Missouri Valley Conference

What Missouri Valley Conference does

The Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) is a private non-profit NCAA Division I collegiate athletic conference founded in 1907 and headquartered in Springfield, Missouri, serving 12 member institutions across the Midwest: Belmont, Bradley, Drake, Evansville, Illinois State, Indiana State, Murray State, Northern Iowa, Southern Illinois, UIC, Valparaiso, and Missouri State. The conference organizes and administers championships across 12 sports, including men's and women's basketball, baseball, softball, tennis, golf, track and field, cross country, swimming and diving, volleyball, soccer, and esports, with each championship routed through a centralized digital Championship Central platform on mvc-sports.com.

The MVC's flagship product is the men's basketball tournament branded as Arch Madness, held at Enterprise Center in St. Louis for 36 consecutive years and marking its 50th edition in 2026. The conference maintains a longstanding broadcast relationship with CBS Sports (11 consecutive years), with tournament semifinals on CBS Sports Network and the championship on Paramount+, supplemented by ESPN+ streaming for baseball and other sports. The women's basketball tournament, currently held at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa, will relocate to St. Louis in 2027 under the Arch Madness brand with a new 10-team format.

Revenue is generated through television and streaming broadcast rights (CBS Sports, Paramount+, ESPN+), sponsorship deals (e.g., Credit Union 1 as presenting sponsor for baseball), championship event hosting at member institutions and regional venues, and NCAA Tournament revenue distributions earned by member school champions. The conference does not publicly disclose financials, and governance operates through member institution representation rather than external ownership.

Name

Missouri Valley Conference

Legal name

Missouri Valley Conference

Website

https://mvc-sports.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1907

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Missouri Valley Conference, founded in 1907, is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic conference that organizes 12 sports championships for 12 member institutions across the Midwest, anchored by its flagship Arch Madness men's basketball tournament in St. Louis.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Collegiate Athletic Conference Operations

NAICS

Sports Teams and Clubs (711211), Spectator Sports (71121), Other Spectator Sports (711219)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Television Broadcasting Stations (4833)

akta.pro primary industry

Collegiate Athletic Conferences & Associations (MPAKACAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

College & University Sports Networks (Conference/School-Owned) (MPABAJAD), Collegiate Esports Leagues & Tournaments (MPAKANAG), Collegiate & Scholastic Esports Tournaments (MPAGANAE)

Keywords

• Collegiate athletic conference
• NCAA Division I sports
• Conference championships
• College basketball tournament
• Intercollegiate athletics

Headquarters

HQ city

Springfield

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Television Broadcasting Rights: CBS Sports pays for rights to broadcast MVC men's basketball games, including tournament semifinals and championship. The 2026 State Farm MVC Tournament championship aired on March 8 with additional coverage on CBS Sports Network and Paramount+.
2. Championship Event Revenue: Revenue generated from hosting championship tournaments across 12 sports including basketball, baseball, softball, tennis, golf, track and field, cross country, swimming and diving, volleyball, soccer, and esports.
3. NCAA Tournament Revenue Distribution: Conference receives automatic NCAA Tournament bids and associated revenue distributions for member schools through conference tournament champions like UIC baseball (2026).

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) organizes and administers NCAA Division I conference championships across 12 sports for its 12 member institutions, functioning as a governing athletic body that schedules regular-season competition, crowns tournament champions, awards automatic NCAA postseason bids, and distributes resulting revenue (including NCAA Tournament allocations and broadcast rights income) back to its member schools. Its flagship commercial offering is the men's basketball tournament branded "Arch Madness," held in St. Louis since 1989 and televised by CBS Sports since 2015; the conference also runs the women's basketball tournament, baseball, softball, tennis, golf, track and field, cross country, swimming and diving, volleyball, soccer, and esports championships through centralized digital and broadcast channels.

Product overview

The Missouri Valley Conference operates as a collegiate athletic conference offering a unified portfolio of sports championship events and media coverage across its official website. The core products include Arch Madness (the Men's Basketball Tournament brand), the MVC Women's Basketball Tournament, and championship central coverage for sports including baseball, softball, tennis, track and field, golf, volleyball, soccer, swimming and diving, cross country, and esports. All championship events and sports news are managed and delivered through the mvc-sports.com platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• MVC-Sports.com Official Conference Website The official digital platform of the Missouri Valley Conference, providing news, schedules, standings, Championship Central, Valley Videos, and multimedia content for all 12 MVC sports and 12 member institutions.
• Arch Madness Men's Basketball Tournament The flagship annual NCAA Division I men's basketball championship event of the Missouri Valley Conference, held at Enterprise Center in St. Louis, televised nationally on CBS Sports Network and Paramount+.
• MVC Women's Basketball Tournament The MVC's annual NCAA Division I women's basketball championship tournament, crowning the conference's automatic NCAA Tournament qualifier; relocating to St. Louis in 2027 under the Arch Madness brand alongside the men's event.
• MVC 2025-26 Multi-Sport Championship Series The annual slate of 12 NCAA Division I conference championship events across men's and women's cross country, soccer, volleyball, swimming and diving, indoor/outdoor track and field, basketball, esports, golf, tennis, softball, and baseball, hosted at member-institution and partner venues across the Midwest.

Quantifiable outcome

• 2026 MVC Baseball Champion UIC advanced to NCAA Tournament for first time since 2019
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• CBS SportscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 14 October 2025CBS Sports will televise Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball games for the 11th straight year. The 2026 State Farm MVC Tournament championship aired on March 8, with semifinals broadcast on CBS Sports Network and the championship also available on Paramount+.
• ESPN+coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorESPN+ streams MVC baseball championships including the 2026 tournament with all games available on The Valley on ESPN and ESPN+. Live stats provided through StatBroadcast.
• Murray StatecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMurray State served as host institution for the 2026 MVC Baseball Championship held at Johnny Reagan Field at Taylor Family Park in Murray, Kentucky.
• Evansville Regional Sports CommissionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEvansville Regional Sports Commission hosted the 2026 Swimming & Diving Championship at Deaconess Aquatic Center.
• Credit Union 1minorGTM or Marketing PartnerCredit Union 1 served as presenting sponsor for the 2026 MVC Baseball Championship.
• Murray Convention and Visitor's BureauminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMurray Convention and Visitor's Bureau co-presented the 2026 MVC Baseball Championship with Credit Union 1.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Horizon League: Another NCAA Division I mid-major conference with similar membership size, Midwest footprint, and revenue structure. Most directly comparable as a peer conference competing for broadcast rights, NCAA bids, and member institutions in similar regional territory.
• Ohio Valley Conference: Mid-major NCAA Division I conference with comparable institutional profile and basketball-heavy media revenue model. Overlapping member school geography and similar broadcast tier make this a directly comparable peer.
• Summit League: Mid-major NCAA Division I conference with a similar size and member-institution profile, anchored in the Midwest/Upper Midwest. Comparable in broadcast reach, championship structure, and revenue scale to MVC.
• West Coast Conference: Mid-major NCAA Division I conference known for basketball-heavy media attention (Gonzaga brand) with similar 12-sport championship structure. Comparable business model focused on NCAA tournament access and basketball broadcast deals.
• Colonial Athletic Association: Mid-major NCAA Division I conference with similar membership scale and multi-sport championship operations. Comparable in NCAA tournament credits, broadcast strategy, and conference realignment exposure.
• Big Sky Conference: Mid-major NCAA Division I conference with comparable member-institution scale and operational scope across multiple sports. Overlapping broadcast tier and NCAA tournament access economics.
• Patriot League: Mid-major NCAA Division I conference with similar institutional scale, scholarship structure, and multi-sport championship operations. Comparable in broadcast distribution and NCAA tournament access revenue.
• Southern Conference: Mid-major NCAA Division I conference with comparable membership scale, multi-sport championship operations, and basketball-centric broadcast focus. Directly comparable in realignment risk and media-rights tier.
• Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN): Mid-major NCAA Division I conference with comparable size and operational structure across multiple sports. Similar broadcast tier and NCAA tournament access economics.

Broad incumbents

• Big Ten Conference: Major NCAA Division I conference operating in overlapping Midwest geography. Not a direct competitor on the same tier, but directly relevant as the largest realignment threat and revenue benchmark for MVC and its member institutions.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCWY2R0eUzFPURqBhT3zVzZA
• Xx.com/mvcsports
• Facebookfacebook.com/MissouriValleyConference
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/missouri-valley-conference

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Missouri Valley Conference