The Valparaiso University Department of Athletics has extended a warm welcome to Belmont University, which will become the 11^th Missouri Valley Conference member institution on July 1, 2022.

STATEMENT FROM VALPO DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS MARK LABARBERA

“We’re excited to welcome Belmont, a quality academic institution with a championship athletic tradition, to the Missouri Valley Conference. This addition clearly makes an already-robust conference even better. Anything that strengthens the conference and solidifies our reputation as a multi-bid basketball league benefits us as a member institution. We look forward to hosting the Bruins on our campus as well as our upcoming trips to Nashville.”

MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE PRESS RELEASE

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - - Belmont University has accepted an invitation to join the Missouri Valley Conference as its 11th member institution, President Dr. L. Gregory Jones announced Tuesday. Belmont University will begin competition in the Missouri Valley Conference in the fall of 2022.

“Joining the Missouri Valley Conference represents a natural step forward for our already high-achieving and well-respected programs,” Jones said. “Given the collective accomplishments of the conference and the prominence of its member institutions, we believe this is a great move for Belmont and sets us up for even greater success in the future.”

“On behalf of our coaches and athletic staff, we are thrilled to become the newest member of the Missouri Valley Conference,” said Belmont Vice President, Director of Athletics Scott Corley. “Joining the MVC will elevate our level of competition, enhance our recruiting, and increase our opportunities for national exposure. We look forward to competing for championships in The Valley against so many quality institutions.”

“I would like to thank Beth DeBauche, the OVC staff, and member schools for the past nine years,” Corley added. “The opportunity to join the Missouri Valley Conference aligns with our university and athletic department aspirations.”

“This is truly an exciting day for the Missouri Valley Conference,” said MVC Commissioner Jeff Jackson. “The MVC has long established itself as one of the premier leagues in the country -- especially in the sport of basketball. I have no doubt that Belmont University will prove to be an outstanding partner and further enhance the brand and status of The Valley.”

Belmont University joins Bradley University, Drake University, the University of Evansville, Illinois State University, Indiana State University, Loyola University Chicago, Missouri State University, the University of Northern Iowa, Southern Illinois University and Valparaiso University.

Over the past two decades, Belmont Athletics has amassed a distinguished profile; becoming one of the most respected athletic programs in NCAA Division I.  The Bruins have won 62 conference championships and earned 47 NCAA Tournament appearances (team and individual).   Belmont’s proud history includes 24 All-America selections, with several teams receiving national Top 25 poll votes; most notably the Bruins’ nationally-regarded men’s and women’s basketball programs.

Men’s basketball has won 20 conference championships since 2006 – third-most nationally over that span (Gonzaga, Kansas). Belmont is one of only four college basketball programs to win 19 or more games 16 consecutive seasons (Gonzaga, Kansas, San Diego State).   Belmont is 130-24 in conference games over the past nine seasons.   The Bruins have defeated the likes of North Carolina, UCLA, Alabama, Georgia, Vanderbilt, Missouri, Cincinnati, Marquette, Stanford, Temple and Boston College in recent years, and produced 2017 NBA Champion Ian Clark and 2019 NBA first-round draft choice Dylan Windler.   National College Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2021 inductee Rick Byrd coached Belmont for 33 years (1986-2019).

Women’s basketball is coming off of a historic season which included a fifth conference tournament championship in six years and an NCAA Tournament victory over Gonzaga.   The Bruins, ranked No. 22 in 2018, have defeated Vanderbilt, Auburn, UCF and Florida Gulf Coast in recent years as head coach Bart Brooks became one of the fastest to 100 career victories in college basketball history.

Belmont has made multiple NCAA Tournament appearances in baseball, men’s tennis, women’s soccer and volleyball, among others, and boasts one of the strongest cross country programs in the South.

In the classroom, Belmont has claimed its conference academic achievement award 18 of the last 20 years.  For the 2021 spring semester, Belmont posted a departmental grade-point average of 3.55 which is the second-highest department GPA in the Division I era. It also marked the 47th consecutive semester that Belmont student-athletes have earned a GPA of 3.0 or higher.

In fact, 12 Belmont teams have received annual honors for posting the highest cumulative team GPA in the nation.  Annually ranked among the top NCAA athletic programs in Graduation Success Rate (GSR) and Academic Progress Rate (APR), Belmont has 18 conference scholar-athlete of the year award recipients and 36 CoSIDA Academic All-America® selections.

Belmont Athletics has also established itself as a leader in community service and civic engagement.

The Bruins have taken sport evangelism mission trips to Kenya, Haiti, Brazil, Italy, Malta, Belize, South Africa, Venezuela, Ukraine and Poland, and have raised tens of thousands of dollars for Nashville Special Olympics through the annual Battle of the Bruins talent show.   Belmont community partners include Nashville Rescue Mission, GraceWorks Ministries, Preston Taylor Ministries, Rocketown, Best Buddies and the Edgehill Community Center.

Now in its 115th year of collegiate sports competition, the Missouri Valley Conference sponsors 17 sports: including men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s soccer, women’s volleyball, women’s swimming and diving, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor track and field, men’s and women’s golf, women’s tennis, softball and baseball.

The MVC is based in St. Louis, which plays host to The State Farm MVC Men’s Basketball Championship – affectionately known as Arch Madness. The tournament will celebrate its 46th anniversary overall in 2022, and it will be the 32nd-straight season the event has been held in St. Louis. Only the Big East Conference (in New York City) has had a longer continuous run at a single site.

The Missouri Valley Conference brand remains very strong, both regionally and nationally, and the great athletic tradition of the Conference remains a compelling force in recruiting student-athletes and in marketing all the MVC programs.

The MVC had multiple bids in the NCAA Championship in men's basketball (2), women's basketball (2), softball (2), and baseball (2) last year; one of only eight conferences in America to do so.

In men’s basketball, the MVC has posted 20 wins in the NCAA Tournament in the past eight NCAA championships – including two trips to the Men’s Final Four - and has earned multiple bids 16 times since 1994.

The MVC has been rated as a Top 12 conference nationally 17 of the last 18 years by respected college basketball analytics expert Ken Pomeroy.  Legendary sporting figures such as Oscar Robertson, Larry Bird, Jackie Stiles, Joe Carter and Holli Hyche have called the Missouri Valley Conference home.  In addition, the Missouri Valley Conference is a national fixture through media rights agreements with CBS and ESPN, among others, and its partnership with Learfield Sports.

Belmont University became an NCAA Division I member institution in 1996-97. After five years of transition and time as an independent, Belmont joined the Atlantic Sun Conference in the fall of 2001.  Belmont joined the Ohio Valley Conference in the fall of 2012.