Editor: The following is a portion of a press release from mvc-sports.com.
(St. Louis, MO) – The Missouri Valley Conference has been awarded a future NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship as announced by the NCAA today. The MVC will host a First/Second Round in St. Louis in 2026 at Enterprise Center. The games will be played Friday & Sunday, March 20 and March 22.
MVC member Drake is hosting a First/Second Round men’s basketball event in 2023 at the Wells Fargo Center.
Today’s selection marks the 19th time – including 2020 Men’s First/Second Rounds – St. Louis has played host to an NCAA event, and it also provides the Conference with its 17th host opportunity beginning with the 1993 Men’s Midwest Regional at the Saint Louis Arena (those numbers include the 2020 Men’s First/Second Rounds that were cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic.)
During the tenure of Doug Elgin, The Valley’s ninth and longest-tenured commissioner, The Valley has been aggressive in hosting NCAA events in St. Louis. From 1998-2010, the MVC served as host for a staggering nine NCAA tournament events in that 13-year period, which has made St. Louis one of the most frequent stops on the NCAA Tournament trail.
The Valley hosted Women’s Final Fours in 2001 and 2009 and the Men’s Final Four in 2005. In 2016,
PREVIOUS NCAA BASKETBALL EVENTS HOSTED BY THE MVC (16)
1993 – Men’s Regional (Saint Louis Arena)
1998 – Men’s Regional (Enterprise Center – St. Louis)
1999 – Men’s Regional (The Dome in St. Louis)
2001 – Women’s Final Four (Enterprise Center)
2002 – Men’s First and Second Rounds (The Dome in St. Louis)
2004 – Men’s Regional (The Dome in St. Louis)
2005 – Men’s Final Four (The Dome in St. Louis)
2007 – Men’s Regional (The Dome in St. Louis)
2008 – Men’s First and Second Rounds (CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska – Creighton/MVC co-host)
2009 – Women’s Final Four (Enterprise Center)
2010 – Men’s Regional (The Dome in St. Louis)
2013 – Men’s Second and Third Rounds (T-Mobile Center — Kansas City)
2014 – Men’s Second and Third Rounds (Enterprise Center)
2016 – Men’s First and Second Rounds (Enterprise Center)
2019 – Men’s Regional (T-Mobile Center — Kansas City)
*2020 – Men’s First and Second Rounds (Enterprise Center)
*cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
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Flooding, lightning strikes, etc. have cost @RacersHoops two home games. Had to play 'neutral site' tonight instead of at home and Wednesday's goes from home to away. Tough break for the Racers, and the whole area has been hit with difficulties. #FatherHarry
Murray State's scheduled home game Wednesday vs. Southern Illinois being moved to Banterra Center in Carbondale. #ValleyHoops
Gigantic game for @BradleyUMBB today in Des Moines. If they have a chance to catch @DrakeBulldogsMB, they have to win today. The Bulldogs can basically win the title today. @BustingBrackets breaks it all down. #FatherHarry https://bit.ly/3EGiVgi
Not rooting for any particular @ValleyHoops, but chaos is always fun. If things break certain ways, after today there could be a six-way tie for fifth place.
Fun to listen to @MLBLarry on the @SIU_Basketball/@BelmontMBB game tonight. Good job brother. #FatherHarry
