"We have received notification from Austin Peay that they will be leaving the OVC effective June 30, 2022.
We appreciate their many contributions to the conference over the years and are committed to providing their student-athletes with an exemplary Championships experience this year.
We are clearly in a time of change for intercollegiate athletics, and the Ohio Valley Conference embraces this moment, committed to the institutions and student-athletes whom we serve and confident in our future.
That future is rooted in membership growth, and we are currently in discussions with other institutions that share our philosophy and want to prosper in today’s intercollegiate athletic environment by being part of the OVC.
Our philosophy remains a fundamental one, tied to the basics that underpin the college experience: the benefits of highly competitive athletics; the overall development of our student-athletes; distinctive pathways for them to succeed in their sports and in life; and leadership opportunities across the academic, service, and social justice spectrums.
We look forward to adding schools who, like the members of the OVC, are committed to our principles and our goals. We invite other colleges who are seeking this type of conference experience, for the betterment of their institutions, to contact us. The OVC welcomes those conversations."
- OVC Commissioner Beth DeBauche