The Missouri Valley Conference will conduct its 40th overall women’s basketball tournament in March 2026, as 11 league teams head to Coralville, Iowa, for the 2026 Credit Union 1 MVC Women's Basketball Tournament.
Gallery: (8-19-2025) MVC Women's Basketball Press Conference
Xtream Arena opened its doors on Tuesday, Aug. 19, for a press conference featuring community leaders, five MVC women's basketball head coaches, and MVC staff. The event was broken down into two separate panels. The first set of panelists included MVC Commissioner Jeff Jackson, Iowa City Area Sports Commission Director Luke Eustice, Coralville Mayor Meghann Foster and Iowa City Mayor Bruce Teague. The next panel featured the five head coaches in attendance: Allison Pohlman (Drake), Tanya Warren (UNI), Ashleen Bracey (UIC), Kristen Gillespie (Illinois State) and Courtney Boyd (Valparaiso).
Both groups expressed gratitude for the commitment of Coralville and the state of Iowa for their support of women's basketball, while discussing the importance of a neutral site championship, excitement to compete in March and opportunity to build relationships within the community.
The 2026 MVC Tournament will be the 18th-consecutive neutral-site tourney and first time it will be held in Coralville, Iowa. Seven MVC women's programs reached postseason play in 2025, matching a league record. Murray State earned last year's title and represented the Conference in the 2025 NCAA Tournament. Four teams completed in the NCAA's WBIT, collectively winning five games with a championship game appearance by Belmont. Two teams battled in the WNIT, stacking four wins - the most by MVC teams since 2012 - with an appearance by Illinois State in the Fab 4. The Valley was ranked as the seventh-best women's basketball Conference in the country at the conclusion of the 2024-25 season.