Mountain West–Missouri Valley Challenge
The Mountain West – Missouri Valley Challenge was an in-season NCAA Division I men's college basketball series, matching up teams from the Mountain West Conference (MW) and the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC). The series began in November 2009 and featured all of the MW teams against most of the MVC teams.[1][2] The series was discontinued after the 2018 iteration.[3]
The first challenge was held in 2009. The conferences agreed to a four-year deal, extending the challenge through 2012.[4] The challenge was not extended beyond its original term and ended after 2012.[5] However, it was announced on April 2, 2015 that the conferences would renew the series in 2015.[6] Since the Mountain West now has 11 members to the MVC's 10, all Missouri Valley members were competing in the renewed series, with one MW team sitting out.
The MW–MVC Challenge occurred from late November through December. The games are hosted by each of the schools. The first two series had nine games played each year, leaving one team from the 10-team MVC without an opponent. In 2011, only eight games were played, leaving two MVC teams without an opponent. With changes to the conference schools, each Challenge since the renewal of the series in 2015 featured 10 games.
The MW leads the series with three wins, one loss, and two ties. New Mexico and Wichita State had the best records at 5–1 each. However, Wichita State will not participate in any future Challenges since the school joined the American Athletic Conference on July 1, 2017.[7]
Team records
Mountain West Conference (3–1–2)
Institution | Wins | Losses |
---|---|---|
Air Force Falcons | 2 | 4 |
Boise State Broncos | 4 | 1 |
BYU Cougars* | 2 | 0 |
Colorado State Rams | 3 | 3 |
Fresno State Bulldogs | 1 | 2 |
Nevada Wolf Pack | 2 | 1 |
New Mexico Lobos | 5 | 1 |
San Diego State Aztecs | 6 | 2 |
San Jose State Spartans | 0 | 0 |
TCU Horned Frogs* | 1 | 2 |
UNLV Runnin' Rebels | 4 | 2 |
Utah Utes* | 1 | 1 |
Utah State Aggies | 1 | 1 |
Wyoming Cowboys | 4 | 2 |
Overall | 36 | 23 |
*School that has since left the MW.
Missouri Valley Conference (1–3–2)
Institution | Wins | Losses |
---|---|---|
Bradley Braves | 0 | 5 |
Creighton Bluejays* | 1 | 3 |
Drake Bulldogs | 2 | 4 |
Evansville Purple Aces | 2 | 3 |
Illinois State Redbirds | 2 | 3 |
Indiana State Sycamores | 5 | 3 |
Loyola Chicago Ramblers | 1 | 1 |
Missouri State Bears | 2 | 4 |
Northern Iowa Panthers | 3 | 3 |
Southern Illinois Salukis | 2 | 3 |
Valparaiso Crusaders | 2 | 0 |
Wichita State Shockers* | 5 | 1 |
Overall | 22 | 33 |
*School that has since left the MVC.
Results
2009
Date | MVC team | MW team | Score | Location | Challenge leader | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nov 13 | Bradley | BYU | 70–60 | Provo, UT | MW (1–0) | |||
Nov 20 | Indiana State | Colorado State | 65–60 | Terre Haute, IN | Tie (1–1) | |||
Nov 21 | Southern Illinois | UNLV | 78–69 | Las Vegas, NV | MW (2–1) | |||
Dec 5 | Missouri State | Air Force | 58–48 | Springfield, MO | Tie (2–2) | |||
Dec 12 | Wichita State | TCU | 80–68 | Wichita, KS | MVC (3–2) | |||
Dec 19 | Creighton | New Mexico | 66–61 | Albuquerque, NM | Tie (3–3) | |||
Dec 19 | Illinois State | Utah | 73–63 | Salt Lake City, UT | MVC (4–3) | |||
Dec 22 | Drake | San Diego State | 76–73 OT | Des Moines, IA | Tie (4–4) | |||
Dec 23 | Northern Iowa | Wyoming | 72–54 | Cedar Falls, IA | MVC (5–4) | |||
Bold Team denotes winner |
- Evansville did not participate in the 2009 Challenge.
2010
Date | MVC team | MW team | Score | Location | Challenge leader | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dec 1 | Creighton | BYU | 77–65 | Omaha, NE | MW (1–0) | |||
Dec 1 | Drake | Colorado State | 78–67 | Fort Collins, CO | MW (2–0) | |||
Dec 1 | Southern Illinois | New Mexico | 74–59 | Carbondale, IL | MW (3–0) | |||
Dec 1 | Illinois State | UNLV | 51–82 | Normal, IL | MW (4–0) | |||
Dec 4 | Indiana State | Wyoming | 81–51 | Laramie, WY | MW (5–0) | |||
Dec 4 | Northern Iowa | TCU | 64–60 | Fort Worth, TX | MW (5–1) | |||
Dec 4 | Bradley | Utah | 68–60 | Peoria, IL | MW (6–1) | |||
Dec 4 | Wichita State | San Diego State | 83–69 | San Diego, CA | MW (7–1) | |||
Dec 5 | Evansville | Air Force | 57–56 | Colorado Springs, CO | MW (8–1) | |||
Bold Team denotes winner |
- Missouri State did not participate in the 2010 Challenge.
2011
Date | MVC team | MW team | Score | Location | Challenge leader | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nov 30 | No. 22 Creighton | San Diego State | 85–83 | San Diego, CA | MVC (1–0) | |||
Dec 3 | Drake | Air Force | 62–60 | Des Moines, IA | MVC (2–0) | |||
Dec 3 | Indiana State | Boise State | 74–65 | Boise, ID | MVC (2–1) | |||
Dec 3 | Northern Iowa | Colorado State | 83–77 | Cedar Falls, IA | MVC (3–1) | |||
Dec 3 | Missouri State | New Mexico | 76–60 | Albuquerque, NM | MVC (3–2) | |||
Dec 3 | Evansville | TCU | 70–68 | Evansville, IN | Tied (3–3) | |||
Dec 3 | Bradley | Wyoming | 66–49 | Laramie, WY | MW (4–3) | |||
Dec 4 | Wichita State | No. 20 UNLV | 89–70 | Wichita, KS | Tied (4–4) | |||
Bold Team denotes winner |
- The Mountain West Conference had two member schools leave the conference (BYU and Utah) and added Boise State prior to the 2011 Challenge, leaving the MW with eight member schools. Accordingly, only eight games were played.
- Illinois State and Southern Illinois did not participate in the 2011 Challenge.
2012
Date | MVC team | MW team | Score | Location | Challenge Leader | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nov 17 | Missouri State | No. 23 San Diego State | 60–44 | Springfield, MO | MW (1–0) | |||
Nov 28 | No. 11 Creighton | Boise State | 83–70 | Omaha, NE | MW (2–0) | |||
Nov 28 | Southern Illinois | Fresno State | 57–54 | Carbondale, IL | MW (2–1) | |||
Nov 30 | Drake | Nevada | 76–66 | Reno, NV | Tied (2–2) | |||
Dec 1 | Evansville | Colorado State | 79–72 | Fort Collins, CO | MW (3–2) | |||
Dec 1 | Indiana State | No. 25 New Mexico | 77–68 OT | Terre Haute, IN | MW (4–2) | |||
Dec 2 | Wichita State | Air Force | 72–69 | Colorado Springs, CO | MW (4–3) | |||
Dec 4 | Illinois State | Wyoming | 81–67 | Normal, IL | MW (5–3) | |||
Dec 19 | Northern Iowa | No. 21 UNLV | 73–59 | Las Vegas, NV | MW (6–3) | |||
Bold Team denotes winner |
- The Mountain West Conference had one member leave the conference (TCU) and added Nevada and Fresno State prior to the 2012 Challenge, returning the conference to nine member schools. Accordingly, nine games were played.
- Bradley did not participate in the 2012 Challenge.
2015
Date | Time | MVC team | MW team | Score | Location | Television | Attendance | Challenge leader |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nov 13 | 6:00 pm | Southern Illinois | Air Force | 77–75 | SIU Arena • Carbondale, IL | ESPN3 | 4,759 | MVC (1–0) |
8:00 pm | Illinois State | San Diego State | 71–61 | Viejas Arena • San Diego, CA | ESPN3 | 12,414 | Tie (1–1) | |
Nov 14 | 10:00 AM | Northern Iowa | Colorado State | 84–78 | McLeod Center • Cedar Falls, IA | ESPN3 | 4,455 | MW (2–1) |
Nov 16 | 5:00 pm | Indiana State | Wyoming | 70–55 | Hulman Center • Terre Haute, IN | ESPN3 | 3,601 | Tie (2–2) |
Nov 18 | 7:00 pm | Loyola–Chicago | New Mexico | 75–51 | The Pit • Albuquerque, NM | Root Sports | 11,951 | MW(3–2) |
Dec 1 | 6:00 pm | Missouri State | Utah State | 69–68 | JQH Arena • Springfield, MO | ESPN3 | 3,694 | MW (4–2) |
Dec 9 | 6:00 pm | Wichita State | UNLV | 56–50 | Charles Koch Arena • Wichita, KS | ESPN2 | 10,506 | MW (4–3) |
Dec 12 | 5:00 pm | Drake | Nevada | 79–71 | Lawlor Events Center • Reno, NV | 5,541 | MW (5–3) | |
Dec 20 | 12:00 pm | Bradley | Boise State | 90–70 | Taco Bell Arena • Boise, ID | Root Sports | 4,405 | MW (6–3) |
2:00 pm | Evansville | Fresno State | 85–77 | Save Mart Center • Fresno, CA | 5,251 | MW (6–4) | ||
WINNERS ARE IN BOLD. Game Times in MST. The Challenge was not held between the 2012 and 2015 seasons. During this time period, Creighton left the MVC for the Big East in 2013 and was replaced by Loyola–Chicago, keeping the MVC at 10 members. The MW also added San Jose State and Utah State in 2013, expanding to 11 members. Accordingly, 10 games were played in the 2015 Challenge. San Jose State did not participate in the 2015 Challenge. |
2016
2017
Date | Time | MVC team | MW team | Score | Location | Television | Attendance | Challenge leader |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nov 28 | 6:00 pm | Valparaiso | Utah State | 72–65 | Athletics–Recreation Center • Valparaiso, IN | ESPN3 | 2,949 | MVC 1–0 |
6:00 pm | Missouri State | Colorado State | 77–67 | JQH Arena • Springfield, MO | ESPN3 | 4,895 | MVC 2–0 | |
7:00 pm | Loyola–Chicago | Boise State | 87–53 | Taco Bell Arena • Boise, ID | 3,738 | MVC 2–1 | ||
Nov 29 | 5:00 pm | Indiana State | Air Force | 74–64 | Hulman Center • Terre Haute, IN | ESPN3 | 3,797 | MVC 3–1 |
6:00 pm | Northern Iowa | UNLV | 77–68OT | McLeod Center • Cedar Falls, IA | ESPN3 | 4,546 | MVC 4–1 | |
7:00 pm | Evansville | New Mexico | 78–59 | Dreamstyle Arena • Albuquerque, NM | AT&T | 8,943 | MVC 4–2 | |
8:00 pm | Illinois State | Nevada | 98–68 | Lawlor Events Center • Reno, NV | Stadium | 8,293 | MVC 4–3 | |
Dec 2 | 2:00 pm | Southern Illinois | San Jose State | 76–58 | SIU Arena • Carbondale, IL | ESPN3 | 4,026 | MVC 5–3 |
4:00 pm | Drake | Wyoming | 96–89OT | Arena-Auditorium • Laramie, WY | 4,853 | MVC 5–4 | ||
Dec 3 | 4:00 pm | Bradley | San Diego State | 75–52 | Viejas Arena • San Diego, CA | Stadium | 11,102 | TIE 5–5 |
WINNERS ARE IN BOLD. Game Times in MST. Fresno State did not participate in the 2017 Challenge.[8][9] San Jose State participated in the Challenge for the first time. After the 2016–17 season, Wichita State left the Missouri Valley Conference to join the American Athletic Conference. Valparaiso replaced Wichita State, keeping the MVC at 10 teams.[10] |
2018
References
- "Valley and Mountain West Announce Challenge Series". MVC-Sports.com. October 28, 2008.
- TN, Streamline Technologies - Nashville. "Valley and Mountain West Announce Challenge Series". ArchMadness.com. Retrieved 2017-05-17.
- BrendanJPrice (2018-12-05). "MVC-MW No More, Now What?". Mountain West Connection. Retrieved 2020-12-18.
- "Missouri Valley, MWC to start basketball series". Las Vegas Review-Journal. January 15, 2009. Retrieved January 16, 2009.
- Eisenberg, Jeff (May 16, 2012). "Mountain West-Missouri Valley Challenge won't showcase top teams". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
- "MVC and Mountain West Renew Challenge Series". MVC-Sports.com. April 2, 2015.
- "Shockers make move: Wichita State leaving MVC for AAC". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2017-05-17.
- "Breaking: Mountain West/Missouri Valley Challenge matchups announced". Mountain West Connection. 2017-05-15. Retrieved 2017-05-16.
- "Matchups Set For 2017 Mountain West/Missouri Valley Challenge". www.fanragsports.com. Retrieved 2017-05-16.
- "It's Official. Welcome, Valparaiso" (Press release). Missouri Valley Conference. May 25, 2017. Archived from the original on June 12, 2017. Retrieved May 26, 2017.