Helena Frye
The Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) is a collegiate athletic conference that operates in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It has 11 members, with seven competing in football. The OVC was formed in 1948 by Murray State, Eastern Kentucky, and Western Kentucky, who joined with Louisville, Morehead State, and Evansville. The OVC has a rich history in basketball, with the Ohio Valley Conference basketball tournament taking place in Louisville from 1949 to 1955 and 1964 to 1967. The tournament was initially held at the beginning of the season, but since 1992, it has taken place at a neutral site. While the specific champions of the Ohio Valley Conference basketball tournament are unclear, Southeast Missouri recently won a tie-breaker to receive an automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name | Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) |
| Description | Collegiate athletic conference |
| Location | Midwestern and Southeastern United States |
| Division | NCAA Division I |
| Members | 11 |
| Football Competition | Partnership with Big South Conference in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) |
| Football Members | 7 |
| Former Member | Western Illinois |
| New Member | Lindenwood |
| Streaming Video Coverage | OVC Digital Network |
| Racial Desegregation | Pioneer with first Black athlete, Marshall Banks, signed in 1958 |
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What You'll Learn
Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball champions
The Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) is a collegiate athletic conference that operates in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It was formed in 1948 when Western Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky, and Murray State joined with Louisville, Morehead State, and Evansville. The OVC has been a pioneer in racial desegregation, with Morehead State signing the conference's first Black athlete, Marshall Banks, in 1958. From 1986 to 2018, the OVC was the only NCAA Division I conference to include a historically Black university, Tennessee State University.
While I cannot provide a full list of the Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball champions, here is a list of the champions since 2010:
- 2010: TBD
- 2011: TBD
- 2012: TBD
- 2013: Eastern Kentucky
- 2014: Eastern Kentucky
- 2015: Belmont
- 2016: Austin Peay
- 2017: Jacksonville State
- 2018: Murray State
- 2019: Murray State
- 2020: Belmont
- 2021: Morehead State
- 2022: Murray State
- 2023: Southeast Missouri
- 2024: TBD
Please note that the 2009 Eastern Illinois team lost one conference and four non-conference games by forfeit for using an ineligible player.
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Ohio Valley Conference women's basketball tournament
The Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) is a collegiate athletic conference that operates in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It was formed in 1948 when Western Illinois, Murray State, Eastern Kentucky, and Western Kentucky were joined by Louisville, Morehead State, and Evansville. The OVC has been unique in its commitment to desegregation since its inception, with Morehead State signing the conference's first Black athlete, Marshall Banks, in 1958. From 1986 to 2018, the OVC was the only NCAA Division I conference to include a historically Black university, Tennessee State University.
The OVC women's basketball tournament is a single-elimination tournament involving eight of the 11 league schools, with seeding based on regular-season records and head-to-head matchups as tiebreakers. The winner typically receives an automatic bid to the NCAA women's basketball tournament, though there have been exceptions. For example, in 2024, Southern Indiana swept the conference's regular-season and tournament titles but was ineligible for the NCAA tournament due to its transition from NCAA Division II.
The tournament has determined the women's basketball champion of the OVC since 1981, though a tournament was held during the 1978-79 season to crown the conference champion. The tournament features a standard single-elimination bracket, with the highest seeds facing the lowest seeds, and the remaining two teams facing off in the Finals to determine the champion.
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Ohio Valley Conference history
The Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) is a collegiate athletic conference operating in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It was founded in 1948 by Murray State, Eastern Kentucky, and Western Kentucky, along with Louisville, Morehead State, and Evansville. The OVC currently has 11 members, seven of which compete in football within the conference. It participates in Division I of the NCAA, and its football programs compete in partnership with the Big South Conference in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).
The OVC was a pioneer in racial desegregation, with Morehead State signing the conference's first Black athlete, Marshall Banks, in 1958. From 1986 to 2018, the OVC was the only NCAA Division I conference to include a historically Black university, Tennessee State University, alongside institutions that are not traditionally Black.
The OVC has expanded over the years, with membership reaching twelve schools after the expansions of 2007 and 2011, the most in its history. However, the conference has also experienced departures, with founding members Eastern Kentucky and Murray State leaving after the 2020-21 school year, and the loss of three more members after the 2021-22 school year.
The OVC offers championship competition in 19 NCAA-sanctioned sports, with eight for men, ten for women, and rifle for men's, women's, and co-ed teams. The conference has a tie-breaker system to seed teams with identical conference records, with the first tie-breaker based on head-to-head results.
In 2022, the Murray State Racers won the OVC men's basketball tournament, receiving the conference's automatic bid to the 2022 NCAA tournament. The 2025 tournament winner was SIU Edwardsville, who also received a bid to the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.
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Ohio Valley Conference member schools
The Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) is a collegiate athletic conference that operates in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It participates in Division I of the NCAA, and its football programs compete in partnership with the Big South Conference in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). The OVC currently has 11 members, seven of which compete in football within the conference.
The OVC was first conceived in 1941 by Murray State athletic director Roy Stewart, Eastern Kentucky athletic director Charles "Turkey" Hughes, and Western Kentucky public relations director Kelly Thompson. They wanted to establish a regional athletics conference, but World War II put their plans on hold. In 1948, the three schools joined forces with Louisville, Morehead State, and Evansville to officially form the OVC. The conference has since expanded, with the additions of schools such as the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, the University of Southern Indiana, and Lindenwood University.
Over time, some member schools have also left the OVC. For example, founding members Eastern Kentucky and Jacksonville State departed for the Atlantic Sun Conference in 2021. Another founding member, Murray State, left for the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) and announced its intention to join the football-only Missouri Valley Football Conference. Despite these departures, the OVC continues to offer championship competitions in 19 NCAA-sanctioned sports, including eight for men, ten for women, and rifle for men's, women's, and coed teams.
The OVC has a rich history in racial desegregation. Morehead State signed the conference's first Black athlete, Marshall Banks, in 1958, setting a precedent for the rest of the OVC. From 1986 to 2018, the OVC was unique among NCAA Division I conferences as it included Tennessee State University, a historically Black university, within a conference of predominantly non-HBCU institutions.
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Ohio Valley Conference football
The Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) is a collegiate athletic conference that operates in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It was founded in 1948 by six schools—Murray State, Eastern Kentucky, Western Kentucky, Louisville, Morehead State, and Evansville. The OVC currently has 11 members, seven of which compete in football in the conference.
The OVC participates in Division I of the NCAA, and its football programs compete in partnership with the Big South Conference in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA. This is the lower of the two levels of Division I football competition.
The OVC has a rich history in football. Western Illinois football, for example, played the 2023 season in the Missouri Valley Football Conference before joining the OVC for the 2024 season. In 2006, Austin Peay returned to scholarship football, spending the season as an independent before re-entering OVC football competition in 2007. However, after the 2020–21 school year, Austin Peay left the OVC for the ASUN, which launched its own football league in 2022. Another football-sponsoring school, Murray State, also left the OVC for the MVC, seeking membership in the football-only Missouri Valley Football Conference.
Since 2010, several schools have won the OVC tie-breaker and received automatic bids to the FCS Playoffs. These include Tennessee Tech, Austin Peay, and Southeast Missouri.
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Frequently asked questions
The Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) is a collegiate athletic conference that operates in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It has 11 members, seven of which compete in football.
The members are Murray State, Eastern Kentucky, Western Kentucky, Louisville, Morehead State, Evansville, and Tennessee State University.
The idea for the conference was first formulated in 1941 by Murray State athletic director Roy Stewart, Eastern Kentucky athletic director Charles "Turkey" Hughes, and Western Kentucky public relations director Kelly Thompson. However, due to World War II, the plan was put on hold and it wasn't until 1948 that the conference was officially formed.
No, the conference was held in Louisville from 1949 to 1955 and from 1964 to 1967. From 1975 to 1991, the tournament was held at the arena of the team that finished atop the conference standings. Since 1992, it has been held at a neutral site.
Southeast Missouri is the most recent winner of the Ohio Valley Conference.
