For just the fifth time in league history, the Missouri Valley Conference men’s soccer regular-season championship will be shared in 2026.
 
With a 1-0 shutout of UIC by Bowling Green, and a 2-1 win over Belmont by Evansville, the Falcons and Purple Aces, who finished with 15 points apiece in Conference play, have each won a share of the regular-season crown.
 
The 2026 title marks the first for Bowling Green since joining The Valley, and just the fifth regular-season championship in program history, last winning a Conference title during the 2020-21 COVID season. For the third time in four seasons competing in the MVC, the Falcons are in the Valley tournament, last making an appearance in the 2024 event as the No. 3 seed and advancing to the championship match, where they fell to Evansville in overtime.
 
Bowling Green will be the top seed in this year’s tournament after shutting out Evansville, 1-0, during the regular season.
 
Evansville’s regular-season title marks the second-consecutive for the Purple Aces, after sharing the title with Drake and Northern Illinois in 2025. It’s just the second regular-season championship is program history, and it marks the third time in five years that the Aces have been a top-three seed in the Valley tournament, this year securing the No. 2 seed.
 
Both the Falcons and Purple Aces have earned a bye and will host their respective semifinal matches on Wednesday, November 11. Each match is slated to begin at 6:00 PM CT (7:00 PM ET).
 
With its 2-1 victory over Bradley in the regular-season finale, and Belmont’s loss to Evansville, Western Michigan locked up the No. 3 seed in this year’s tournament. The Broncos will host No. 6-seeded Drake, whose fate depended on the result of Western Michigan’s match with the Braves. Western Michigan has won the MVC Tournament title in two of the last three seasons, while Drake is on the hunt for its first title since 2015.
 
Belmont will host the second quarterfinal matchup in Nashville, securing the No. 4 seed. For the second-straight year, the Bruins will be hosting the No. 5-seeded UIC Flames in the quarterfinal round of the tournament. In last year’s meeting, UIC used an early first-half goal to advance past the Bruins.
 
ABOUT THE CHAMPIONSHIP
Each round of the 2026 Missouri Valley Conference Men’s Soccer Championship will be hosted by the higher seed and will feature the league’s top six teams. Quarterfinals are set to be played on Saturday, November 7. Both semifinal matches are slated for 6 p.m. CT on Wednesday, November 11, with the championship being played on Saturday, November 14, or Sunday, November 15, depending on the host, which will be the highest remaining seed after the semifinal round.
 
For the most up-to-date information, please visit Championship Central on the MVC website.