• Updated OVC Bragging Points
The Ohio Valley Conference continues to build on the success that has made it the nation's eighth-oldest NCAA Division I conference.
The OVC has 11 full-time members for the 2025-26 academic year; overall the league has had just 25 full-time members in its now 78-year history.
Beth DeBauche, who was named one of nine voting members of the new NCAA Board of Governors from June 2022-24, was named the seventh full-time Commissioner in league history on July 28, 2009. The last three commissioners of the OVC have moved onto jobs as the commissioner of the Big Ten, Big 12 and the Mid-American Conferences.
The OVC's proud history dates back to 1948, but seeds for the new league were actually planted in 1941. It was then that Roy Stewart, the athletics director at Murray State, Charles “Turkey” Hughes, the athletics director at Eastern Kentucky, and Kelly Thompson, the public relations director at Western Kentucky, first broached the idea of forming a new conference. Discussions were put on hold by World War II, but reemerged February 27-28, 1948 at the Kentucky Hotel in Louisville as the three original institutions combined with Morehead State, Louisville and Evansville to form the OVC.
In the 1950s, the OVC became a pioneer on a much more significant scale socially. During times of racial segregation, league member Morehead State became one of the first non-traditionally black mid-southern institutions to accept a black student. In 1958 Marshall Banks earned athletically related aid at Morehead, which signed a second black athlete, Howard Murphy, a year later. In 1961 Murphy earned all-conference recognition as a halfback in football. With racial barriers broken, the rest of the institutions in the league began to provide educational and athletic opportunities to African Americans.
After Title IX legislation passed in 1972, women's athletics began a rebirth on the national scene as the NCAA began sponsoring and marketing women's sports. Recognizing the need to provide increased opportunities for female athletes, the OVC began formulating plans for women’s athletics in 1975 and established women's championships in the sports of basketball, tennis and track in 1977, with cross country and volleyball added over the next four years. Those sports were initially governed by the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW), but the overall strength of women's programs in the league was demonstrated by the automatic bids the OVC instantly received when the NCAA became the governing body in 1982. The conference added women’s golf and softball in 1994, women’s soccer in 1998 and beach volleyball in 2020.
Through the past 77 years, 15 teams have won or shared the league's football title. The list is led by former member Eastern Kentucky, winner of 21 outright or shared football crowns. Former member Middle Tennessee and Tennessee Tech are next with 11 titles apiece, former member Jacksonville State has nine and former members Murray State and Western Kentucky have eight apiece. Eastern Illinois has seven crowns, UT Martin has five, Southeast Missouri has four and Tennessee State has three. Morehead State, Austin Peay, Evansville and East Tennessee State have captured two apiece. Youngstown State won one title during its tenure in the league.
Murray State and Evansville tied for the initial football championship, and the Racers participated in the first-ever bowl game by an OVC team, tying Sul Ross State 21-21 in the 1948 Tangerine Bowl. From 1948 to 1975, OVC teams played in 15 bowl games, winning eight of them. Eastern Kentucky and Western Kentucky were also participants in the NCAA Division II playoffs in the early and mid-1970s prior to the NCAA's reclassification of football programs into Division I-AA. The term “I-AA” lasted until the end of the 2006 season when it was changed to Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).
The first Division I-AA/FCS football playoff was held in 1978 with only four teams, which is the only year through present day that the OVC did not field a playoff representative. In 1979, four of the nation’s top teams were invited to the playoffs, and two of them - Eastern Kentucky and Murray State - were from the OVC. Murray dropped its semifinal game to Lehigh, but the Colonels nipped Nevada-Reno in double overtime and claimed the national championship a week later with a 30-7 victory over Lehigh. EKU was coached by former All-America quarterback Roy Kidd, who was in his 16th year at the helm of his alma mater and who skippered the Colonels to a second national title three years later. Following the 2002 season, Kidd retired after 39 years at EKU; upon retirement, he ranked sixth all-time among Division I coaches with 315 victories, earning him a spot in the College Football Hall of Fame.
In addition to Kidd, other coaching legends in the OVC include Charles “Bubber” Murphy, who coached at Middle Tennessee from 1947-1968, Western Kentucky’s Jimmy Feix (1968-83), Wilburn Tucker (1954-67) and Don Wade (1968-82) of Tennessee Tech, Bill Ferguson (1967-77) of Murray State, Guy Penny (1959-67) of Morehead State and Boots Donnelly (1977-78 at Austin Peay; 1979-1998 at Middle Tennessee). Following the 2011 season Eastern Illinois head coach Bob Spoo retired after 25 years at the school (the last 16 as members of the OVC). In his time as an OVC coach he compiled 92 total victories and 68 OVC wins and was inducted into the OVC Hall of Fame in 2012. In 2016 former Murray State head coach Frank Beamer (1981-86) was inducted into the OVC Hall of Fame; he introduced his wide tackle six defense to the OVC and compiled a 43-23-2 record with the Racers before leaving for his alma mater Virginia Tech where he won 280 games in 29 seasons. Kidd, Donnelly and Beamer are each members of the College Football Hall of Fame.
A sampling of former OVC football stars, some of whom were All-Americans during their collegiate careers before achieving stardom at the professional ranks, include Jim Youngblood and Larry Schreiber (Tennessee Tech), Phil Simms (Morehead State), Virgil Livers and Dale Lindsey (Western Kentucky), Myron Guyton and Chad Bratzke (Eastern Kentucky), Cortland Finnegan (Samford) and Tony Romo and Jimmy Garoppolo (Eastern Illinois). In 2008, former Tennessee State standout Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie became just the fourth NFL First Round draft pick in OVC history when he was selected 16th overall by the Arizona Cardinals. He would break into the starting lineup halfway through his rookie season and started at cornerback for the Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII.
In 2010 Southeast Missouri State, picked to finish seventh in the preseason poll, compiled a 7-1 Conference record on the way to its first OVC Championship since joining the league in 1991. The Redhawks were 9-2 overall during the regular season and earned a berth in the FCS Playoffs, its first playoff berth at any level in the program’s 104-year history. Head coach Tony Samuel capped the year by winning the Sports Network’s Eddie Robinson Award, given to the National Coach of the Year.
In 2012 Eastern Illinois became just the fourth football team in OVC history to go from worst-to-first in winning the OVC Championship. The Panthers were led by head coach Dino Babers who became just the fourth first-year head coach to win an OVC Championship (joining Boots Donnelly in 1977, Jason Simpson in 2006 and Dean Hood in 2008 – two others have since joined the group). During the year Eastern Illinois junior wide receiver Erik Lora shattered the FCS single-season receptions record, hauling in 136 passes in 12 games; that mark was 13 more than the previous NCAA record and 44 more than the previous OVC mark.
In 2013 Eastern Illinois repeated as OVC Champions behind Walter Payton Award winner Jimmy Garoppolo. The quarterback became just the second OVC player to earn the National Player of the Year Award, joining former EIU signal caller Tony Romo (2002). Garoppolo passed for 5,050 yards (second most in NCAA single-season history) and 53 touchdowns (fourth in NCAA history) in leading the Panthers to a 12-2 record and berth to the quarterfinals of the FCS Playoffs.
Garoppolo was drafted by the New England Patriots in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft, becoming just the fifth OVC player selected in that round and just the fifth OVC quarterback ever selected (and first since 1998). Garoppolo was a part of Patriots teams that won Super Bowls in 2015 and 2017. In 2020 Garoppolo became just the eighth quarterback who played in the FCS (which began in 1978), to start a Super Bowl, taking the snaps for the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LIV against the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs would win, preventing Garoppolo from becoming only the fourth FCS quarterback to start and win a Super Bowl.
The 2013 season saw the OVC snap a 19-game playoff losing streak dating back to the 2000 season. Tennessee State shut out Butler (marking the first OVC road playoff victory since 1986) to snap the streak while later that day Jacksonville State smashed Samford in the first round. A week later Eastern Illinois beat Tennessee State while Jacksonville State won at McNeese State to each advance to the quarterfinals; that marked the first time the OVC put two teams in the quarterfinals in the same season since 1991.
In 2015 Jacksonville State ascended to No. 1 in both major Top 25 polls, becoming the first OVC team to be ranked No. 1 since the 1999 season. The Gamecocks would go on to complete its second-straight 8-0 Conference mark and won three playoff games to become the first OVC team to advance to the Division I National Championship Game since 1982 (Eastern Kentucky). JSU lost to North Dakota State in the title game but finished the year 13-2 overall and ranked No. 2 in the final Top 25 polls. Head coach John Grass became the first OVC coach honored as the AFCA National Coach of the Year while quarterback Eli Jenkins was named the FCS ADA National Quarterback of the Year, finishing the year with 2,788 passing and 1,161 rushing yards (one of just three Division I quarterbacks – FBS or FCS - to achieve those numbers during the year).
2017 saw the third OVC coach named the winner of the Eddie Robinson Award as the FCS National Coach of the Year. The honor went to Austin Peay second-year coach Will Healy who orchestrated a tremendous turnaround for the Govs program. After going 0-11 during his initial season and starting 2017 with back-to-back losses to FBS opponents, the team’s losing streak had reached 29 games and overall the team had won just one of its previous 48 games overall. But a win during week three catapulted the team to an 8-4 record and 7-1 OVC record and second-place league finish. The eight wins matched the school record, while the seven Conference wins established a new school record. Along the way the team snapped a 21-game OVC losing streak and a 45-game road losing streak and finished the year with four road victories, which was more than the program won in the previous nine years combined.
In 2017 Jacksonville State senior defensive end Darius Jackson became the first OVC player to win the Buck Buchanan Award, given to the FCS National Defensive Player of the Year. Jackson tallied 51 tackles, 19.0 tackles-for-loss, 7.0 sacks, 19 quarterback hurries, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries in 11 regular season games.
The OVC made it back-to-back Buck Buchanan Award winners in 2018, as Southeast Missouri junior linebacker Zach Hall took home the prestigious award. He finished the season with 168 tackles, the most of any FCS player and a new Southeast Missouri single-season record, while leading his team to just in second-ever playoff appearance.
Announced in February 2022, the OVC and the Big South combined its football membership to form the OVC-Big South Football Association. The unique partnership provides long-term stability for the schools and provides access to the NCAA FCS Playoffs. The Association played its first season in 2023 and following the year the Presidents and Chancellors of the nine regionally-aligned member institutions (which includes Charleston Southern and Gardner-Webb in addition to seven OVC football-playing schools) solidified their commitment to each other with a new enhanced agreement that will provide an opportunity to extend the original partnership through 2030 and beyond.
The league added its third Buck Buchanan Award winner after the 2023 season, as Tennessee State defensive lineman Terrell Allen took home the National Defensive Player of the Year award. Allen led the FCS in sacks (14.5), sack yardage (123), tackles for loss (28) and tackle yardage for loss (149) in the regular season while adding 65 tackles, 10 quarterback hurries, five forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and one pass breakup.
Three OVC schools (Southeast Missouri, Tennessee State and UT Martin) made the FCS Playoffs in 2024, marking only the second time in League history that feat was achieved (2013 being the other).
It was announced in December 2024 that OVC and Nashville Sports Council, in partnership with Vanderbilt University and the City of Nashville, will serve as hosts of the 2026 and 2027 Division I Football Championship games. The games will be played at FirstBank Stadium on the Vanderbilt campus.
Football was not the only sport in which the OVC was quickly gaining respect. In 1955, the OVC became only the second six-member league nationally to earn an automatic bid to the prestigious NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, which, at that time, was limited to only 24 participants. The Conference quickly proved worthy of that bid, as Morehead State defeated Marshall (107-92) and Wayne State (95-84) in the 1956 tournament.
Fifteen years later, Western Kentucky became the first and only Conference team to reach the Final Four. The Hilltoppers defeated Jacksonville, Kentucky and Ohio State before losing to Villanova in double overtime in the national semifinals. WKU went on to finish in third place after beating Kansas 77-75 in the consolation game.
Since that time, the OVC has recorded some of the biggest upsets in the history of the NCAA Tournament. Perhaps the most famous moment came in 1987, when Austin Peay came from fourth place in the regular season to win the OVC Tournament and earn the league's automatic bid. The Governors drew powerful Illinois, and were such big underdogs, that ESPN broadcaster Dick Vitale promised to stand on his head if APSU won the game. After a 68-67 victory over the Illini, and a narrow 90-87 overtime loss to eventual Final Four participant Providence in the second round, Vitale made good on his promise in a visit to Clarksville two months later.
Murray State added to the OVC's string of upsets in 1988 when it knocked off 14th-ranked North Carolina State, 78-75. The Racers' M&M Boys - Jeff Martin and Don Mann - combined for 39 points in the win. MSU nearly went on to the Sweet 16 that year, losing to eventual national champion Kansas, 61-58. A bank shot by Mann that would've given the Racers a one-point lead rolled off the rim with three seconds left. In 1990 as a No. 16 seed, Murray State took No. 1 seed Michigan State into overtime before falling 75-71.
After former member Middle Tennessee State won a first round game in 1989, the league had a drought as no other OVC team won an NCAA Tournament game for the next 19 years. But Morehead State, coming off a thrilling double overtime OVC Tournament victory over Austin Peay, topped Alabama State 58-43 in the 2009 Opening Round game at University of Dayton Arena in Dayton, Ohio. The game was played in front of an Opening Round record crowd of 11,346 and included many MSU fans who made the three-hour drive from Morehead for the game.
In 2009-10, Murray State made OVC history by winning a record 31 games (31-5) on its way to the league’s regular season and tournament championships. In the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the No. 13 seed Racers topped Vanderbilt in thrilling fashion when senior Danero Thomas hit a jumper as time expired to lift MSU to a 66-65 victory. It marked the first OVC team to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament since 1989 and snapped a skid of 71-straight loses to Southeastern Conference foes (dating back to 2000-01). In the second round, the Racers pushed eventual national runner-up Butler to the brink before losing 54-52.
In 2010-11 Morehead State would make it three NCAA Tournament wins in as many years for the league and got a bit of revenge for the 2009 tournament loss to Louisville in the process. After finishing second in the regular season and winning the OVC Tournament Championship, the No. 13 seeded Eagles were shipped to Denver to play the in-state foe Cardinals. MSU jumped out to a 15-2 advantage but were down four points (61-57) with just over a minute to play in regulation. After two free throws from two-time OVC Player of the Year Kenneth Faried, the Eagles held for one final shot attempt and senior Demonte Harper pulled up off a cross-over dribble to nail a 3-pointer with 4.3 seconds left that gave Morehead State a 62-61 lead. UofL had one last attempt but Faried blocked the Cardinals last shot, giving MSU the win, its first over Louisville since the 1956-57 season.
In 2011-12 Murray State put together one of the greatest seasons in OVC history, beginning the year 23-0 (an all-time OVC best) and being ranked as high as No. 7 in the coaches poll on Feb. 6. The squad was the first OVC team to be nationally-ranked since Murray State was ranked in 1997-98; in addition, the top 10 ranking was the first for an OVC team since the 1970-71 campaign (WKU). The Racers would top nationally-ranked Memphis and Saint Mary’s during the season and win the league’s regular season and tournament championships. MSU earned a No. 6 seed in NCAA Tournament, the highest-ever seed for an OVC team since the NCAA began seeding the field in 1979. The Racers would top Colorado State 58-41 in the second round before falling to Marquette in the third round. Murray State would win 31 games overall, tying the OVC all-time record the Racers set in 2009-10.
After the Murray State win in 2011-12, the league had won NCAA Tournament games in four-straight seasons, something that had never happened in league history (three-game winning streaks from 1960-62 and 1987-89 had been the previous best streaks). Over that time period (2009-12) the OVC was one of just nine conferences nationally to win a NCAA Tournament game in each season and one of only three non-BCS leagues (joining the Atlantic 10 and WCC) to do so.
For just the second time in league history (the other being 1987), the OVC placed two teams in the NCAA Tournament in 2019, as Murray State won the OVC Tournament crown for the second-straight season and Belmont earned an at-large bid after going 26-5 overall (16-2 OVC) with a NET ranking of 47. As a No. 11 seed, Belmont would top Temple in the Opening Round in Dayton (its first-ever NCAA Tournament victory) before narrowly falling to Maryland in the next round, while No. 12 seed Murray State crushed Marquette 83-64 in the first round (the second-biggest margin of victory ever by a 12 seed over a No. 5 seed in tournament history) before losing to Florida State. It marked the first time since 1971 that the OVC had two wins in the same NCAA Tournament and marked the first time two different OVC teams won a tournament game in the same year.
In 2021-22, Murray State capped the year with an 18-0 OVC record, just the sixth perfect league mark in OVC history. The 18 wins also tied the OVC record for Conference wins in a season. They would go on to win two games and capture the OVC Championship, making them the only team in OVC history to go undefeated during the regular season and win the tournament crown in the same year. The Racers earned a No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament and topped San Francisco in the first round; MSU finished the year ranked No. 20 in the AP poll and No. 22 in the Coaches Poll.
In 2007-08, UT Martin guard Lester Hudson became the first men’s Division I player to record a quadruple-double in a game, when he registered 25 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists and 10 steals in a victory over Central Baptist College. Hudson, who ranked fourth in scoring nationally as a junior, returned for his senior season in 2008-09 and was second nationally in scoring (behind Davidson’s Stephen Curry) at 27.5 points a contest. Hudson earned numerous honors (including OVC Player of the Year and OVC Male Athlete of the Year in each 2008 and 2009 and All-American status from several outlets) before being drafted by the Boston Celtics with the No. 58 pick of the 2009 NBA Draft.
During the 2010-11 year, Kenneth Faried, the nation’s leading rebounder during the season, became the NCAA’s Modern Era (since 1973) career rebounding leader, totaling 1,673 rebounds which passed Tim Duncan for the record (he is 11th all-time in NCAA history). Faried also finished his career with 86 double-doubles, second all-time to only Duncan. At the time he was one of only six players in NCAA history to finish with 2,000-plus career points (2,009) and 1,600-plus career rebounds. Faried was drafted 22nd overall by the Denver Nuggets in the 2011 NBA Draft, becoming the first OVC player selected in the first round since Tennessee State’s Carlos Rogers in 1994.
Murray State guard Isaiah Canaan, a first-team All-American in 2011-12, capped his illustrious career in 2012-13 by becoming just the 17th player in OVC history to score 2,000 or more career points. Canaan, who was a key part of Murray State NCAA Tournament victories in both 2010 and 2012, earned a pair of OVC Player of the Year honors (2012 and 2013) during his career as well as being named OVC Freshman of the Year (2010), OVC Tournament MVP (2010) and OVC Male Athlete of the Year (2012). He was drafted by the Houston Rockets with the 34th overall pick (No. 2 pick of the second round) of the 2013 NBA Draft.
In 2014-15 Murray State became just the fifth OVC men’s team to complete a perfect Conference season (16-0). The Racers were led by sophomore Cameron Payne who was named OVC Men’s Basketball Player of the Year, OVC Male Athlete of the Year and earned third-team All-American honors. Following the season Payne declared for the NBA Draft, becoming the first sophomore in OVC history to do so and one of just four OVC players all-time to enter and stay in the draft with eligibility remaining. Payne was selected in the lottery by the Oklahoma City Thunder (pick No. 14 overall), making him just the ninth First Round NBA Draft pick in OVC history.
Austin Peay made history in winning the 2016 OVC Men’s Basketball Tournament as the Governors became the first No. 8 seed to claim the championship. APSU had to win its final two regular season games just to qualify for the event and then won four games in four days to capture its fifth tournament crown. Along the way the Govs topped a No. 5 seed, No. 4 seed, No. 1 seed and No. 2 seed and were paced by MVP Chris Horton who averaged 22.5 points, 14.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists/game during the event including a 37-point, 21-rebound and 30-point, 16-rebound performance during the run.
In 2016, former Belmont All-American and 2012-13 OVC Co-Player of the Year Ian Clark became the first former OVC player to advance to the NBA Finals since former Tennessee State star Anthony Mason played for the New York Knicks in 1994. Clark was part of a Golden State Warriors team that won an NBA record 73 regular season games but lost in Game 7 of the Finals. A year later, Clark was part of the Warriors team that topped Cleveland to win the 2017 NBA Championship, becoming the first OVC player to win the crown since 1970-71 (Murray State's Dick Cunningham and Western Kentucky's Greg Smith with the Milwaukee Bucks).
Murray State guard Ja Morant put together arguably the greatest season in League history in 2018-19, earning first-team consensus All-American honors (only the third player in OVC history to achieve that feat joining WKU’s Clem Haskins in 1967 and WKU’s Jim McDaniels in 1971) while becoming the first player since the NCAA began officially tracking assists (1983-84) to average 20-plus points (24.5) and 10-plus assists (10.0) in the same season. Morant, who won the Bob Cousy Award as the nation’s top point guard, finished the year with 331 assists, the sixth-most in NCAA single-season history. During the year he had three triple-doubles (including just the ninth in NCAA Tournament history) and became the first Division I player in 20 years to record 40 points, 11 assists and five steals in a regulation game.
Morant was picked No. 2 overall by the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2019 NBA Draft, equaling the highest-ever draft pick in OVC history (tied with Eastern Kentucky's Jim Baechtold who went No. 2 in 1952). Overall he was just the third NBA Lottery Pick (which began in 1985) in OVC history. Belmont senior Dylan Windler was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers No. 26 overall in the 2019 NBA Draft, giving the OVC two First Round picks in the same draft for only the second time in history (Western Kentucky's Tom Marshall and Jack Turner were selected with the seventh and eighth picks of the First Round in 1954). Overall Morant and Windler were the 10th and 11th players in OVC history to be First Round NBA Draft Picks.
Morant was named the 2019-20 NBA Rookie of the Year after averaging 17.8 points, 7.3 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 0.9 steals per game in 67 contests. He hit 47.7 percent from the field and 77.6 percent at the free throw line in leading the Grizzlies to more wins and a ninth-place finish in the Western Conference (after the team finished 12th the previous year). Dating back to 1983-84, he is one of just three players to attend a non-Power 5 college to win the award, joining Damian Lilliard of Weber State (2012-13) and Larry Johnson of UNLV (1991-92).
During the 2020-21 season, Austin Peay’s Terry Taylor became just the fifth player in OVC history with 2,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds. In addition, Taylor is the only player in OVC history to rank in the Top 10 in both career scoring and career rebounding. Taylor was named OVC Player of the Week 17 times during his career, establishing an OVC record.
Through its first 77 years, 14 teams have won or shared the league's regular season men's basketball title. Murray State heads the list with a Conference-record 28 outright or shared basketball crowns. Other past champions include Western Kentucky (19), Morehead State (10), Austin Peay (8), Tennessee Tech (7), Belmont (7), Eastern Kentucky (6), Middle Tennessee (5), Southeast Missouri State (3), Tennessee State (2), East Tennessee State (2), UT Martin (2), Akron (1) and Little Rock (1).
Among the coaching greats in men’s basketball have been Western Kentucky's E.A. Diddle, who retired with 759 victories and 10 OVC titles; John Oldham, who was a member of the very first All-OVC squad and went on to win seven OVC crowns during his coaching tenure at Tennessee Tech and Western Kentucky; Paul McBrayer, who guided Eastern Kentucky to 219 wins and three OVC crowns; and Cal Luther, who is the only person in Conference history to win men’s basketball Coach of the Year honors at two league schools - Murray State and UT Martin. Following the 2016-17 season, Austin Peay’s Dave Loos retired as the winningest coach in OVC history (he passed Luther for that crown in 2009-10). Loos, a five-time OVC Coach of the Year, finished his career with 420 wins in 27 years at Austin Peay (including a 258-194 OVC record) and 502 total wins in 31 years as a head coach. Loos was inducted into the OVC Hall of Fame in 2018. Belmont’s Rick Byrd retired following the 2018-19 season with 805 career victories in 38 seasons (33 with the Bruins). In seven seasons in the OVC Byrd compiled a 168-62 record (97-19 in conference play) and won five OVC regular season crowns, two tournament titles and four OVC Coach of the Year awards (second all-time only to Loos).
There have been an equal number of great players including Western Kentucky's Clem Haskins, who is the only three-time OVC Player of the Year. Several players have won OVC Player of the Year honors twice: Western Kentucky's Jim McDaniels (1969-70 and 1970-71), Murray State's Les Taylor (1971-72, 1972-73), Jeff Martin (1987-88, 1988-89), Popeye Jones (1989-90, 1990-91) and Marcus Brown (1994-95, 1995-96), Austin Peay's Otis Howard (1976-77, 1977-78), Middle Tennessee's Jerry Beck (1980-81, 1981-82), Akron's Joe Jakubick (1982-83, 1983-84), Tennessee State's Carlos Rogers (1992-93, 1993-94), UT Martin’s Lester Hudson (2007-08, 2008-09), Morehead State’s Kenneth Faried (2009-10, 2010-11), Murray State’s Isaiah Canaan (2011-12, 2012-13), Belmont’s Evan Bradds (2015-16, 2016-17) and Austin Peay’s Terry Taylor (2019-20, 2020-21).
In 2018, the OVC served as host for the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship First and Second Rounds at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. It marked the fourth time the OVC served as hosts of the event (2000, 2005, 2012 and 2018).
Tennessee Tech has won or shared 19 regular-season women’s basketball championships in addition to 11 OVC Tournament crowns; both are tops in OVC history. UT Martin added its name to the list of champions by capturing its first OVC Tournament title in 2011 and also winning championships in 2012, 2013 and 2014. The Skyhawks became just the fourth team in OVC history (and first since Austin Peay from 2000-03) to win four-straight tournament titles, while Belmont joined that club after winning its fourth-straight title in 2019 (2016-19). In 2022-23, Little Rock won the OVC regular-season title in its first year in the league. A year later (2023-24), Southern Indiana won the OVC regular-season and tournament championships in just its second year in the league.
Several coaches have made their mark in the history of OVC women’s basketball. Former Tennessee Tech coach Marynell Meadors posted an amazing 363-139 (72.3%) record at Tech, becoming the first woman in NCAA or AIAW history to win 300 games at the same institution, while former Tennessee State skipper Teresa Phillips earned National Coach of the Year honors from USA Today in 1990 for turning around the Lady Tigers’ program before going on to lead TSU to the NCAA Tournament in 1994 and 1995. Phillips was inducted into the OVC Hall of Fame in 2021 after completing a career in administration that saw her serve as TSU’s Director of Athletics from 2002 through 2019. Tennessee Tech coach Bill Worrell capped a stellar 20-year career in 2005-06 and was inducted into the OVC Hall of Fame in 2007; he compiled a 408-190 record while leading the Golden Eagles to an unprecedented 16 OVC regular-season titles and eight NCAA Tournament appearances, including five-straight from 1989-93. Larry Joe Inman, who retired at the conclusion of the 2007-08 season and was inducted into the OVC Hall of Fame in 2009, won more than 100 games at both Middle Tennessee and Eastern Kentucky, and earned OVC Coach of the Year honors a record eight times - five times at EKU and three at MTSU. In 2012-13 Inman came out of retirement to take the Tennessee State job; in 2014-15 he led the Lady Tigers to its first OVC Tournament Championship since 1995. Inman once again retired following the 2016-17 season, with 545 career victories.
Many great players have graced the hardwood over the years, including former OVC Players of the Year Brooke Armistead and Gerlonda Hardin from Austin Peay, Pam Chambers, Jerilynn Harper, Cheryl Taylor, Angela Moorehead, Roschelle Vaughn, Diane Seng, Janet Holt and Emily Christian from Tennessee Tech; Morehead State's Donna Murphy, Priscilla Blackford and Chynna Bozeman; Eastern Kentucky's Kim Mays; Southeast Missouri's Gray C. Harris; Murray State’s Ashley Hayes; UT Martin’s Heather Butler, Jasmine Newsome and Chelsey Perry; and Belmont’s Darby Maggard.
Morehead State center Brittany Pittman set new school, league and NCAA standards for blocked shots in 2008-09. Pittman swatted 164 shots during the season, setting a new NCAA single-season record (which has since been broken).
In 2012-13 the UT Martin duo of Jasmine Newsome and Heather Butler finished fifth and sixth nationally among NCAA scoring leaders. Newsome, the 2012 and 2013 OVC Player of the Year, averaged 22.6 points per game on the way to All-American honors while Butler averaged 22.4 points per contest. Butler set a NCAA record during the season by connecting on a 3-pointer in her 80th-straight game.
In 2013-14 Butler and Newsome capped their brilliant careers by ranking first and second in scoring in OVC history. Butler, the 2013-14 OVC Female Athlete of the Year, finished her career with 2,865 points, which ranked first in OVC and 16th in NCAA history. She also finished her career with 392 career 3-pointers (which was tied for the most in NCAA history following her career but now ranks second) and scored in double figures in all 129 career games, which ranks fifth in NCAA history. Following the season Butler was signed by the WNBA’s San Antonio Stars where she became the first OVC player to make an active WNBA roster. Newsome capped her career with 2,566 points, second only to Butler in OVC history.
The league also had another historical moment in November 2008 when the NCAA awarded Nashville the 2014 NCAA Women’s Division I Final Four. The OVC served as the host of the prestigious event, which is one of the biggest sporting events the city of Nashville can host. The event was held April 6 and 8 at Bridgestone Arena in downtown Nashville and was played in front of sold-out crowds for both the semifinals and championship as UConn topped Notre Dame in a battle of undefeated teams to win its ninth national title.
In 2017-18, Belmont completed its second-straight undefeated league season, increasing its winning streak in Conference games (both regular season and tournament) to 46 games. The Bruins were ranked in both the USA Today Coaches Poll and Associated Press Poll during the year, becoming the first OVC team to be nationally-ranked since 1992-93. The Bruins finished the year ranked No. 23 in the AP poll.
Belmont guard Darby Maggard capped her career in 2018-19 by earning her fourth-straight first-team All-OVC honor in addition to earning her fourth-straight OVC All-Tournament honors. She became the first player in NCAA history to make at least 400 3-pointers and dish out at least 650 assists in a career while her 92.4 percent career free throw percentage ranks first in NCAA history, her 2.77 assist-to-turnover ratio is third and her 430 made 3-pointers is fourth. She was one of just 19 players in OVC history to reach 2,000 career points (2,031) and she finished her career third in OVC history for assists (683). After the season Maggard finished as the national runner-up at the College 3-Point Championship.
In 2020-21, Belmont became the first OVC women’s basketball team to win a NCAA Tournament game since 1990 (Tennessee Tech), topping Gonzaga 64-59 in the first round in San Marcos, Texas. Belmont also won a first round game in 2021-22 (topping Oregon) while Tennessee Tech topped Monmouth in the First Four in 2022-23, giving OVC teams NCAA Tournament wins in three-straight years for the first time in League history.
UT Martin’s Chelsey Perry, a two-time OVC Player of the Year, was selected 26th overall by the Indiana Fever in the third round of the 2021 WNBA Draft. It marked the highest-ever selection for an OVC player and the first UTM player selected in the Draft. Perry would end up making the Fever’s roster and appear in regular season games.
Following the 2024-25 season four OVC women’s basketball teams played in the postseason, tied for the most in League history. Three of those schools (Lindenwood, Southern Indiana and Western Illinois) competed in and won at least one game in the WNIT, the most different number of teams to win a postseason game in OVC history.
Over 78 years, OVC teams have garnered national championships and bowl games in football, along with national team or individual titles in the sports of rifle, cross country, track and golf.
The OVC has also produced several Olympic athletes, including Pat Spurgin from Murray State, who won the first-ever Olympic gold medal awarded in women's air rifle at the Olympic Games Los Angeles 1984, Murray State’s Morgan Hicks, who was a member of the 2004 United States Olympic Rifle Team and Morehead State’s Brian Shimer who competed in five Winter Olympics in bobsled (winning a bronze medal in 2002) and coached the 2010 United States bobsled team to its first gold medal since 1948. Former Morehead State football and Eastern Kentucky track and field athlete Dallas Robinson competed with the U.S. bobsled team during the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.
In addition, some of the greatest players in professional sports were educated at OVC institutions. The list includes former greats such as football’s Phil Simms (Morehead State) and Tony Romo (Eastern Illinois), basketball's Clem Haskins (Western Kentucky) and Kenneth Faried (Morehead State) and two-sport star Steve Hamilton (Morehead State) to present-day standouts like basketball players Ja Morant (Murray State), Robert Covington (Tennessee State) and Chelsey Perry (UT Martin), football player Jimmy Garoppolo (Eastern Illinois) and baseball player Alec Mills (UT Martin), who threw a no-hitter for the Chicago Cubs in 2020. Hamilton is the only athlete to ever play in the NCAA Basketball Championship, a Major League Baseball World Series (New York Yankees) and an NBA Championship Series (Los Angeles Lakers).
The OVC’s first volleyball tournament was held in 1981, the same year Eastern Kentucky began a string of six-straight tournament crowns. Former EKU skipper Dr. Geri Polvino compiled a 627-439 record in 32 seasons as head coach of the Colonels, earning OVC Coach of the Year honors eight times. More recently, former Austin Peay coach Cheryl Holt and former Southeast Missouri skipper Cindy Gannon also earned their peers’ recognition multiple times with four awards each; both have been inducted into the OVC Hall of Fame.
Throughout the last 42 years, 12 different teams have won an OVC regular-season or tournament volleyball crown. Since joining the league in 1991, Southeast Missouri has dominated the scene, winning seven of its eight regular-season titles during the 1990’s, including five straight from 1993-97. The Redhawks have also won seven tournament crowns (1994, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2019, 2021). Jacksonville State won back-to-back OVC Tournament Championships (2005, 2006) including going through the OVC undefeated (16-0) in 2006 and winning a NCAA Tournament match in 2010, the league’s first NCAA victory since 2000.
Following the 2007 season, Jacksonville State’s Abbey Breit was named the OVC Offensive Player of the Year for the third-straight season, becoming the first player in OVC history to accomplish that feat. She was later joined by Murray State’s Scottie Ingram who won three-straight awards from 2014-16. Five other individuals - Eastern Kentucky’s Angela Boykins (1985-86), Morehead State’s Dayle Hammontree (1988-89), Southeast Missouri’s Tuba Meto (1996-97), Morehead State’s Amy Almond (2001-02) and Eastern Illinois’ Giovana Larregui López (2022-23) – were back-to-back winners of the award.
Morehead State won its fourth-straight OVC volleyball regular season championship in 2013. Over that four-year period (2010-13) the Eagles compiled an impressive 67-3 league record.
During the 2020-21 season, Morehead State would compile a 15-1 record during the Conference-only spring season, top Jacksonville State in the OVC Tournament Championship match and go on to knock off Creighton 3-2 in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament. It marked the first NCAA win for the Eagles program.
Lindenwood became the newest OVC team to win a Volleyball Tournament Championship in 2024, winning the title in just its third season in the League.
Three OVC teams – Morehead State (NCAA), Lindenwood (NIVC) and Southeast Missouri (NIVC) - competed in the 2024 national postseason, the first time more than two OVC teams made the postseason in the same season.
During the 2025 season OVC Player of the Year Madolyn Isringhausen ranked in the Top 10 nationally in points (third), kills (fourth), kills per set (sixth), points per set (seventh) and service aces (ninth). She became the first Tennessee Tech player to earn honorable mention AVCA All-America honors. Following the year she was named the OVC Female Athlete of the Year and she signed a free agent deal with the Atlanta Vibe of the Pro Volleyball Federation, appearing in five matches during her rookie season.
Beach volleyball was introduced as an OVC Championship sport prior to the 2020 campaign. That season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, making the 2021 season the first to be played to completion. Morehead State would finish 9-1 in league play to claim the regular season crown. The first-ever OVC Championship Tournament was hosted by UT Martin and saw Austin Peay knock off the host Skyhawks to claim the title. In 2022, UT Martin won the Beach Volleyball Tournament and earned the league’s first automatic bid to the NCAA Championship; the Skyhawks would fall to No. 1 ranked, and eventual National Champions, Southern California in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
In 2007, Eastern Kentucky’s Jacob Korir won his fourth-straight Conference cross country title becoming just the third OVC student-athlete and 13th athlete nationally to accomplish that feat. Korir was a three-time All-American in cross country, earning two top-10 finishes at the NCAA Cross Country Championship. The Nairobi, Kenya, native was also named a track and field All-American twice during his career, was selected as the OVC Male Athlete of the Year in 2006-07 and received the NCAA post graduate scholarship in 2008.
In 2011 the Eastern Kentucky men’s cross country team earned a national ranking in the USTFCCCA poll, climbing to as high as No. 17; the ranking was the highest for an OVC team since the polls began in the early 1980s. The EKU men would qualify for the NCAA Championship, becoming the first OVC team to reach the national championship meet since 1980. Eastern Kentucky finished 26th overall at the event as junior Soufiane Bouchikhi was 47th in a field of 252 runners. On the women’s side Eastern Kentucky senior Lydia Kosgei became the first EKU woman to ever qualify for the NCAA Championship and went on to finish 37th at the national meet to earn All-American honors.
A year later (2012) the EKU men’s cross country team was ranked as high as No. 11 nationally and finished 24th at the NCAA Championship. Wade Meddles led the team with a 38th place finish at the event while Bouchikhi was 40th. In 2013 Eastern Kentucky placed 15th at the NCAA Championship, the highest national finish for an OVC team since 1980. Soufiane Bouchikhi capped his career by winning his fourth-straight OVC Championship and earning National Runner of the Week honors during the season. Bouchikhi finished 26th at the NCAA Championship in 2013, earning All-American honors for the second-straight season. In 2014 EKU qualified for its fourth-straight NCAA Championship and finished 23rd overall and in 2015 earned its fifth-straight bid and finished 17th overall. EKU is only the second OVC team to ever qualify for five-straight NCAA Championships (ETSU being the other).
In 2016, Eastern Kentucky’s Charlotte Imer finished 31st at the NCAA Championship, the second-highest finish ever by an OVC female (trailing only a 24th place finish by Samford's Lauren Blankenship in 2007).
In 2017, the Eastern Kentucky women’s team earned its first national ranking as well as becoming the first OVC women’s team to qualify for the NCAA Championship. The Colonels finished 23rd at the National Championship meet.
Following the 2017-18 season, long-time coaches Tom Akers (Eastern Illinois) and Rick Erdmann (Eastern Kentucky) retired. The duo combined for 118 OVC Championships and 115 OVC Coach of the Year Awards. In 2023, former Middle Tennessee State head track and field coach Dean Hayes joined that duo in the OVC Hall of Fame. During his tenure in the OVC, Hayes led MTSU to 29 OVC titles, had 28 individuals earn All-American honors 53 total times and was named OVC Coach of the Year 15 times, including 10 in a row (1977-86).
In 2007 the Conference had two teams in the NCAA Women’s Soccer Tournament for the first time in league history, as Samford earned an at-large selection while Southeast Missouri was the Conference’s automatic bid.
Former Austin Peay standout and 2012 OVC Soccer Player of the Year Tatiana Ariza represented her native country of Colombia in both the 2012 Summer Olympics in London (earning a start against the United States) as well as the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. In the 2015 event she assisted on the first World Cup goal in her country’s history and in the following match helped her team to a 2-0 victory over France, giving Colombia its first-ever win at the event.
In 2016 SIUE scored a major upset in the first round of the NCAA Division I Soccer Championship, advancing on penalty kicks 5-4 over No. 11-ranked Notre Dame. The Cougars became just the second OVC team to advance to the second round (joining Samford who topped Vanderbilt on penalty kicks in 2005).
Lindenwood won the 2024 OVC Women’s Soccer Tournament Championship, its first title since joining the OVC prior to the 2022-23 season.
The OVC debuted the sport of men’s soccer in 2023. SIUE won the regular season and tournament championships in the debut season. In addition to five OVC schools, the sport features three affiliate members in Houston Christian (HCU), Incarnate Word (UIW) and Liberty. The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) will join as an affiliate member for the sport in 2026.
For the first time under the current format, OVC men’s golfers qualified for the NCAA National Championship in back-to-back years in 2013 and 2014. Austin Peay’s Dustin Korte advanced from the regional to the national championship in 2013 (finishing 116th overall) while APSU’s Marco Iten won the Auburn Regional in 2014 to qualify for the National Championship (finishing 55th). In 2015 three men’s golfers competed in the NCAA Regionals (one automatic berth and two at-large berths) in addition to the Eastern Kentucky team; the three individuals were the most from the OVC to qualify in one year under the current format.
In April 2016 Danny Willett won The Masters Championship in Augusta, Georgia. The former Jacksonville State standout, who was the 2006 OVC Freshman of the Year and the 2007 OVC Championship Medalist, entered the final round tied for fifth, three shots behind 2015 champion Jordan Spieth after rounds of 70-74-72. In the final round Willett fired a 5-under par round of 67 to finish at 283 (-5) and top the field by three shots. He became just the eighth player in Masters’ history to win the event in his first or second start and just the second Englishman to win the event.
Prior to 2018, no female women’s golfer had earned an at-large spot in the NCAA Regionals field. That changed when Jacksonville State junior Valentina Giraldo and Eastern Kentucky junior Elsa Moberly earned two of the 24 at-large spots in the NCAA field.
Another first for women’s golf came in 2019 as Murray State senior Linette Holmslykke became the first OVC female golfer to qualify for the National Championship after finishing second at the Auburn Regional with a three round total of 211 (-5). Holmslykke finished 54th at the National Championship in addition to winning the NCAA’s Elite 90 Award for having the highest G.P.A. among those competing at the Championship.
Retired Murray State coach Velvet Milkman was inducted into the OVC Hall of Fame in 2025, becoming the first full-time women’s golf coach to join the prestigious club. She started the Murray State program in 1993 (the first year the OVC sponsored the sport) and served in the role until her retirement after the 2021-22 season. She guided the Racers to 12 OVC Championships (double the number of the second place school). Only five times during her 28 years as head coach did MSU finish outside the top three at the event. In addition, every four-year player she coached graduated and won at least one OVC Championship.
In 2009 it was OVC softball that accomplished several firsts as UT Martin (tournament champion) and Jacksonville State (at-large) were each selected for the NCAA Championship. Jacksonville State would take it a step farther by winning the Knoxville Regional (beating No. 13 national seed Tennessee along the way) to become the first OVC softball program to advance to a Super Regional. Jax State would fall to No. 4 Alabama in that Super Regional but finished the season 43-16 (19-2 OVC) and ranked 21st nationally in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll and 24th nationally in the USA Today/NFCA poll.
In 2016 the OVC Softball Championship was held at a neutral site for the first time, as it was played at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Alabama. The event was held there for seven consecutive events through 2023 (there was no championship in 2020). The Championship moved to Louisville Slugger Sports Complex in Peoria, Illinois in 2024, the first of five scheduled events at the complex.
The league’s baseball presence has continued to evolve since its inception. The OVC baseball tournament moved to a neutral site for the first time in 2001 with Paducah, Kentucky and Brooks Stadium hosting the tournament in front of raucous crowds. The success of the tournament led to Jackson, Tennessee and The Ballpark at Jackson – hosting the event for the first time in 2010. The championship moved to Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Alabama for two years (2017-18) before agreeing to a stay at Rent One Park in Marion, Illinois in 2019 and returning to Jackson in 2021. In 2022 the event was held at Wild Health Field in Lexington, Kentucky for the first time. The championship returned to Marion in 2023 and is contracted to be at the venue – now known as Mtn Dew Park – through 2029.
The OVC also has made a statement in the NCAA Baseball Championship in recent years, with its teams involved in several memorable contests in the last decade. Tennessee Tech surprised Wake Forest in the opening round of the 2001 tournament and Southeast Missouri stunned host Alabama in the opening round of the 2002 championship. Five years later, Austin Peay captured the collegiate baseball world’s attention by taking Vanderbilt, the 2007 No. 1 overall seed, to extra innings. Eastern Illinois pushed host Nebraska to the limit in 2008 followed by Tennessee Tech’s memorable contest against host Clemson in 2009.
In 2012 Austin Peay completed a “repeat squared” (back-to-back regular season and tournament championships) for the first-time in OVC history. The Govs would go on to top Indiana State and Cal State Fullerton at the Eugene Regional, before falling to host Oregon in the regional final. It marked the first time since the 2000 season (Middle Tennessee) that an OVC team had won multiple NCAA Tournament games in the same season.
Austin Peay completed a “3-Peayt” by winning its third-straight OVC Tournament crown in 2013. Along the way the Govs garnered the first nationally-ranking by an OVC team since 2009 (climbing to as high as 21st nationally) and tied the OVC single-season record with 47 victories. The Govs earned the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Bloomington Regional, becoming the first OVC team in the current regional format (since 1999) to earn anything other than a No. 4 seed. The squad topped Florida and Valparaiso to advance to the regional final for the second-straight season before losing to host Indiana. Govs senior closer Tyler Rogers was a big part of his team’s success during the year, setting the NCAA single-season record for saves (23 – a mark that was later eclipsed during the College World Series).
In 2017 the league could have been named the “Offensive Valley Conference” as teams combined for 753 home runs during the season, the most in league history. That was highlighted by a record 50 combined home runs being hit in 13 games at the OVC Tournament. Included in that was Morehead State sophomore Niko Hulsizer who hit his 27th home run of the season, establishing a new OVC single-season record.
In 2018 Tennessee Tech had a 28-game winning streak in becoming a consensus nationally-ranked team across the six major Division I polls (reaching as high as No. 10, an all-time high rank by an OVC team). The Golden Eagles won a record 27 OVC games after losing in the OVC Tournament Championship game, became the first OVC team to earn an at-large berth into the NCAA Baseball Championship. Tech would go on to win three-straight elimination games in the Oxford Regional (including back-to-back games on the same day against host and No. 4 national seed Ole Miss) to become the first OVC team to reach the Super Regionals. The Golden Eagles would win game one against Texas before eventually losing two-straight to the Longhorns. Tennessee Tech finished the season with an OVC record 53 overall victories.
In 2018, a record 16 OVC players were selected in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft (breaking the previous record of 12). Among the 16 players were eight Tennessee Tech players, a new record for an OVC school in a single-season.
In 2020, former Belmont standout Matt Beaty was on the 28-man active roster for Los Angeles as the Dodgers topped Tampa Bay four games to two to capture the World Series Championship. In the process he became the first former OVC player on an active roster for a World Series champion.
In 2021 Eastern Illinois shortstop Trey Sweeney was selected in the first round of the MLB Draft by the New York Yankees while Southeast Missouri pitcher Dylan Dodd was selected in the third round. Sweeney was just the third first round pick in OVC history, and he and Dodd were two of just 11 top three round selections from the league all-time; it marked the first time the league had two top three round picks in the same draft.
Sweeney was also named a second-team CoSIDA Academic All-American, making him one of only two players nationally in 2020-21 to be a first round draft pick and an Academic All-American.
Morehead State first baseman Roman Kuntz slugged himself into the OVC Record Book in 2024, setting single-season records for home runs (33), RBI (100) and total bases (202) on his way to multiple All-American honors. His 100 RBI led all Division I players during the season.
A first in the OVC occurred in 2008, when the league had a first round draft pick in both the NFL (Tennessee State’s Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie) and Major League Baseball (Eastern Kentucky’s Christian Friedrich) Drafts in the same school year. A year later (2009) the league had a Major League Baseball First Round Compensation Round pick (Eastern Illinois’ Tyler Kehrer who was No. 48 overall) and NBA Second Round pick (UT Martin’s Lester Hudson) in the same season.
In March 2020 due to the COVID-19 public health emergency, spring sports were canceled across the OVC and the NCAA (including all winter and spring NCAA Championships). Conference play for Fall 2020 sports (football, soccer, volleyball, cross country) was pushed to the spring which saw every OVC Championship successfully completed in just a 112-day span (and all but one taking place in a 90-day span).
The playing field is not the only place where OVC athletes are working hard. The league also recognizes excellence in the classroom. Six Scholar-Athlete Awards are presented yearly to male and female athletes, while others are commended for their academic success by being Medal of Honor recipients or earning a spot on the Commissioner's Honor Roll. Additionally, the league annually presents one institutional Academic Achievement Award, as well as separate team awards in each Conference-sponsored sport. Since the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA)/College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-America program began, the Ohio Valley Conference has had 318 student-athletes honored with the award.
Through the early years of the league, administrators wrestled with fan behavior due to the close proximity of the Conference members and the intense rivalries which developed. Just as it did decades ago, the OVC took the leadership role on what has become a national issue. In 1995, the OVC implemented a first-of-its-kind "Sportsmanship Statement,” a policy which promotes principles of fair play, ethical conduct and respect for one's opponent. The statement has become a model for others to follow across the nation and has answered the challenge of the NCAA Presidents Commission to improve sportsmanship in collegiate athletics.
Additionally, the OVC annually presents the Steve Hamilton Sportsmanship Award, in honor of the former Morehead State student-athlete, coach and athletics director, to a junior or senior student-athlete with significant athletic contributions who best exemplifies the characteristics of sportsmanship and citizenship. Most recently, the Conference has also implemented the OVC Institutional and Team Sportsmanship Awards, which are presented to one institution and 19 sport-specific teams voted by their peers to have best exhibited the standards of sportsmanship and ethical conduct as outlined by the OVC and NCAA.
The vision of leadership demonstrated by the Founding Fathers in 1948 remains alive today as the Ohio Valley Conference prepares for the future. One example is in regard to the current trend in collegiate athletics administration for increased involvement of university presidents in setting policies and making rules. The presidents of OVC institutions, however, have always governed the Conference, long before presidential governance became a national theme.
The Ohio Valley Conference sponsors the following sports: baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer and track for men, and basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, tennis, track, volleyball and beach volleyball for women. In addition, the OVC also sponsors the combined men's and women's sport of rifle. For men’s tennis, in July 2022 the OVC and Horizon League partnered to combine their teams to compete for the NCAA AQ at the Horizon League Championship. In 2023 the OVC and the Big South Conference begin a joint partnership for the sport of football.
Now in its seventh decade of competition, the Ohio Valley Conference has grown significantly from its humble beginnings while increasing the number of athletics opportunities it provides for students. Current league representatives include Eastern Illinois University, Lindenwood University, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Morehead State University (charter member), Southeast Missouri State University, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, University of Southern Indiana, Tennessee State University, Tennessee Technological University, the University of Tennessee at Martin and Western Illinois University. The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga is an affiliate member for the sport of beach volleyball, Bryant University is an affiliate for women's tennis, men’s golf and women’s golf, Murray State is an affiliate for rifle and Houston Christian University (HCU), University of Incarnate Word (UIW) and Liberty University are affiliates for the sport of men’s soccer.
Updated June 26, 2025