Cross Country

MVC Announces Championship Sites for 2018-19

ST. LOUIS -- Commissioner Doug Elgin has announced a list of dates and sites for the various Missouri Valley Conference sports championships for the 2018-19 athletic season.

Full Release (PDF)

Notably, that includes a recommendation to bring the 2018 MVC Women’s Soccer Championship to Chicago (Loyola Chicago), the 2018 MVC Men’s Soccer Championship to Evansville, Ind. (Evansville); the 2018 MVC Volleyball Championship to Springfield, Mo. (Missouri State); the 2019 MVC Women’s Tennis Team Championship to Cedar Falls, Iowa (UNI); the 2019 MVC Softball Championship to Peoria, Ill. (Bradley); and the 2019 Baseball Championship to Normal, Ill. (Illinois State).

These site awards were approved by the league’s Joint Committee (faculty athletics representatives, directors of athletics and senior woman administrators of each institution) and are subject to ratification at the MVC Presidents’ Council meeting June 13-14.
The State Farm MVC Men’s Basketball Championship -- the 29th consecutive men’s tournament in St. Louis -- will feature all 10 Missouri Valley Conference schools and will be played at Enterprise Center.  For the 14th-straight year, the tournament will begin on Thursday and end on Sunday (March 7-10).  All nine games will be televised with the semifinals airing on CBS Sports Network and the championship game on CBS Sports.

For the fourth-straight season, the MVC Women’s Basketball Championship will be in the Quad Cities (Moline, Ill.)  It will mark the 12th-straight neutral-site championship for women’s basketball in the MVC.  The championship features all 10 schools and will begin on Thursday and end on Sunday (March 14-17).  All nine games will be on an ESPN digital network (ESPN3 or ESPN+).
WOMEN’S SOCCER:  The 2018 MVC Women’s Soccer Championship will be in Chicago, and Loyola will host at Loyola Soccer Park, on Nov. 2-4.  The top six teams (of eight) advance to the championship, and the top two seeds receive a first-round bye.  First-round games are on campus sites and will be played Sunday, Oct. 28.  The semifinals are Friday, Nov. 2, and the championship is Sunday, Nov. 4.  The semifinals and final will air on an ESPN digital network (ESPN3 or ESPN+).  The winner of the tournament receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Women’s Soccer Championship.  Loyola Soccer Park has been home to Loyola’s men’s and women’s programs since 1996.  Located just a mile west of the university’s Lake Shore Campus, Loyola Soccer Park got a new look in 2013 with the construction of new bleacher seating, an upgraded press box and new FieldTurf.
  • 2017 Champion:  Missouri State        Last Time Hosted by Loyola:  Loyola has never hosted

MEN’S SOCCER:  The 2018 MVC Men’s Soccer Championship will be in Evansville, Ind., and will be played at Arad McCutchan Stadium on Nov. 7-9-11.  Evansville will host the six -team tournament (six of seven men’s soccer programs qualify for the championship.)  First-round matches will take place Wednesday, the semifinals will be played on Friday, and the championship match will occur Sunday, Nov. 11.  The winner of the tournament receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship.  All matches will be on an ESPN digital network (ESPN3 or ESPN+).  The 2000 season was the first for UE in 2,500-seat Arad McCutchan Stadium, which was originally a football stadium. Its transition to a soccer arena began after the University discontinued football in 1997.   McCutchan Stadium is located on the north end of the Evansville’s campus, and includes an enclosed press box, locker rooms, a weight room and offices. Located next to it is the Student Recreation & Fitness Center, and Carson Center, where most athletics department offices are located.
  • 2017 Champion:  Central Arkansas        Last Time Hosted by Evansville:  2008

VOLLEYBALL:  The 2018 MVC Volleyball Championship will be in Springfield, Mo., at Hammons Student Center.  The tournament, hosted by Missouri State, will be held on Thanksgiving weekend, Nov. 22-24, with the winner receiving an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.  The league’s top six teams advance to the single-site championship tournament, and all five matches will be on an ESPN digital network (ESPN3 or ESPN+).  Hammons Student Center continually serves the recreational needs of enrolled Missouri State students, faculty and staff members as well as the intramural and intercollegiate athletics. Currently is the home to MSU volleyball, swimming and diving.  HSC was home to Missouri State men’s and women’s basketball from 1976 through the 2007-08 season.
  • 2017 Champion:  Missouri State        Last Time Hosted by Missouri State:  2015

TENNIS:  The 2019 MVC Women’s Tennis Team Championship will be in Cedar Falls, Iowa, and UNI will serve as host.  The championship will be played April 26-28.  All matches will be played at the newly constructed UNI Tennis Complex, which features nine courts and is located on campus.  The UNI Tennis Complex support academic classes, intramural, club and team opportunities for play.  While serving university uses, the complex also have been an important facility for the City of Cedar Falls Recreation Programs.
  •     2018 Champion:  Missouri State        Last Time Hosted by UNI:  UNI has never hosted

SOFTBALL:  The 2019 MVC Softball Championship will be played at Petersen Hotel Field at Louisville Slugger Sports Complex in Peoria, Ill.  Bradley will host the tournament, which will be played May 9-11.  The tournament champion receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.  The MVC Softball Championship features eight teams in a single-elimination format, with the top two seeds earning a double bye into the semifinals.  All games will air on an ESPN digital network (ESPN3 or ESPN+).  Petersen Hotels Field is the signature diamond among 10 softball fields at the Louisville Slugger Sports Complex.  Petersen Hotels Field features a completely synthetic surface; grand stand seating for 1,000 with additional, covered bleachers extending down each base line; a video board in right centerfield; night-game lighting; sunken dugouts equipped with a restroom in each; batting cages; and a concessions and merchandise stand.  The stadium also is adjacent to a secondary stadium field and in close proximity to eight additional diamonds, as well as a 125,000-square-foot dome large enough for two more indoor fields.
  • 2018 Champion:  Drake                Last Time Hosted by Bradley:  2009

BASEBALL:  The 2019 MVC Baseball Championship will be played at Duffy Bass Field in Normal, Ill.  Illinois State will host the tournament, which will be played May 21-25, utilizing a newly introduced eight-team bracketed format.  The tournament champion receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.  All games will be aired on an ESPN digital network (ESPN3 or ESPN+).  Duffy Bass Field - the home of Redbird baseball - features a gated complex with seating for over 1,000 spectators, concessions, restrooms, team dugouts and a state-of-the-art press box, making it one of college baseball’s premier Midwest venues. In 2008, the facility underwent a $3.2 million renovation, and in 2010, a new energy efficient LED scoreboard was installed beyond the right field wall.  Located in the northwest corner of Illinois State’s athletics complex, Duffy Bass Field was dedicated on May 9, 2009, in honor of legendary ISU baseball coach Duffy Bass. 
  • 2018 Champion:  Missouri State        Last Time Hosted by Illinois State:  2013
Other sites for league championships in 2018-19 include Newman Golf Course in Peoria, Ill. (men’s and women’s cross country, hosted by Bradley); the MizzouRec Center in Columbia, Mo. (women’s swimming & diving, hosted by Missouri State); the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa (men’s and women’s indoor track & field, hosted by UNI); Sand Creek Country Club in Chesterton, Ind. (women’s golf, hosted by Valparaiso); The Club at Porto Cima at the Lake of the Ozarks, Mo. (men’s golf, hosted by Missouri State); and Gibson Track & Field Complex in Terre Haute, Ind. (men’s and women’s outdoor track and field, hosted by Indiana State).