ST. LOUIS, MO. -- Illinois State has earned its third-straight Missouri Valley Conference All-Sports Championship, the Conference has announced today. The Redbirds won the league’s All-Sports Trophy in 2018-19, 2020-21, and 2021-22 (the Conference did not award the trophy during the 2019-20 pandemic-shortened season.)
ISU last won at least three-straight MVC All-Sports Championships in 1995-96, 1996-97, 1997-98 and 1998-99 when it was the league’s top overall program in four-straight seasons.
Illinois State earned two regular-season team titles and three tournament championships while recording an aggregate score of 7.894. ISU claimed league championships in women’s golf and women’s outdoor track & field. Notably, the Redbirds finished in the Top 3 in men’s golf, men’s indoor track & field, men’s outdoor track & field, women’s cross country, women’s swimming & diving, women’s tennis, women’s indoor track & field, and volleyball. Illinois State also won the league’s post-season tournaments in women’s tennis, volleyball, and women’s basketball.
Seven different institutions claimed at least one regular-season league title this past season, while Missouri State matched Illinois State by earning an MVC-best three league post-season championships. Indiana State, Loyola, and Southern Illinois each had three regular-season titles.
Fueled by its two regular-season titles, three second-place finishes and three post-season conference championships, Missouri State finished second in the all-sports trophy race with an aggregate score of 6.942. It marks the second-straight year that Missouri State finished second in the all-sports standings. Southern Illinois (6.369), Loyola (6.329) and Indiana State (6.194) round out the Top 5.
| Points |
Team (Championships*) |
| 7.89 |
Illinois State (2) |
| 6.94 |
Missouri State (2) |
| 6.36 |
Southern Illinois (3) |
| 6.33 |
Loyola (3) |
| 6.19 |
Indiana State (3) |
*indicates regular-season championships
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 15 all-sports crowns and has finished first, second, or third in 28 of the past 31 years.
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. However, institutions receive three bonus points for each league post-season championship earned in those aforementioned sports. All other sports are determined by finish at the championship tournament or championship meet.