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 and Nebraska to the West, and Missouri in the South, with additional members in the Western state of Colorado and the Southern state of Oklahoma. 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 Horizon League is a collegiate athletic conference in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, the league's eleven member schools are located in and near the Great Lakes region.
Homer Walter Drew Jr. is an American former college basketball coach and administrator who coached at Washington State, LSU, Bethel College, Indiana-South Bend, and Valparaiso. He retired from college basketball in 2011 with 640 career wins, which ranked him sixth amongst all Division I coaches at the time of his retirement. Drew was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019.
The 2006 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 65 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball as a culmination of the 2005–06 basketball season. It began on March 14, 2006, and concluded with the championship game on April 3 at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, Indiana.
The Summit League men's basketball tournament is the post-season tournament for NCAA Division I conference Summit League. The winner of the tournament receives the Summit League's automatic bid into the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship. The tournament was first played in 1984, when the league was known as the Association of Mid-Continent Universities (AMCU). The league was also known as the Mid-Continent Conference from 1989 to 2007, after which it was renamed to The Summit League.
The Oakland Golden Grizzlies are the men's basketball team that represent Oakland University in Auburn Hills, Michigan, United States. The school's team competes in the Horizon League and plays their home games at the Athletics Center O'rena. The Golden Grizzlies are coached by Greg Kampe. Kampe is the longest-tenured Division I head coach still actively coaching. Oakland last played in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament in 2011.
The Oral Roberts Golden Eagles men's basketball team is the basketball team representing Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The team is a member of Summit League.
The Valparaiso Beacons men's basketball team represents Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Indiana. The basketball team competes in the Missouri Valley Conference, having joined that league in 2017 after 10 seasons in the Horizon League. The Beacons play in the Athletics-Recreation Center, which has a nominal capacity of 5,432. The record capacity 5,444 was reached on March 23, 2016, in the NIT Quarterfinal. The team last played in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament in 2015.
The 2007 Mid-American Conference men's basketball tournament was the post-season men's basketball tournament for the Mid-American Conference (MAC) 2006–2007 season. It was won by No. 4 seed Miami University over No. 2 University of Akron 53–52 after a controversial finish. Miami guard Doug Penno banked in a three-point field goal with no time left on the clock to give Miami an apparent one-point victory. However, after a ten-minute delay, officials put 0.6 seconds back on the clock because the game clock did not start properly when Miami rebounded an Akron missed free throw. Because of the win in the conference tournament final, Miami was awarded the MAC's automatic berth into the 2007 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament.
The 2008 Summit League men's basketball tournament was won by Oral Roberts. It took place March 8–11, 2008 at the Union Multipurpose Activity Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The 2008 Mid-American Conference men's basketball tournament was the post-season men's basketball tournament for the Mid-American Conference (MAC) 2007–2008 season. It was won by the #1 seed Kent State Golden Flashes, who defeated their arch-rival and #3 seed Akron Zips 74–55 in front of 12,942 fans. Kent State center Haminn Quaintance led all scorers with 16 points and was named the tournament MVP.
The Summit League women's basketball tournament has existed since 1993. The winner of the tournament receives the Summit League's automatic bid into the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship.
The 2009–10 Oakland Golden Grizzlies men's basketball team were a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college basketball team representing Oakland University. Oakland finished the season 26–9 overall, 17–1 in The Summit League and were the league's regular season and conference tournament champions. The Golden Grizzlies received The Summit League's automatic berth into the NCAA tournament and, as a No. 14 seed, lost to No. 3 Pittsburgh in the first round.
The 2009–10 The Summit League men's basketball season is the 28th college basketball season in the conference's existence. The conference features ten teams that are competing for The Summit League regular season and tournament titles.
The Summit League Men's Basketball Player of the Year is an annual college basketball award given to the most outstanding men's basketball player in the Summit League. The award was first given following the 1982–83 season. Two players—Caleb Green of Oral Roberts and Mike Daum of South Dakota State—have won the award three times. Five other players have won the award twice: Jon Collins of Eastern Illinois, Tony Bennett of Wisconsin–Green Bay, Bryce Drew of Valparaiso, Keith Benson of Oakland and Max Abmas of Oral Roberts.
The 2010–11 Oakland Golden Grizzlies men's basketball team were a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college basketball team representing Oakland University. OU won the conference regular season and conference tournament title for the second consecutive year. Oakland received The Summit League's automatic berth into the 2011 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament as a #13 seed against #4 seeded Texas. The Golden Grizzlies lost the game 85–81.
Reginald Lamont Hamilton, Jr. is an American professional basketball player. In 2011–12, his senior year at Oakland University, Hamilton averaged 26.2 points per game to lead all of NCAA Division I in scoring. He scored 2,188 points between his time spent at UMKC and Oakland.
The 2015–16 Valparaiso Crusaders men's basketball team represented Valparaiso University during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Crusaders, led by fifth year head coach Bryce Drew, played their home games at the Athletics–Recreation Center and were members of the Horizon League. They finished the season 30–7, 16–2 in Horizon League play to win the regular season championship. They lost in the semifinals of the Horizon League tournament to Green Bay. As a regular season conference champion who failed to win their conference tournament, received an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament. As one of the last four teams left out of the NCAA tournament, they received a #1 seed in the NIT where they defeated Texas Southern, Florida State, Saint Mary's, and BYU to advance to the championship game where they lost to George Washington.
The 1999–2000 Valparaiso Crusaders men's basketball team represented Valparaiso University during the 1999–2000 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Crusaders, led by 12th-year head coach Homer Drew, played their home games at the Athletics–Recreation Center as members of the Mid-Continent Conference. Valpo finished second in the Mid-Con regular season standings, but went on to win the Mid-Con tournament to receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. As No. 16 seed in the Midwest region, the Crusaders lost to No. 1 seed an eventual National champion Michigan State, 65–38, to finish with a record of 19–13.
The 1996–97 Valparaiso Crusaders men's basketball team represented Valparaiso University during the 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Crusaders, led by ninth-year head coach Homer Drew, played their home games at the Athletics–Recreation Center as members of the Mid-Continent Conference. The Crusaders won Mid-Con regular season and tournament titles, and received an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as No. 12 seed in the West region. In the opening round, Valpo was beaten by No. 5 seed Boston College, 73–66. The team finished with a record of 24–7.
