The Great West Conference (GWC) was an NCAA college athletic conference in the continental United States. Originally a football-only league, it became an all-sports entity during the 2008–09 season. The GWC stopped sponsoring football following the 2011 season. The conference became defunct when four of the remaining five full member schools became members of other conferences on July 1, 2013.
The Horizon League is a collegiate athletic conference in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Headquartered in Indianapolis, the league's eleven member schools are located in and near the Great Lakes region.
The Detroit Mercy Titans are the athletic teams of University of Detroit Mercy. The university is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. The school primarily competes in the Horizon League, but competes in other conferences for fencing and lacrosse, sports not sponsored for either men or women by the Horizon League. Fencing, a co-ed sport, competes in the Midwest Fencing Conference. Men's lacrosse moved from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference to the ASUN Conference in July 2021. Women's lacrosse joined the Mid-American Conference for that league's first women's lacrosse season in 2021.
The 2006 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament was held from March 18 to April 4, 2006, at several sites, with the championship game held in Boston. The Maryland Terrapins, coached by Brenda Frese, won their first National Championship, beating the Duke Blue Devils, coached by Gail Goestenkors, 78–75 in overtime. Laura Harper of the Terrapins was named Most Outstanding Player.
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 National Basketball Association (NBA) playoffs is the annual elimination tournament held to determine the league champion. The four-round, best-of-seven tournament is held after the league's regular season and its preliminary postseason tournament, the NBA play-in tournament. Six teams from each of the two conferences automatically advance to the playoffs based on regular season winning percentage, while those teams finishing 7 through 10 from each conference compete in the play-in tournament to determine the final two playoff seeds.
The Youngstown State Penguins are the athletic teams of Youngstown State University of Youngstown, Ohio. The university is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division I, and the Penguins compete in football as members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference. Most other sports compete as members of the Horizon League.
The UIC Flames are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Illinois Chicago, located in Chicago, Illinois, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the Division I level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) since the 2022–23 academic year. The Flames previously competed in the D-I Horizon League from 1994–95 to 2021–22; in the D-I Mid-Continent Conference from 1982–83 to 1993–94; as an NCAA D-I Independent during the 1981–82 school year; and in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) from 1949–50 to about 1980–81. Michael Lipitz joined UIC in October 2019 as the athletic director.
The Loyola Ramblers are the varsity sports teams of Loyola University Chicago. Most teams compete in the Atlantic 10 Conference, which the school joined in 2022 after leaving the Missouri Valley Conference. They previously played in the Horizon League. Notable athletes from Loyola have included middle-distance runner Tom O'Hara, volleyball player Thomas Jaeschke, and basketball players Mike Novak, Jerry Harkness, Les Hunter, Wayne Sappleton, Alfredrick Hughes, LaRue Martin, and Blake Schilb. The nickname "Ramblers" was first used in 1926. The Loyola Ramblers departed from the Missouri Valley Conference and joined the Atlantic 10 Conference effective July 1, 2022.
The Mountain West Conference women's basketball tournament is the conference championship tournament in women's basketball for the Mountain West Conference. It is a single-elimination tournament involving all of the 11 league schools, and seeding is based on regular-season records with head-to-head match-up as a tie-breaker. The winner receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA women's basketball tournament.
The Horizon League men's basketball conference tournament is held annually at the end of the men's college basketball regular season. The tournament has been played each year since 1980. The winner of the tournament is designated the Horizon League Tournament Champion and receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA men's basketball tournament. The finals of the tournament are typically among the first held before the field for the NCAA tournament is announced.
The Loyola Ramblers men's basketball team represents Loyola University Chicago in Chicago, Illinois. The Ramblers participate as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. The Ramblers had joined the Missouri Valley Conference in 2013, and stayed until 2022. Prior to 2013, the team had spent 34 seasons as a charter member of the Horizon League.
Martell Bailey is an American basketball player who is most notable for his time spent as point guard for the UIC Flames men's basketball team from 2001 to 2004. He was the 2002–03 NCAA Division I men's basketball season assists leader and holds the Horizon League records for single-season and career assists in conference games. He was a two-time second team All-Horizon League selection, and he led the Flames to three of the four post season tournaments they have ever participated in, including two of their three NCAA Division I men's basketball tournaments. Bailey's three seasons at UIC are the school's only consecutive 20-win seasons and culminated with a school record 24 wins. He was not accorded a fourth year of eligibility for academic reasons.
The Atlantic 10 women's basketball tournament is the conference championship tournament in women's basketball for the Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10). It is a single-elimination tournament involving all 15 league schools, and seeding is based on regular-season records with head-to-head match-up as a tie-breaker. The winner receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA women's basketball tournament.
The Big South Conference women's basketball tournament is the conference championship tournament in women's basketball for the Big South Conference. It is a single-elimination tournament involving all of the 10 league schools, and seeding is based on regular-season records with head-to-head match-up as a tie-breaker. The winner receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA women's basketball tournament.
The SWAC women's basketball tournament is the conference championship tournament in women's basketball for the Southwestern Athletic Conference. It is a single-elimination tournament involving 8 of the 10 league schools, and seeding is based on regular-season records with head-to-head match-up as a tie-breaker. The winner has received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA women's basketball tournament since 1994.
The Ohio Valley Conference women's basketball tournament is the conference championship tournament in women's basketball for the Ohio Valley Conference. It is a single-elimination tournament involving 8 of the 11 league schools, and seeding is based on regular-season records with head-to-head matchup as a tiebreaker. The winner normally receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA women's basketball tournament. An exception was in 2024, when Southern Indiana swept the conference's regular-season and tournament titles but was not eligible for the NCAA tournament because of its ongoing transition from NCAA Division II. The highest seeds face off against the corresponding lowest seeds, with the two remaining teams facing off in the Finals to determine the champion. The tournament has been held since 1981.
The Northeast Conference women's basketball tournament is the conference championship tournament in women's basketball for the Northeast Conference. It is a single-elimination tournament that in its most recent 2024 edition involved 8 of the 9 then-current league schools, and seeding is based on regular-season records with head-to-head match-up as a tie-breaker. With the NEC dropping to 8 members in the 2024–25 season following the departure of Merrimack and Sacred Heart, plus the addition of Chicago State, the tournament will presumably include all members for the immediate future.
The 2022 Horizon League men's basketball tournament was the final event of the 2021–22 men's basketball season for the Horizon League. It was held March 1–8, 2022, with first-round and quarterfinal games played at the home courts of the higher seeds, and all remaining games contested at Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis. The winner, Wright State, received the conference's automatic berth into the NCAA tournament.
The 2022 Horizon League women's basketball tournament is the final event of the 2021–22 women's basketball season for the Horizon League. It began on March 1, 2022 and will end on March 8; first-round and quarterfinal games are played at the home courts of the higher seeds, with all remaining games at Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis. The winner will receive the conference's automatic berth into the NCAA tournament.
