THIS IS THE MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE

From early beginnings to its current standing on the map of college athletics, the Missouri Valley Conference continues to be proactive as The Valley enters its 105th year in 2011-12. The nation’s second-oldest NCAA Division I conference is a leader in college athletics and is one of the nation’s most progressive conferences.

The Missouri Valley Conference enters a new decade facing a rapidly changing environment in NCAA Division I athletics as conference expansion and realignment swept the nation in the summer of 2010. Although The Valley was untouched, the league will remain vigilant in monitoring changes or potential changes in other conferences that might impact membership, or present opportunities for expansion. 

The Valley brand remains very strong, both regionally and nationally, and the great athletic tradition of The Valley remains a compelling force in recruiting student-athletes and in marketing all the MVC programs.

Men’s basketball continues to be the engine that drives Valley athletic programs. With UNI’s NCAA Sweet 16 appearance in 2010, the league has had four different Sweet 16 teams since 2006, and The Valley is the only non-BCS league with more than two different Sweet 16 teams in that span. The State Farm MVC Tournament continues to be a spectacular showcase for the league, and the MVC has extended the tournament agreement with the Scottrade Center that will keep Arch Madness in St. Louis through at least 2013. During the 2011 State Farm MVC Championship, the league surpassed 1 million in total attendance for the event, now in its 22nd year.

Last year, the league set a record with 12 post-season victories in men's basketball, as five different teams picked up at least one post-season win – a league first. Wichita State became the first MVC NIT champion since 1982, winning five games, including four against BCS-member schools.

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.

In women’s basketball, five teams earned post-season berths, while 2011 marked the 12th-straight season that the Valley earned at least three post-season bids. UNI made its second consecutive NCAA Tournament trip after becoming just the fourth league team to win back-to-back State Farm MVC Tournament titles. The Conference remains committed to keeping the tournament at a neutral site at the Family Arena in St. Charles as establishing a neutral site remains a huge part of the overall efforts to improve women’s basketball in The Valley.

In volleyball, a league-high four teams were invited to the 2010 NCAA Volleyball Championship, marking the fifth-straight year that multiple teams were invited to the Dance. UNI finished the season ranked No. 14, following its second-straight perfect 18-0 conference season.

In baseball, Creighton represented the league in the NCAA Tournament, as the Bluejays swept both the regular-season title and tournament titles. Although the league only received one NCAA Tournament bid, four teams ended the year in the Top 75 of the RPI, and the league ranked No. 7 in the conference RPI rankings.

In softball, two teams represented the league in the NCAA Tournament for the 11th time in conference history, as Illinois State and Missouri State advanced. Missouri State became just the second host in the history of the MVC to win the tournament, while both ISU and MSU went 1-2 in NCAA Tournament action.

In men's soccer, Creighton returned to the NCAA Championship after a one-year hiatus as the Bluejays joined State Farm MVC Tournament champion Bradley in the NCAA field. Creighton has qualified for 18 of the past 19 NCAA Championships, while The Valley has had two or more teams earn a spot in the field in each of the past four years.

In track & field, the league picked up two more national championships. Indiana State's Felisha Johnson won the weight throw at the indoor meet, while Illinois State's Tim Johnson was the national champion in the javelin at the outdoor meet. It marks the sixth NCAA meet in a row that the MVC has earned an individual national title in track & field. The MVC has now produced 10 national champions in the sport in the past five years.

Meanwhile, the success of The Valley television package is one of the great stories in the league. The MVC Television Network has blossomed into a revenue-generating vehicle and The Valley’s most visible marketing tool. Also, The Valley is making video-streaming a major focus as it enters the third year of a three-year plan to upgrade the production and marketing of both institutionally-produced and conference-produced webcasts.

State Farm Insurance has been a crucial partner, as The Valley came to terms on an agreement in 2003-04 that provided State Farm with the title sponsorship of 17 of the league's 18 championships (the baseball title sponsorship was added in 2008, giving State Farm exclusive championship naming rights for all 18 MVC sports.) In 2010, The Valley took a major step toward ensuring current revenues in television media and tournament sponsorship sales would be guaranteed in future years when it announced a 10-year partnership with Learfield Sports. The Jefferson City, Missouri-based company now has the exclusive sales and marketing rights to MVC assets that include championships and television advertising.

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. Since 1998, the MVC served as host for a staggering nine NCAA tournament events in the 13-year period, which has made St. Louis one of the most frequent stops on the NCAA Tournament trail. The Valley hosted Women’s Final Fours in 2001 and 2009, and the Men’s Final Four in 2005.

The seeds for the creation of the conference 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, UNI 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 101st outdoor track and field championship, its 94th tennis championship, its 58th baseball tournament, and its 74th golf championship for the men. Those programs, plus other current sponsored sports of cross country (53 years), indoor track (45), soccer (21) and swimming and diving (18), have helped solidify The Valley as one of the nation’s most respected conferences.

Athletic accomplishments include four NCAA national basketball championships, 16 trips to the NCAA Final Four, a 1989 national baseball championship and 19 College World Series qualifiers. The league owns a total of 30 post-season national team championships, including Wichita State's men's basketball NIT title in 2011. 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 70 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 and in 2010.

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).

League members include Bradley, Creighton, Drake, Evansville, Illinois State, Indiana State, Missouri State, Northern Iowa, Southern Illinois, and Wichita State. Central Arkansas and Southern Illinois-Edwardsville are affiliate members in men’s soccer.