1960s or early 1970s) Football poll, Helms and

AIAW The Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) was a college athletics organization in the United States, founded in 1971 to govern women's college competitions in the country and to administer national championships (see AIAW Cham ...

titles are not included in the NCAA Championship count.

Men's basketball attendance

''Sources:'' The Valley is well known for having some of the most dedicated fanbases in all of college basketball, with several members regularly selling out their large arenas on a nightly basis throughout the year. Former member (Creighton) had the sixth highest attendance for Division I in 2012–13 while Bradley, Illinois State, Missouri State, and Indiana State were all among the NCAA's top 100 teams in home attendance. In 2010–11, 2011–12, and 2012–13, the Valley maintained its position as the eighth ranked conference in average attendance. The Valley made history in March 2007 with record attendance for four days at St. Louis' Scottrade Center as 85,074 fans turned out to watch the five sessions of the tournament. The two sellout crowds of 22,612 for the semifinals and final of the 2007 State Farm Tournament set an all-time attendance record for basketball at the arena and also gave The Valley the distinction of having the largest championship crowd for any of the 30 NCAA conference tournaments in 2007.

Football champions by year

* All MVC schools that currently play football are part of the

except for Drake and Valparaiso, which play in the

MVC TV Network

Since at least 1993, the MVC has produced an in-house package of sports as part of the MVC TV Network.Starting in 1996, those telecasts were produced, in part, by Bally Sports Midwest (formerly Fox Sports Midwest). These games were distributed to

regional sports network A regional sports network (RSN) in the United States and Canada is a television channel that presents sports programming to a local media market or geographical region. Such channels often focus on one or a few teams who currently play in Major L ...

s including Bally Sports Indiana, Bally Sports Kansas City, Bally Sports South, Bally Sports Southeast, and

NBC Sports Chicago NBC Sports Chicago (formerly Comcast SportsNet Chicago) was an American regional sports network that broadcast regional coverage of professional sports teams in the Chicago Chicago metropolitan area, metropolitan area, as well as college sports ...

(now Chicago Sports Network), as well as shown on Bally Sports Midwest. Until the 2020–21 season, some of these telecasts also aired on

Fox College Sports Stadium College Sports (formerly Fox College Sports) was a group of three American sports networks. Owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group and Allen Media Group (under the joint venture Diamond Sports Group), the three channels aired college and hig ...

. Outside of regional networks these telecasts were also available on

ESPN3 ESPN3 (formerly ESPN360 and ESPN3.com) is an internet, online streaming media, streaming service owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between the Walt Disney Company (which operates the network, through its 80% controlling ownership interest) an ...

until the 2018–19 season; those telecasts were then migrated over to

ESPN+ ESPN+ is an American over-the-top subscription video streaming service available in the United States, owned by ESPN Inc., which is a joint venture between the Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communicati ...

. Starting with the 2024–25 academic year, production and distribution rights were acquired by

Gray Media Gray Media, Inc., doing business as Gray Television, is an American publicly traded television broadcasting company based in Atlanta. Founded in 1946 by James Harrison Gray as Gray Communications Systems, the company owns or operates 180 statio ...

, with Gray Media-owned Indianapolis-based

Tupelo Honey ''Tupelo Honey'' is the fifth studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was released in October 1971 by Warner Bros. Records. Morrison had written all of the songs in Woodstock, New York, before his move to Marin Count ...

handling the actual production and distribution. It is a linear over-the-air station package distributed in Gray Media markets within the MVC member states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, and Tennessee as well as third-party broadcast partners in markets within those same states where Gray Media has no presence; in addition, simulcasts will be available live nationally (via ESPN+ and through the ESPN app) without any digital blackouts (prior contracts prohibited simulcast availability within the MVC footprint). The MVC TV Network serves as the home for the opening and quarterfinal rounds of Arch Madness (the nickname for the MVC men's basketball tournament).

References

External links

* {{Authority control Sports in the Midwestern United States Sports organizations established in 1907 1907 establishments in the United States Articles which contain graphical timelines

History

Member schools

Current full members

Affiliate members

Future affiliate members

Former members

Former full members (25)

Former affiliate members

Membership timeline

Commissioners

Sports

Men's sponsored sports by school

Women's sponsored sports by school

Facilities

Basketball tournament champions by year

Postseason history multiple bids

National team titles by institution

Men's basketball attendance

Football champions by year

MVC TV Network

See also

References

External links