Missouri Valley Conference facts for kids
The Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) is a college sports conference in the United States that sponsors many sports, but has not played football since the 1984 season.
The MVC has its roots in the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MVIAA), a league formed in 1907 by several schools in the Midwestern United States. The MVIAA split into two leagues in 1928. One league, made up mostly of large schools, kept the MVIAA name and years later became the Big Eight Conference. The smaller schools formed the MVC. Both groups claimed a 1907 founding date, and the same history up to the 1928 split. However, the Big Eight merged in 1996 with several schools from the collapsing Southwest Conference to form today's Big 12 Conference, which does not claim any of the Big Eight's history. Because of this, only the MVC now has a claim to any of the MVIAA's history.
Members
Currently, the MVC has 10 members.
| School | Location | Founded | Type | Nickname | Joined MVC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bradley University | Peoria, Illinois | 1897 | Private | Braves | 1948, 1955 |
| Drake University | Des Moines, Iowa | 1881 | Private | Bulldogs | 1907, 1956 |
| University of Evansville | Evansville, Indiana | 1854 | Private | Purple Aces | 1994 |
| Illinois State University | Normal, Illinois | 1857 | Public | Redbirds | 1981 |
| Indiana State University | Terre Haute, Indiana | 1865 | Public | Sycamores | 1977 |
| Loyola University Chicago | Chicago, Illinois | 1870 | Private | Ramblers | 2013 |
| Missouri State University | Springfield, Missouri | 1905 | Public | Bears | 1990 |
| University of Northern Iowa | Cedar Falls, Iowa | 1890 | Public | Panthers | 1979 |
| Southern Illinois University Carbondale | Carbondale, Illinois | 1869 | Public | Salukis | 1975 |
| Valparaiso University | Valparaiso, Indiana | 1859 | Private | Crusaders | 2017 |
Associate members
The MVC has four "associate members", each of which plays one sport in the conference.
| School | Location | Founded | Type | Joined | Sport | Current main conference | Nickname |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Central Arkansas | Conway, Arkansas | 1927 | Public | 2010 | Men's soccer | Southland | Bears |
| Dallas Baptist University | Dallas, Texas | 1898 | Private | 2013 | Baseball | Heartland (D-II) | Patriots |
| University of Arkansas at Little Rock (Little Rock) | Little Rock, Arkansas | 1927 | Public | 2010 | Women's swimming and diving | Sun Belt | Trojans |
| Stony Brook University | Stony Brook, New York | 1957 | Public | 2016 | Women's tennis | America East | Seawolves |
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Images for kids
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Locations of current Missouri Valley Conference full member institutions.
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Former Missouri Valley Conference logo
