The Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC), formerly the Gateway Football Conference, is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) as a football-only conference.
The Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It participates in Division I of the NCAA; the conference's football programs compete in partnership with the Big South Conference in the Football Championship Subdivision, the lower of two levels of Division I football competition. The OVC has 11 members, six of which compete in football in the conference.
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 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 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.
Hanson Field is a 16,368-seat multi-purpose stadium in Macomb, Illinois, USA. The stadium which opened in 1950 is home to the Western Illinois Leathernecks football team and track and field team. The field is named after former WIU football coach/A.D. and Marine legend Rock Hanson. A unique feature of the facility is an extensive hillside that surrounds the field allowing for additional seating for thousands of spectators. Outside the stadium, a statue of former WIU track and field coach and two time Olympic gold medalist Lee Calhoun stands and a bulldog statue is located at the main entrance.
The Western Illinois Leathernecks men's basketball team represents Western Illinois University of Macomb, Illinois, in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's college basketball competition. As of the 2023–24 NCAA season, the Leathernecks compete in the Ohio Valley Conference.
The Houston Christian Huskies, HCU or Huskies are the athletic teams that represent Houston Christian University, located in Houston, Texas, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the Division I level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the Southland Conference for most of its sports since the 2013–14 academic year; as of the current 2023 NCAA soccer season, its men's soccer team competes in the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC). The Huskies previously competed the D-I Great West Conference from 2008–09 to 2012–13 after spending one season as an NCAA D-I Independent during the 2007–08 school year ; in the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) from 1998–99 to 2006–07; and as an NAIA Independent from 1989–90 to 1997–98. Houston Christian's (HCU) official school colors are royal blue and orange.
The Western Illinois Leathernecks football program is the intercollegiate American football team for Western Illinois University located in Macomb, Illinois. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and are members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC). The school's first football team was fielded in 1902. The team plays its home games at the 16,368 seat Hanson Field. The Leathernecks are playing one final MVFC campaign in the fall of 2023 before joining the football alliance between the Big South Conference and Western's primary home of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) in 2024.
The Western Illinois Leathernecks baseball team is the varsity intercollegiate baseball program of Western Illinois University in Macomb, Illinois, United States. The team is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference, which is part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. Western Illinois’ first baseball team was fielded in 1903-04. The team plays its home games at Alfred D. Boyer Stadium, located on Western Illinois's campus. The Leathernecks are coached by Terry Davis. The Leathernecks became a member of the Ohio Valley Conference on July 1, 2023.
The Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles are the athletic teams that represent the University of Southern Indiana, located outside Evansville in Vanderburgh County, Indiana, in NCAA Division I intercollegiate sports. The Screaming Eagles compete as members of the Ohio Valley Conference. Southern Indiana had previously been a member of the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Valley Conference from 1978 to 2022, when the school announced it would reclassify to NCAA Division I.
The Eastern Illinois Panthers men's soccer team represents Eastern Illinois University (EIU) as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference in NCAA Division I soccer. The Panthers play their home matches at Lakeside Soccer Field located directly south of the Lantz Arena complex on the EIU campus in Charleston, Illinois.
The Tennessee State Tigers and Lady Tigers are the intercollegiate athletic teams of Tennessee State University (TSU), located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. The Tigers athletic program is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) and competes in the NCAA Division I, including the Football Championship Subdivision. The women's track team is also known as the Tigerbelles. As a member of the Ohio Valley Conference, Tennessee State is one of three HBCUs competing in Division I that is not a member of an athletic conference made up entirely of historically black institutions, the other two being Hampton University and North Carolina A&T State University of the Colonial Athletic Association. The TSU mascot is Aristocat the Tiger, and the school colors are blue and white. TSU's main rival historically has been Kentucky State University, an HBCU located in the capital of Tennessee's northern neighbor.
The Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference was a women's-only college athletic conference which operated in the midwestern United States from its inception in 1982 to its absorption by the Missouri Valley Conference in 1992.
The Western Illinois Leathernecks women's basketball team represents Western Illinois University of Macomb, Illinois, in NCAA Division I women's college basketball competition. The school's team currently competes in the Ohio Valley Conference. The Leathernecks became a member of the Ohio Valley Conference on July 1, 2023.
The 2022–23 Western Illinois Leathernecks men's basketball team represented Western Illinois University in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Leathernecks, led by third-year head coach Rob Jeter, played their home games at Western Hall in Macomb, Illinois, as members of the Summit League. they finished the season 16–14, 9–9 in Summit League play, to finish in a tie for fourth place. As the No. 4 seed in the Summit League tournament, they lost to St. Thomas in the quarterfinals.
The 2023 NCAA Division I men's soccer season was the 65th season of NCAA championship men's college soccer. The season began on August 24, 2023 and concluded on December 10, 2023. Syracuse is the defending national champion.
The 2023–24 Western Illinois Leathernecks men's basketball team represents Western Illinois University during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Leathernecks, led by first-year head coach Chad Boudreau, play their home games at Western Hall in Macomb, Illinois as first-year members of the Ohio Valley Conference.
The 2023–24 Western Illinois Leathernecks women's basketball team represented Western Illinois University during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Leathernecks, who were led by 13th-year head coach JD Gravina, played their home games at Western Hall in Macomb, Illinois, as first-year members of the Ohio Valley Conference.
The 2024 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team will represent Western Illinois University as a member of the Big South–OVC Football Association during the 2024 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They will be led by first year head coach Joe Davis. The Leathernecks will play home games at Hanson Field in Macomb, Illinois. This will be their first season as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference after leaving the Missouri Valley Football Conference following last season.
