Illinois State Earns MVC All-Sports Crown

ST. LOUIS, MO. -- Illinois State has earned the 2009-10 Missouri Valley Conference All-Sports Championship, as the Redbirds combined with Wichita State to claim an amazing 11 (of 18) league titles. It was one of the tightest results in league history, as Illinois State edged second-place Wichita State by 0.098. (Top-five finishers listed in attached PDF, link below.)

Since the league adopted its current scoring format (1993-94), there have only been three tighter results separating the top two teams (2001-02 as Missouri State edged Illinois State by 0.003; 1993-94 as Illinois State edged Wichita State by 0.04; and last year as Wichita State edged Illinois State by 0.06).

ISU had team titles in women's soccer, women's basketball, women's golf, men's tennis, and claimed its first-ever regular-season baseball title this past weekend. It marks the 12th all-sports crown for the Redbirds, second-most of any league school (Wichita State has 17). Illinois State has finished in the Top Five of the league's all-sports race for 28-straight years, and the Redbirds have finished first, second, or third in 18 of the past 20 years.

Wichita State's seven titles (shared baseball with Illinois State), and Illinois State's five titles are among the best all-time since 1992-93 (when the women's and men's sports began competing under the same umbrella). Meanwhile, a school has had an aggregate point total better than 3.0 (average finish of each sponsored sport) four times since 1993-94, but this year is the first time that two schools had a figure better than 3.00 as both ISU and WSU finished under 3.00 (2.735 and 2.833, respectively).

For the third-straight year, ISU finished in the Top 5 in the league standings (or championship event) in 16 of its 17 sports - that's the highest percentage of top-five finishers.

The All-Sports Trophy is based on a school's average finish in each of the sponsored championships by the Missouri Valley Conference. Teams are awarded one point for first, two for second, three for third, etc., and the total accumulated points are divided by the number of sports in which a particular school competes. Finishes in baseball, basketball, soccer, softball, tennis and volleyball are based on regular-season competition. All other sports are determined by finish at the championship tournament or championship meet.

Wichita State has won five of the past seven MVC all-sports crowns (2003-04, 2004-05, 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2008-09) and owns a league-best 17 all-sports trophies. Either Illinois State, Missouri State or Wichita State, meanwhile, has earned the league's all-sports championship trophy every year since 1995. Illinois State won five of six all-sports championships from 1996-2001, while Missouri State claimed the league's trophy in 2001-02 and 2002-03.

Southern Illinois, meanwhile, kept a string alive by finishing in the Top 4 of the all-sports standings for the eighth-straight season. The Salukis were third this year with an aggregate score of 4.03. Missouri State claimed the fourth spot in the all-sports race, with an aggregate score of 4.35, narrowly eclipsing UNI's total of 4.57. The Panthers have had an upper-division all-sports finish in each of the past four seasons.