ST. LOUIS -- Illinois State has earned the 2025-26 Missouri Valley Conference All-Sports Championship. The MVC first offered an all-sports trophy following the 1949-50 athletics season and then-member Oklahoma State (Oklahoma A&M at the time) earned the league's first title. Notably, the Redbirds have won six of the last seven MVC all-sports crowns.
Illinois State earned team titles this year in men's golf. men's outdoor track & field, and ISU claimed a tournament championship in women's tennis. The Redbirds also had top-five finishes in baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, men's indoor track & field, women's soccer, softball, women's tennis, volleyball, and both women's indoor and outdoor track & field.
Nine different institutions claimed at least one regular-season or post-season league title this past season. UIC and UNI led the league with four total championships each. UIC earned regular-season titles in baseball and women's tennis, and the Flames earned tournament championships in baseball and women's soccer. UNI earned MVC Tournament titles in men's basketball and volleyball and also had championships in men's indoor track & field as well as a regular-season volleyball crown. Four other league schools produced three championship crowns: Belmont, Illinois State, Indiana State, and Murray State.
Murray State's second-place showing in the all-sports trophy standings is its all-time best. Murray State, which joined the MVC for the 2022-23 season, had a previous high of 7th place. Murray State earned regular-season and tournament titles in women's basketball and also won the women's golf championship. MSU also recorded top-three finishes in women's soccer, softball, women's tennis, baseball, and men's golf. Indiana State finished third in this year's all-sports trophy race, and the Sycamores have been third three times in the past six seasons. Drake has finished in the Top 5 in each of the past four seasons, while UNI, fourth this year, has finished in the Top 5 in three of the past four years.
Points -- Team (Championships*)
8.857 -- Illinois State (3)
8.814 -- Murray State (3)
7.719 -- Indiana State (3)
7.252 -- UNI (4)
7.101 -- Drake (2)
*combined regular-season and tournament championships
Prior to Drake's MVC All-Sports crown in 2024, Illinois State, Missouri State or Wichita State had 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 18 all-sports crowns and has finished first, second, or third in 32 of the past 35 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 12 points for first, 11 for second, 10 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 10 teams compete, 12/10 = 1.20, so point totals decrease by 1.20; 1st = 12, 2nd = 10.8, 3rd = 9.6, 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.
MVC All-Sports Trophy History
1949-50 Oklahoma State
1950-51 Oklahoma State
1951-52 Tulsa
1952-53 Houston
1953-54 Oklahoma State
1954-55 Oklahoma State
1955-56 Houston
1956-57 Oklahoma State
1957-58 Houston
1958-59 Houston
1959-60 Houston
1960-61 Tulsa
1961-62 Cincinnati
1962-63 Cincinnati
1963-64 Wichita State
1964-65 Wichita State
1965-66 Wichita State
1966-67 Cincinnati
1967-68 Cincinnati
1968-69 Not Available
1969-70 Not Available
1970-71 Memphis State
1971-72 Memphis State
1972-73 Memphis State
1973-74 North Texas State
1974-75 North Texas State
1975-76 Wichita State
1976-77 Southern Illinois
1977-78 Wichita State
1978-79 Wichita State
1979-80 Wichita State
1980-81 Wichita State
1981-82 Wichita State
1982-83 Wichita State
1983-84 Southern Illinois
1984-85 Illinois State
1985-86 Illinois State
1986-87 Wichita State
1987-88 Wichita State
1988-89 Illinois State
1989-90 Southern Illinois
1990-91 Southern Illinois
1991-92 Illinois State
1992-93 None Awarded
1993-94 Illinois State
1994-95 Southern Illinois
1995-96 Illinois State
1996-97 Illinois State
1997-98 Illinois State
1998-99 Illinois State
1999-00 Missouri State
2000-01 Illinois State
2001-02 Missouri State
2002-03 Missouri State
2003-04 Wichita State
2004-05 Wichita State
2005-06 Wichita State
2006-07 Wichita State
2007-08 Illinois State
2008-09 Wichita State
2009-10 Illinois State
2010-11 Wichita State
2011-12 Missouri State
2012-13 Wichita State
2013-14 Wichita State
2014-15 Wichita State
2015-16 Wichita State
2016-17 Wichita State
2017-18 Missouri State
2018-19 Illinois State
2019-20 None Selected (COVID-19)
2020-21 Illinois State
2021-22 Illinois State
2022-23 Illinois State
2023-24 Drake
2024-25 Illinois State
2025-26 Illinois State