The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The conference was originally formed on July 1, 1969, as the Pacific Coast Athletic Association (PCAA), and in 1988 was renamed the Big West Conference. The conference stopped sponsoring college football after the 2000 season.
The NCAA Division I men's soccer tournament, sometimes known as the College Cup, is an American intercollegiate soccer tournament conducted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and determines the Division I men's national champion. The tournament was formally held in 1959, when it was an eight-team tournament. Since then, the tournament has expanded to 48 teams, in which every Division I conference tournament champion is allocated a berth. Among the most successful programs, Saint Louis won 10 titles during dynasty years between 1959 and 1973. Indiana has won 8 titles beginning in 1982, whereas Virginia has won 7 titles beginning in 1989. Syracuse won its first national title in its first appearance in 2022.
The Summit League, or The Summit, is an NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletic conference with its membership mostly located in the Midwestern United States, from Minnesota in the east, to the Dakotas, Nebraska and Colorado to the West, and Missouri and Oklahoma to the South. Founded as the Association of Mid-Continent Universities in 1982, it rebranded as the Mid-Continent Conference in 1989, then again as the Summit League on June 1, 2007. The league headquarters are in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
The North Dakota State Bison are the athletic teams of North Dakota State University (NDSU), which is located in the city of Fargo, North Dakota. The teams are often called the "Thundering Herd". The current logo is a bison.
The Eastern Illinois Panthers are the intercollegiate athletic programs of Eastern Illinois University (EIU) located in Charleston, Illinois, United States. The Panthers athletic program is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) and competes at the NCAA Division I level in the Football Championship Subdivision. EIU's colors are blue and gray. Selected as the team mascot in 1930, EIU's panther was informally known as "Billy" for many years and was officially named "Billy the Panther" in 2008. Panther teams have won five NCAA national championships in three sports. The Panthers also won the 1969 NAIA men's soccer title.
The Penn State Nittany Lions are the athletic teams of Pennsylvania State University, except for the women's basketball team, known as the Lady Lions. The school colors are navy blue and white. The school mascot is the Nittany Lion. The intercollegiate athletics logo was commissioned in 1983.
The Valparaiso Beacons is the name of the athletic teams from Valparaiso University – often referred to as Valpo – in Valparaiso, Indiana, United States. The Beacons compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level and are members of the Missouri Valley Conference in all sports except football, bowling, and men's swimming.
The Oral Roberts Golden Eagles are the sixteen intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Oral Roberts University, located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Golden Eagles compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Summit League, which it officially joined on July 1, 2014.
The Oakland University Golden Grizzlies are the athletic teams that represent Oakland University (OU) in the Horizon League and Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The school fields 16 teams: baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's golf, men's and women's soccer, softball, men's and women's swimming and diving, women's tennis, men's and women's track, and women's volleyball.
The South Dakota State Jackrabbits are the 19 intercollegiate teams representing South Dakota State University that compete in the U.S. National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. SDSU is currently a member of the Summit League, the Missouri Valley Football Conference, the Big 12 Conference and Varsity Equestrian. The university won numerous conference championships and several national titles including the NCAA College Division national title in men's basketball in 1963 and the NCAA Division II national title in women's basketball in 2003.
The Omaha Mavericks are the sports teams of the University of Nebraska Omaha. They participate in the NCAA's Division I and in The Summit League, except in ice hockey, where they compete in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC).
The Denver Pioneers are the sports teams of the University of Denver (DU). They play in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I, and have amassed 35 NCAA titles as of 2024, which is in the top 15 among all schools. Denver is a member of The Summit League for men's and women's basketball, swimming and diving, men's and women's soccer, tennis and golf for both men and women, plus women's volleyball. Other DU teams play in various conferences in the sports that are not sponsored by The Summit. The men's ice hockey team is a charter member of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC), which formed in 2011 with play beginning in 2013. The lacrosse teams for men and women are members of the Big East Conference; the men began Big East play in the 2013–14 school year, while the women left the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) after the 2016 lacrosse season. Men's and women's skiing compete in the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association, while the women's gymnastics team became an affiliate of the Big 12 Conference starting with the 2015–16 season.
The Summit League men's soccer tournament is the conference championship tournament in soccer for the Summit League. The tournament has been held every year since 1994. It is a single-elimination tournament and seeding is based on regular season records. The winner, declared conference champion, receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I men's soccer championship.
The 2018 Summit League women's soccer tournament was the postseason women's soccer tournament for the Summit League held on November 1 and 3, 2018. The three-match tournament took place at Fishback Soccer Park in Brookings, South Dakota. The four-team single-elimination tournament consisted of two rounds based on seeding from regular season conference play. The Denver Pioneers were the defending champions, and successfully defended their title with a 4–0 victory over the Omaha Mavericks in the final. The win earned Denver the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The tournament win was Denver's third as a member of the conference, all of which have come under coach Jeff Hooker.
The 2019 Summit League women's soccer tournament was the postseason women's soccer tournament for the Summit League held on November 7 and 9, 2019. The three-match tournament took place at Fishback Soccer Park in Brookings, South Dakota. The four-team single-elimination tournament consisted of two rounds based on seeding from regular season conference play. The Denver Pioneers were the defending champions, and were unable to defend their title losing to South Dakota State on penalties in the final. The win earned South Dakota State the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The tournament win was Denver's fifth as a member of the conference, and the first for coach Brock Thompson.
The 2021 Summit League women's soccer tournament was the postseason women's soccer tournament for the Summit League held on November 4 and 6, 2021. The three-match tournament took place at University of Denver Soccer Stadium in Denver, Colorado. The four-team single-elimination tournament consisted of two rounds based on seeding from regular season conference play. The Denver Pioneers were the defending champions, and were unable to defend their title losing to South Dakota State in the final. The tournament win was South Dakota State's sixth as a member of the conference, and the second for coach Brock Thompson. South Dakota State has now won two of the past three Summit League tournaments. As tournament champions, South Dakota State earned the Summit League's automatic berth into the 2021 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament.
The 2021 Summit League men's soccer tournament was the postseason men's soccer tournament for the Summit League held on November 11 and 13, 2021. The three-match tournament took place at MacKenzie Alumni Field in Macomb, Illinois. The four-team single-elimination tournament consisted of two rounds based on seeding from regular season conference play. The Denver Pioneers were the defending champions after no tournament was held in 2020. Denver were champions in 2019. Denver successfully defended their title, defeating Oral Roberts in the final in a penalty shoot-out. The tournament win was Denver's seventh as a member of the conference, and the title was the fourth for head coach Jamie Franks. Denver has now won seven of the past eight Summit League tournaments. As tournament champions, Denver earned the Summit League's automatic berth into the 2021 NCAA Division I men's soccer tournament.
The 2020 Summit League women's soccer tournament was the postseason women's soccer tournament for the Summit League held on April 15 and 17, 2021. It was played in the spring of 2021 along with the conference season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The three-match tournament took place at Caniglia Field in Omaha, Nebraska. The four-team single elimination tournament consisted of two rounds based on seeding from regular season conference play. South Dakota State was the defending champion, and were unable to defend their title, losing to Omaha in the semifinal game in penalties. Denver won the championship game over Omaha, which was their fourth since entering the conference and also for coach Jeff Hooker. Denver has now won or participated in the championship game in the last four tournaments.
The 2014 Summit League women's soccer tournament was the postseason women's soccer tournament for the Summit League held on November 6 and 8, 2014. The three-match tournament took place at CIBER Field at the University of Denver Soccer Stadium in Denver, Colorado. The four-team single-elimination tournament consisted of two rounds based on seeding from regular season conference play. The Denver Pioneers were the defending champions, but were unable to defend their title after they lost the final match to the champion: South Dakota State. The tournament win was South Dakota State's second as a member of the conference, and second for coach Lang Wedemeyer. As tournament champions, South Dakota State earned the Summit League's automatic berth into the 2014 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament.
