Ohio Valley Conference
Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) | |
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Established | 1948 |
Association | NCAA |
Division | Division I FCS |
Members | 12 |
Sports fielded | 17 (men's: 8; women's: 9) |
Region | Midwest and South |
Headquarters | Brentwood, Tennessee |
Commissioner | Beth DeBauche (since 2009) |
Website | ovcsports.com |
Locations | |
The Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It participates in Division I of the NCAA; the conference's football programs compete in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS; formerly known as Division I-AA), the lower of two levels of Division I football competition. The OVC has 12 members, 9 of which compete in football in the conference.
History
Primary source :[1]
The Ohio Valley Conference can trace its roots to 1941 when Murray State athletic director Roy Stewart, Eastern Kentucky athletic director Charles "Turkey" Hughes, and Western Kentucky public relations director Kelly Thompson first formulated the idea of establishing a regional athletics conference. The plan was put on hold due to World War II, but it was resurrected after the conclusion of the war. In 1948, the three schools joined with Louisville, Morehead State, and Evansville to form the Ohio Valley Conference. While many collegiate conferences are struggling today with the question of whether their policies and rules should be determined by the athletic departments or by the institutional heads, from the very beginning, the OVC has been run by the presidents of its member schools.
Historically, the OVC was a pioneer in racial desegregation with Morehead State signing the conference's first black athlete, Marshall Banks, in 1958. The rest of the OVC soon followed in Morehead State's wake. Today, the OVC is unique among NCAA Division I conferences in that it includes one historically black university, Tennessee State University, in a conference that otherwise consists of institutions that are not traditionally black. All other HBCUs in NCAA Division I are members of either the MEAC or SWAC, conferences made up entirely of HBCUs.
The OVC has also been a leader in advancement of sports opportunities for women. The conference began adding championship competitions for women in 1977 several years after the AIAW began sponsoring national championships for women, but seven years before the NCAA was ready to move into the field. Since 2009, the OVC has been led by Commissioner Beth DeBauche, one of only six female commissioners for the thirty-three Division I conferences.[2]
Athletic rivalries, especially when competitors are in relatively close proximity, can generate problems with fan behavior, and the conference leadership struggled with controlling the issue for many years. When the national debate on the problem reached its apex in the mid-1990s, the OVC unveiled the national first of its kind "Sportsmanship Statement" in 1995, stating the conference's policy on, "... principles of fair play, ethical conduct and respect for one's opponent." Since then, the OVC has also introduced individual, team (for each sport), and institutional sportsmanship awards.
Founded by six schools, the expansions of 2007 and 2011 have brought the Ohio Valley Conference membership to twelve schools, the most in its history.
OVC Digital Network
In August 2012, the OVC announced that it had launched the OVC Digital Network as a replacement for and improvement over the conference's former efforts to provide streaming video coverage of many athletic events that had been in place since 2006.[3] This website carries live, student-produced coverage of most conference games and some non-conference games in baseball, men's and women's basketball, football, soccer, softball, and volleyball as well as some coaches' shows, special presentations, and archived game-casts available for later viewing.
In its first two years, the network provided well over 600,000 viewings of streamed live video of more than 1400 events.[4]
Member schools
Full members
- Note
- Morehead State's football team competes in the Pioneer Football League, a Division I FCS football-only conference whose members choose not to offer athletic scholarships for football.
Former members
Institution | Location (Population) |
Founded | Joined | Left | Type | Enrollment | Nickname | New Conference | Current Conference | Classification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
University of Akron | Akron, OH (199,110) |
1870 | 1980 | 1987 | Public | 29,251 | Zips | NCAA D-I Independent | Mid-American (MAC) | Division I FBS |
East Tennessee State University | Johnson City, TN (63,152) |
1911 | 1958 | 1978 | Public | 15,536 | Buccaneers (men's) Lady Buccaneers (women's) |
SoCon[fm 1] | Division I FCS | |
University of Evansville | Evansville, IN (117,429) |
1854 | 1948 | 1952 | Private | 2,526 | Purple Aces | ICC (NCAA Division II) |
Missouri Valley | Division I non-football |
University of Louisville | Louisville, KY (746,906) |
1798 | 1948 | 1949 | Public | 22,293 | Cardinals | NCAA Independent | ACC | Division I FBS |
Marshall University | Huntington, WV (49,253) |
1837 | 1949 | 1952 | Public | 13,450 | Thundering Herd | NCAA Independent[fm 2] | C-USA | Division I FBS |
Middle Tennessee State University | Murfreesboro, TN (108,755) |
1911 | 1952 | 2000 | Public | 24,192 | Blue Raiders | Sun Belt | C-USA | Division I FBS |
Samford University | Homewood, AL (25,167) |
1841 | 2003 | 2008 | Private | 4,833 | Bulldogs | SoCon | Division I FCS | |
Western Kentucky University[fm 3] | Bowling Green, KY (58,067) |
1906 | 1948 | 1982 | Public | 21,048 | Hilltoppers | Sun Belt | C-USA | Division I FBS |
Youngstown State University | Youngstown, OH (66,982) |
1908 | 1981 | 1988 | Public | 15,194 | Penguins | Mid-Continent NCAA I-AA Independent (football) |
Horizon MVFC (football) |
Division I FCS |
- Notes
- ↑ East Tennessee State's newly revived football program is playing the 2015 season as an FCS independent before joining Southern Conference football in 2016.
- ↑ Marshall left the OVC to become an Independent for one year prior to joining the Mid-American Conference (MAC).
- ↑ Western Kentucky rejoined the OVC for football only in the 1999 and 2000 football seasons (academically 1999–2001).
Former affiliate members
Institution | Location | Founded | Nickname | Joined | Left | Sport | Primary Conference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Columbus State University | Columbus, Georgia | 1958 | Cougars | 2012 | 2015 | Rifle | Peach Belt (NCAA D-II) |
- Notes
- Columbus State dropped rifle after the 2014–15 school year.
Membership timeline
Purple = Full member
Magenta = Full member except football
Orange = Associate member for football only
Green = Associate for sport other than football
Comments
- Morehead State's football team competes in the Pioneer Football League, a Division I FCS football-only conference whose members choose not to offer athletic scholarships for football.
- Austin Peay's football team left the OVC after the 1996 season to compete as an NCAA D-II FCS Independent. After four seasons as an Independent, the team joined the Pioneer Football League in 2001, and remained there through the 2005 season. Austin Peay then returned to scholarship football, spending the 2006 season as an Independent before re-entering OVC football competition in 2007.
Conference divisions
Starting with the 2012-13 school year, the twelve member schools divided into two divisions for those sports in which all schools compete. In the 2014-15 season, women's sports with twelve teams returned to a 12 team ranking, while continuing to play a divisional schedule.
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Sports offered
The Ohio Valley Conference currently offers championship competition in eighteen NCAA sanctioned sports, eight for men, nine for women, and rifle for men's, women's, and coed teams.[5]
Sport | Men's | Women's | Coed |
---|---|---|---|
Baseball | |||
Basketball | |||
Cross Country | |||
Football | |||
Golf | |||
Rifle | |||
Soccer | |||
Softball | |||
Tennis | |||
Track and Field (Indoor) | |||
Track and Field (Outdoor) | |||
Volleyball |
Men's sponsored sports by school
School | Baseball | Basketball | Cross Country | Football | Golf | Rifle † | Tennis | Track & Field (Indoor) | Track & Field (Outdoor) | Total OVC Sports |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Austin Peay | ||||||||||
Belmont | ||||||||||
Eastern Illinois | ||||||||||
Eastern Kentucky | ||||||||||
Jacksonville State | ||||||||||
Morehead State | ||||||||||
Murray State | ||||||||||
Southeast Missouri | ||||||||||
SIU Edwardsville | ||||||||||
Tennessee State | ||||||||||
Tennessee Tech | ||||||||||
UT-Martin | ||||||||||
Totals |
- † = Rifle is technically a men's sport, but men's, women's, and coed teams all compete against each other. All competing OVC schools have coed teams, and Tennessee-Martin has both a women's and a coed team.
- ¶ = Morehead State has a football team, but it competes in the Pioneer Football League, a Division I FCS football-only conference whose members choose not to offer athletic scholarships for football.
- Men's varsity sports not sponsored by the Ohio Valley Conference which are played by OVC schools
School | Soccer | Swimming & Diving | Rodeo‡ | Wrestling |
---|---|---|---|---|
Belmont | Horizon League | |||
Eastern Illinois | Summit League | Summit League | ||
Murray State | NIRA‡ | |||
SIU Edwardsville | Missouri Valley | Southern | ||
UT-Martin | NIRA‡ |
- ‡ = Rodeo is sanctioned by the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA), not the NCAA. While UT-Martin considers rodeo to be a varsity sport, Murray State operates their rodeo teams a club sport within the Hutson School of Agriculture.
Women's sponsored sports by school
School | Basketball | Cross Country | Golf | Rifle † | Soccer | Softball | Tennis | Track & Field (Indoor) | Track & Field (Outdoor) | Volleyball | Total OVC Sports |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Austin Peay | |||||||||||
Belmont | |||||||||||
Eastern Illinois | |||||||||||
Eastern Kentucky | |||||||||||
Jacksonville State | |||||||||||
Morehead State | |||||||||||
Murray State | |||||||||||
Southeast Missouri | |||||||||||
SIU Edwardsville | |||||||||||
Tennessee State | |||||||||||
Tennessee Tech | |||||||||||
UT-Martin | |||||||||||
Totals |
- † = Rifle is technically a men's sport, but men's, women's, and coed teams all compete against each other. All competing OVC schools have coed teams, and Tennessee-Martin has both a women's and a coed team.
- Women's varsity sports not sponsored by the Ohio Valley Conference which are played by OVC schools
School | Swimming & Diving | Rodeo‡ | Rugby¶ | Gymnastics | Equestrian |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Eastern Illinois | Summit League | Independent¶ | |||
Murray State | NIRA‡ | ||||
Southeast Missouri | MIC | ||||
UT-Martin | NIRA‡ | Independent |
- ‡ = Rodeo is sanctioned by the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA), not the NCAA. While UT-Martin considers rodeo to be a varsity sport, Murray State operates their rodeo teams a club sport within the Hutson School of Agriculture.
- ¶ = Eastern Illinois is one of only 11 schools (7 in Div. I) playing NCAA-sanctioned rugby. The NCAA currently classifies rugby as an "emerging sport" for women, but does not yet organize an official championship. The NCAA has never governed men's rugby.
Conference champions
Football conference champions
This is a list of the champions since 2000.[6] For the complete history, see List of Ohio Valley Conference football champions.
Year | Regular Season Champion | Record | FCS Championship Result |
---|---|---|---|
2000 | Western Kentucky | 7–0 | Quarterfinals |
2001 | Eastern Illinois | 6–1 | First Round |
2002 | Eastern Illinois Murray State |
5–1 | First Round |
2003 | Jacksonville State | 7–1 | First Round |
2004 | Jacksonville State | 7–1 | First Round |
2005 | Eastern Illinois | 8–0 | First Round |
2006 | UT Martin Eastern Illinois |
6–1 7–1 |
First Round |
2007 | Eastern Kentucky | 8–0 | First Round |
2008 | Eastern Kentucky | 7–1 | First Round |
2009 | Eastern Illinois $ | 6–2 | First Round |
2010 | Southeast Missouri State | 7–1 | First Round |
2011 | Tennessee Tech $$ Eastern Kentucky Jacksonville State |
6–2 6–2 6–2 |
First Round First Round DNP |
2012 | Eastern Illinois | 6–1 | First Round |
2013 | Eastern Illinois | 8–0 | Quarterfinals |
2014 | Jacksonville State | 8–0 | Second Round |
2015 | Jacksonville State | 8–0 | FCS Championship Runner Up |
$ – Jacksonville State (6–1) had the best record in the conference, but was ineligible for the championship due to Academic Progress Rate sanctions.
$$ – Tennessee Tech won the tie-breaker and received the automatic bid to the FCS playoffs.
Basketball
This is list of the champions since 2000. For the complete men's history, see List of Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball champions.
Year | Men's | Women's | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Regular Season Champion | Record | Tournament Champion | Regular Season Champion | Record | Tournament Champion | ||
2001–02 | Tennessee Tech | 15–1 | Murray State | Tennessee Tech | 15-1 | Austin Peay | |
2002–03 | Austin Peay Morehead State |
13–3 | Austin Peay | Eastern Kentucky Tennessee Tech |
13-3 | Austin Peay | |
2003–04 | Austin Peay | 16–0 | Murray State | Austin Peay | 16-0 | Austin Peay | |
2004–05 | Tennessee Tech | 12–4 | Eastern Kentucky | Eastern Kentucky | 15-1 | Eastern Kentucky | |
2005–06 | Murray State | 17–3 | Murray State | Tennessee Tech | 16-4 | Southeast Missouri | |
2006–07 | Austin Peay | 16–4 | Eastern Kentucky | Southeast Missouri | 16-4 | Southeast Missouri | |
2007–08 | Austin Peay | 16–4 | Austin Peay Tourney | Southeast Missouri | 17-3 | Murray State | |
2008–09 | UT Martin | 14–4 | Morehead State Tourney | Murray State | 16-2 | Austin Peay | |
2009–10 | Murray State | 17–1 | Murray State Tourney | Eastern Illinois | 16-2 | Austin Peay | |
2010–11 | Murray State | 14–4 | Morehead State Tourney | Tennessee Tech | 15-3 | UT Martin | |
2011–12 | Murray State | 15–1 | Murray State Tourney | UT Martin | 15-1 | UT Martin | |
2012–13 | East: Belmont West: Murray State |
14–2 10-6 |
Belmont Tourney | East: Tennessee Tech West: Eastern Illinois |
12-4 12-4 |
UT Martin | |
2013–14 | East: Belmont West: Murray State |
14–2 13–3 |
Eastern Kentucky Tourney | East:Belmont West:UT Martin |
10–6 15–1 |
UT Martin | |
2014–15 | East: Eastern Kentucky & Belmont West: Murray State |
11–5 16–0 |
Belmont Tourney | UT Martin | 16–0 | Tennessee State |
Baseball
This is list of the champions since 2000.
Year | Regular Season Champion | OVC Record |
Season Record |
Tournament Champion | OVC Record |
Season Record |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2000 | Eastern Kentucky | 18–6 | 30–27 | Middle Tennessee | 17–6 | 39–23 |
2001 | Eastern Illinois | 19–1 | 35–20 | Tennessee Tech | 12–9 | 33–30 |
2002 | Southeast Missouri | 16–5 | 37–20 | Southeast Missouri | 16–5 | 37–20 |
2003 | Austin Peay | 14–5–1 | 27–27–1 | Murray State | 9–11 | 25–31 |
2004 | Austin Peay | 20–7 | 35–21 | Jacksonville State | 16–11 | 31–29 |
2005 | Jacksonville State | 19–8 | 35–25 | Austin Peay | 16–11 | 38–24 |
2006 | Samford | 21–6 | 34–25 | Jacksonville State | 19–8 | 35–24 |
2007 | Austin Peay | 19–8 | 40–27 | Austin Peay | 19–8 | 40–27 |
2008 | Jacksonville State | 23–4 | 37–21 | Eastern Illinois | 13–13 | 27–30 |
2009 | Eastern Illinois # | 13–5 | 31–19 | Tennessee Tech | 10–11–1 | 31–24–1 |
2010 | Tennessee Tech | 14–6 | 31–25 | Jacksonville State | 15–8 | 32–26 |
2011 | Austin Peay | 17–6 | 34–24 | Austin Peay | 17–6 | 34–24 |
2012 | Austin Peay Eastern Kentucky |
19–7 | 40–24 31–23 |
Austin Peay | 19–7 | 40–24 |
2013 | Tennessee Tech | 24–6 | 40–17 | Austin Peay | 22–7 | 47–15 |
2014 | Southeast Missouri | 23–7 | 37–20 | Jacksonville State | 18–12 | 36–27 |
2015 | Southeast Missouri | 22–8 | 36–23 | Morehead State | 20–10 | 38–22 |
- # = 2009 Eastern Illinois lost 1 conference and 4 non-conference games by forfeit for using an ineligible player.
Softball
This is list of the champions since 2000.
Year | Regular Season Champion | OVC Record |
Season Record |
Tournament Champion | OVC Record |
Season Record |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2000 | Middle Tennessee | 16–5 | 39–21 | Middle Tennessee | 16–5 | 39–21 |
2001 | Tennessee Tech | 17–4 | 44–20 | Tennessee Tech | 17–4 | 44–20 |
2002 | Eastern Kentucky | 16–2 | 37–14 | Eastern Kentucky | 16–2 | 37–14 |
2003 | Tennessee Tech | 17–3 | 41–16 | Tennessee Tech | 17–3 | 41––16 |
2004 | Eastern Kentucky | 22–4 | 42–17 | Eastern Kentucky | 22––4 | 42–17 |
2005 | Jacksonville State | 22–4 | 41–16 | Tennessee Tech | 16–8 | 35–28 |
2006 | Tennessee Tech | 24–2 | 50–15 | Tennessee Tech | 24–2 | 50–15 |
2007 | Tennessee Tech | 20–5 | 50–19 | Tennessee Tech | 20–5 | 50–19 |
2008 | Jacksonville State | 22–4 | 40–16 | Jacksonville State | 22–4 | 40–16 |
2009 | Jacksonville State | 19–2 | 43–16 | UT Martin | 13–10 | 38–23 |
2010 | UT Martin | 22–3 | 47–11 | Jacksonville State | 13–6 | 30–19 |
2011 | Eastern Illinois | 26–4 | 40–12 | Jacksonville State | 21–9 | 40–21 |
2012 | UT Martin | 23–6 | 39–22 | UT Martin | 23–6 | 39–22 |
2013 | East– Eastern Kentucky West– Eastern Illinois |
19–6 20–3 |
36–20 36–14 |
Jacksonville State | 11–11 | 30–27 |
2014 | East– Jacksonville State West– SIUE |
22–5 19–5 |
40–15 30–23 |
SIUE | 19–5 | 30–23 |
2015 | SIUE | 20-–6 | 43–16 | Tennessee Tech | 15–11 | 33–28 |
Women's Soccer
This is a list of Champions since 2000.
Year | Regular Season Champs | Tournament Season Champs |
---|---|---|
2000 | Eastern Illinois | Tennessee Tech |
2001 | Southeast Missouri | Eastern Illinois |
2002 | Southeast Missouri | Eastern Illinois |
2003 | Samford | Eastern Illinois |
2004 | Samford | Eastern Illinois |
2005 | Samford | Samford |
2006 | Samford | Southeast Missouri |
2007 | Southeast Missouri | Southeast Missouri |
2008 | Murray | Morehead |
2009 | Morehead, UT Martin | Murray |
2010 | Morehead | Morehead |
2011 | Southeast Missouri | UT Martin |
2012 | UT Martin | UT Martin |
2013 | UT Martin | Morehead |
2014 | Southeast Missouri | Southern Illinois |
2015 | Murray | Murray |
Facilities
School | Football stadium | Capacity | Soccer stadium | Capacity | Basketball arena | Capacity | Baseball stadium | Capacity | Softball stadium | Capacity |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Austin Peay | Governors Stadium | 10,000 | Morgan Brothers Soccer Field |
500 | Dunn Center | 9,000 | Raymond C. Hand Park | 1,000 | Cheryl Holt Field | 300 |
Belmont | Non-football school | E. S. Rose Park | 300 | Curb Event Center | 5,085 | E. S. Rose Park | 750 | E. S. Rose Park | 250 | |
Eastern Illinois | O'Brien Stadium | 10,000 | Lakeside Soccer Field | 1,000 | Lantz Arena | 5,300 | Coaches Stadium at Monier Field |
500 | Williams Field | 200 |
Eastern Kentucky | Roy Kidd Stadium | 20,000 | EKU Soccer Field | 400 | Alumni Coliseum | 6,300 | Turkey Hughes Field | 500 | Gertrude Hood Field | 500 |
Jacksonville State | JSU Stadium | 24,000 | JSU Soccer Field | 500 | Pete Mathews Coliseum | 5,800 | Rudy Abbott Field | 1,000 | University Field | 1,000 |
Morehead State | Jayne Stadium | 10,000 | Jayne Stadium | 10,000 | Ellis Johnson Arena | 6,500 | John "Sonny" Allen Field | 1,200 | University Field | 500 |
Murray State | Roy Stewart Stadium | 16,800 | Cutchin Field and Crisp Soccer Complex |
250 | CFSB Center | 8,825 | Johnny Reagan Field | 800 | Racer Field | 500 |
Southeast Missouri State | Houck Stadium | 11,015 | Houck Stadium | 11,015 | Show Me Center | 6,972 | Capaha Field | 2,000 | Southeast Softball Complex |
1,000 |
SIU Edwardsville | Non-football school | Bob Guelker Field at Ralph Korte Stadium |
4,000 | Vadalabene Center | 4,000 | Roy E. Lee Field at Simmons Baseball Complex |
1,500 | Cougar Field | 800 | |
UT Martin | Graham Stadium | 8,000 | Skyhawk Field | 500 | Skyhawk Arena | 5,000 | Skyhawk Park | 500 | Bettye Giles Softball Field |
500 |
Tennessee State | Nissan Stadium Hale Stadium |
68,000 10,000 |
Non-soccer school | Gentry Complex | 10,500 | Non-baseball school | Tiger Field | 500 | ||
Tennessee Tech | Tucker Stadium | 16,500 | Tech Soccer Field | 800 | Eblen Center | 9,280 | Bush Stadium at Averitt Express Baseball Complex |
1,100 | Tech Softball Field | 800 |
References
- ↑ "OVC History". OVCSports.com. 2009-07-28. Retrieved 2015-09-29.
- ↑ "OVCSports.com - Staff Directory". Ovcsports.sidearmsports.com. 2009-07-29. Retrieved 2015-09-29.
- ↑ "Ohio Valley Conference Launches OVC Digital Network". OVCSports.com. 2012-08-22. Retrieved 2015-09-29.
- ↑ "OVC Digital Network Ready For Year Three". OVCSports.com. 2014-08-21. Retrieved 2015-09-29.
- ↑ "Official Web Site of the Ohio Valley Conference". OVCSports.com. Retrieved 2015-09-29.
- ↑ "Conference Standings and Champions" (PDF). Retrieved 2009-03-07.
External links
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