ST. LOUIS, MO. -- Missouri State is the 2017-18 Missouri Valley Conference All-Sports Champion, claiming the crown for the fifth time as a league member.

Missouri State earned five team titles -- of the 14 MVC sports it sponsors -- and had an aggregate score of 7.895.  MSU claimed league championships in baseball, men’s soccer, women’s golf, women’s swimming & diving, and volleyball.  Missouri State had previously claimed MVC All-Sports Championships in 1999-00, 2001-02, 2002-03 and 2011-12.

All-Sports Trophy Release (PDF)

 

MVC Leaders (Team Regular-Season Titles)	Points
1. Missouri State (5)	7.895
2. Southern Illinois (0)	6.931
3. Illinois State (3)	6.859
4. Indiana State (0)	6.495
5. UNI (1)	6.421
6. Drake (4)	6.218

Six different institutions won at least one league title this past season.  Notably, Drake claimed four team titles, while Bradley and Illinois State had three each.  Only six times since 1992-93 (merger of MVC men’s and women’s sports) has an institution had more than five team titles. 

Despite not winning a regular-season title, Southern Illinois (6.931) finished second in the all-sports trophy standings for the third time in the past four years.   The Salukis had runner-up finishes in men’s basketball, men’s golf, women’s swimming & diving, and women’s outdoor track & field.

Fueled by its three titles and top-3 finishes in five other sports, Illinois State finished third in the all-sports trophy race with an aggregate score of 6.859.  The Redbirds claimed team titles in men’s and women’s indoor track & field and in women’s outdoor track & field.

Indiana State (6.495), UNI (6.421) and Drake (6.218) finished next best in the standings as those three institutions combined for seven league titles.  Drake’s four titles were accomplished in unfathomable fashion as the Bulldogs went a combined 53-1-1 in regular-season competition in women’s basketball (18-0), women’s soccer (6-0-1), women’s tennis (5-0) and softball (24-1).  Notably, the Bulldogs, who also won the tournament titles in women’s basketball and softball, enjoyed their best finish in the MVC all-sports trophy race since finishing fifth in 2007-08.

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 1996-01, Missouri State has five titles since 1999-00, and Wichita State had a stretch where it won 11 of 14 all-sports trophies from 2003-04 through 2016-17.  Notably, Illinois State has 12 all-sports crowns and has finished first, second, or third in 25 of the past 28 years.

In 2016-17, the MVC introduced a new point system to determine the league’s all-sports champion.   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 10 points for first, nine for second, eight for third, etc., and the total accumulated points are divided by the number of sports in which a particular school competes.  For sports not sponsored by every MVC school, the points decrease by number of competing schools (i.e., in a sport where eight teams compete, 10/8 = 1.25, so point totals decrease by 1.25; 1st = 10, 2nd = 8.75, 3rd = 7.5, etc.)

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.