The Missouri Valley Conference enters its 103rd year at the start of the 2009-10 academic year, and the nation's second-oldest NCAA Division I conference continues to be a leader in college athletics.

 The Valley continues to lead by example as one of college athletics' most progressive conferences.  The Valley emphasizes the importance of the student-athlete and is aggressive in its approach to provide opportunities for its member institutions.

 One of the biggest achievements for The Valley is the increasing notoriety of the State Farm Men's Basketball Championship, which continually ranks as one of the nation's top attended championship basketball tournaments.   Notably, in March of 2010, the conference will celebrate the tournament's 20th anniversary in St. Louis.  Affectionately known as "Arch Madness," the tournament is the second-longest tenured neutral site tournament (trailing only the Big East in New York).

 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. 

 Even though the MVC's spectacular streak of nine seasons with two or more conference teams in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament ended in 2008, the league continues to be one of the nation's elite.   Last year, a league-record seven MVC teams were in the post-season. The Valley has had four or more post-season bids in the same season 15 times, including each of the last six years.  Notably, The Valley has had 22 post-season teams in men's basketball over the past four seasons, with three NCAA Sweet 16 trips (Bradley, Southern Illinois and Wichita State).  UNI represented the league in the NCAA Tournament, while Bradley - for the second-straight year - reached the championship finals of a post-season tournament, representing the league in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament.

 While the success of men's basketball has received the greatest attention, the overall performance of league teams in virtually every sport continues to raise the national profile of the conference.

 There were plenty of other milestones for The Valley in the athletic arena in 2008-09.  For the second-straight year, the conference staged a neutral site women's basketball tournament at the St. Charles Family Arena before good crowds, with Evansville earning the title and representing the league in the NCAA Tournament.  Regular-season champ Illinois State reached the semifinals of the WNIT.

 The Valley had another historic year in volleyball as three league teams earned bids into the NCAA Tournament field.  In 2007, a conference record four teams were invited to the Big Dance, while only five times previously has the league received as many as two NCAA bids.  Tournament champion Missouri State was joined by UNI and Wichita State in post-season play.

 In men's soccer, Creighton ran its incredible streak of consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances to 17 in a row, and the Bluejays reached the NCAA Quarterfinals.  The Bluejays were joined by Drake in the NCAA field, as the Bulldogs were making their first-ever appearance in the men's bracket.

 In baseball, Wichita State again represented the league in the NCAA Tournament, and reached the regional final, falling to Washington State.  Over the past three decades, the Shockers have made 26 NCAA Tournament trips, with seven CWS berths and a 1989 NCAA Championship to their credit.

 For the first time in seven seasons, The Valley failed to send multiple softball teams to the NCAA Championship.  Bradley made its first-ever NCAA appearance to represent the league and defeated national No. 15 seed DePaul in the opening game.  In a season of firsts, the Braves earned their spot in the NCAA Tournament after becoming the first team in league history to win the conference tournament as the host institution, edging regular-season champ Creighton.

 Track and field continued to flourish in the MVC as Kylie Hutson of Indiana State earned national titles in the indoor and outdoor pole vault.  The league has now had five individual national titles in the past three years in track & field.  In all, 15 student-athletes from the Missouri Valley Conference qualified for the outdoor national meet, while 11 participated in the indoor meet.  Tyler Mulder of UNI capped his stellar career by finishing third in both the outdoor and indoor 800-meter run; he was the indoor champ in that event in 2008.

 In one of the closest results in league history, Wichita State earned the 2008-09 All-Sports crown, edging second-place Illinois State by 0.06 points.  The Shockers won a league-best four titles (women's cross country, volleyball, men's golf and women's tennis), while placing in the top four in 12 of 15 sports in which they sponsor.

 Based in St. Louis since 1985, the league is assertive in its approach to hosting NCAA basketball championship events, operating a revenue-producing in-house television network, bidding out the right to host sport championships and landing title sponsorships for those events.

 The success of The Valley television package is one of the great stories in the league, in terms of the clearance of the men's basketball tournament title game on national broadcast television, the excellent national and regional coverage for basketball and other sports, and the effective sale of advertising content to more than 25 companies.  The MVC Television Network has blossomed into a revenue-generating vehicle and The Valley's most visible marketing tool.

 During the tenure of Doug Elgin, The Valley's ninth and longest-tenured commissioner, The Valley has been aggressive in hosting NCAA events in St. Louis.  This continuing involvement of the MVC in hosting NCAA events represents one of the most concentrated stretches of host opportunities for any university or conference in the 70-plus year history of the national championship tournament.  In 2010, the Missouri Valley will host an NCAA men's basketball regional, while The Valley has hosted three Final Fours this decade (women's events in 2001 and 2009, and the Men's Final Four in 2005).  The league had previously hosted men's regionals in 1998, 1999, 2004 and 2007; and a men's first/second round event in 2002.  Additionally, Creighton and The Valley co-hosted a men's basketball first and second round in 2008 in Omaha.

 And while the Missouri Valley Conference has been progressive in pursuing NCAA events, it has continued to be a national leader in the athletic arena.  And starting in 1995-96, the conference broke new ground by allowing league members to bid for hosting rights for select team sport championships.  By establishing uniform host criteria, the conference is able to assist a host institution in a season-long promotional campaign and provide an avenue where hosts can acquire sponsors and achieve a profit for the event.

 The 2003-04 season was a landmark season for the conference as State Farm Insurance and the league came to terms on an agreement that provides State Farm with title sponsorship of all of the league's 18 championships.  The conference's progressive marketing and in-house television package has helped open doors to regional and national sponsors outside of the realm of title sponsorships, as the league's men's basketball tournament sponsorship revenues continues to reach all-time highs.

 Meanwhile, the league has been progressive in other areas, as it has taken its merchandise program in-house, while offering e-commerce solutions for league apparel, championship photography and a conference-wide videostreaming package.

 The seeds for this vision were planted by eight administrators representing five institutions, who met at the Midland Hotel in Kansas City, Mo., on Jan. 12, 1907.  The five schools which formed the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association were Washington University of St. Louis, and the state universities of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska.  Two months after the initial meeting, two more schools -- Drake University and Iowa State College -- were admitted.

 In the fall of 1907, basketball became the first competitive sport.  Today, the Missouri Valley Conference sponsors the following sports:  baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country and track & field (indoor and outdoor), men's and women's golf, men's and women's soccer, softball, women's swimming and diving, men's and women's tennis, and women's volleyball.

 While The Valley no longer sponsors football (it did from 1907-85), six league members compete in football at the FCS (Football Championship Subdivision) level as Illinois State, Indiana State, Missouri State, Northern Iowa and Southern Illinois play in the nine-member Missouri Valley Football Conference (with North Dakota State, South Dakota State, Western Illinois and Youngstown State).  That league competed as the Gateway Conference from 1985-2007.  Drake plays non-scholarship football in the Pioneer Football League.

 This season, the league will conduct its 99th outdoor track and field championship, its 92nd tennis championship, its 56th baseball tournament, and its 72nd golf championship for the men.  Those programs, plus other current sponsored sports of cross country (51 years), indoor track (43), soccer (19) and swimming and diving (16), have helped solidify the Missouri Valley Conference as one of the most respected conferences nationally.

 Athletic accomplishments on the men's athletics side include 10 national basketball championships, 16 trips to the NCAA Final Four, a 1989 national baseball championship and 19 College World Series qualifiers.  In 2001, Missouri State added to The Valley women's accomplishments, as the Lady Bears advanced to the Women's Basketball Final Four in St. Louis.  Creighton (2004) and Missouri State (2005) have claimed national championships (WNIT) in women's basketball, while MSU also has a 1992 NCAA Women's Final Four appearance, and Creighton (2003), Drake (1999) and Illinois State (2009) have made semifinal trips to the WNIT postseason tournament.

 Indeed, the inclusion of women's programs under The Valley banner has provided a boost.  The Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference -- which began in 1982 -- merged with the Missouri Valley Conference and was unveiled as part of the new conference on July 1, 1992.

 And while the inclusion of women's sports under a comprehensive athletic umbrella is a recent development in the league's storied history, over the years, Valley student-athletes and coaches have become household names during the league's illustrious history, both during their collegiate careers and, for some, professional careers.

 In fact, The Valley began honoring that tradition in the summer of 1997, when the conference began its athletics Hall of Fame.  Hersey Hawkins of Bradley, Larry Bird of Indiana State, Wes Unseld of Louisville, Coach Henry Iba of Oklahoma State, Dave Stallworth of Wichita State, Ed Macauley of Saint Louis, and Oscar Robertson of Cincinnati were members of the initial induction class.  Currently, nearly 40 former players, coaches and alums dot the league's Hall of Fame.

 Men's basketball, perhaps, has the league's most storied tradition with the likes of Hall of Famers Bird and Robertson, but The Valley has also produced national-caliber student-athletes in its other sponsored sports.  In 2001, Missouri State's Jackie Stiles became the first Valley woman to earn the Honda-Broderick Cup, given to the nation's top female collegiate student-athlete.  In the sport of track and field, Indiana State's Holli Hyche captured seven national sprint titles in the early 1990s, Southern Illinois' Darrin Plab won back-to-back NCAA outdoor high jump titles in 1991 and 1992, SIU's Brittany Riley became the World record holder in the weight throw in 2007.  And Kylie Hutson of Indiana State swept both the indoor and outdoor pole vault titles in 2009.

 In the fall of 1997, Creighton's Johnny Torres was named the collegiate male soccer player of the year for a second-straight year, while SMU's Luchi Gonzalez (2001) and Tulsa's Ryan Pore (2004) have also earned a National Player of the Year honor in men's soccer.  Meanwhile league member Wichita State has produced three national collegiate players of the year in baseball, including Joe Carter (1981), Phil Stephenson (1982) and Darren Dreifort (1993).

 From its early beginning to its current standing on the map of college athletics, The Valley will always continue to be proactive in its approach.

 League members include Bradley, Creighton, Drake, Evansville, Illinois State, Indiana State, Missouri State, Northern Iowa, Southern Illinois, and Wichita State.  Eastern Illinois is an affiliate member in men's soccer, while Central Arkansas and Southern Illinois-Edwardsville begin affiliate men's soccer membership in 2010.