Mississippi Valley Conference (college)

The Mississippi Valley Conference was an intercollegiate athletic conference that existed from 1928 to 1934. The league had members in the states of Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee. ^[1]

The Mississippi Valley Conference was formed on December 10, 1927, in Memphis, Tennessee, with ten charter members:

• Bethel College in Russellville, Kentucky
• Bethel College—now known as Bethel University—in McKenzie, Tennessee
• Delta State Teachers College—now known as Delta State University—in Cleveland, Mississippi
• Jonesboro College in Jonesboro, Arkansas
• Lambuth College—now known as Lambuth University—in Jackson, Tennessee
• Murray State Teachers College—now known as Murray State University—in Murray, Kentucky
• Sunflower Junior College—now known as Mississippi Delta Community College—in Moorhead, Mississippi
• University of Tennessee Junior College—now known as the University of Tennessee at Martin—in Martin, Tennessee
• West Tennessee State Teachers College—now known as the University of Memphis—in Memphis, Tennessee
• Will Mayfield College in Marble Hill, Missouri ^{[2] [3]}

Three more schools were admitted to the conference in December 1930:

• Freed–Hardeman College—now known as Freed–Hardeman University—in Henderson, Tennessee
• Middle Tennessee State Teachers College—now known as Middle Tennessee State University—in Murfreesboro, Tennessee
• Tennessee Polytechnic Institute—now known as Tennessee Tech—Cookeville, Tennessee ^[4]

Murray State withdrew from the conference in January 1931, after the school was admitted to the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA). ^[5]

Football champions

1928 – Murray State [6] 1929 – West Tennessee State Teachers [7] 1930 – West Tennessee State Teachers [8]

1931 – Tennessee Poly [9] [10] 1932 – Bethel (TN) [11]

1933 – Bethel (TN) [12] 1934 – Bethel (TN) [13]

Yearly football standings

1928 Mississippi Valley Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Murray State $ 6 – 0 – 0 9 – 0 – 1 West Tennessee State Teachers 4 – 1 – 1 5 – 3 – 2 Bethel (TN) 3 – 1 – 2 4 – 3 – 2 Lambuth 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Delta State 2 – 2 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 Tennessee Junior 2 – 4 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 Jonesboro College 1 – 3 – 1 1 – 6 – 1 Will Mayfield 1 – 3 – 0 1 – 7 – 1 Sunflower Junior 0 – 2 – 0 0 – 2 – 0 Bethel (KY) 0 – 3 – 0 0 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1929 Mississippi Valley Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T West Tennessee State Teachers $ 5 – 0 – 1 8 – 0 – 2 Murray State 3 – 1 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Delta State 2 – 1 – 2 5 – 1 – 2 Lambuth 3 – 2 – 1 4 – 5 – 0 Caruthersville Junior 2 – 2 – 1 2 – 2 – 1 Tennessee Junior 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Bethel (TN) 2 – 3 – 0 2 – 5 – 0 Will Mayfield 1 – 2 – 0 3 – 4 – 0 Sunflower Junior 0 – 1 – 1 0 – 1 – 1 Jonesboro College 0 – 5 – 0 0 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1932 Mississippi Valley Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Bethel (TN) $ 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 1 – 0 Tennessee Poly 2 – 0 – 1 4 – 0 – 3 Delta State 3 – 1 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Sunflower Junior 2 – 1 – 0 2 – 1 – 0 Jonesboro College 2 – 2 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 West Tennessee State Teachers 2 – 2 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Tennessee Junior 1 – 2 – 2 1 – 4 – 3 Lambuth 1 – 6 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 Freed–Hardeman 0 – 3 – 1 1 – 3 – 1 $ – Conference champion	1933 Mississippi Valley Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T West Tennessee State Teachers 3 – 0 – 0 7 – 1 – 1 Sunflower Junior 2 – 1 – 0 2 – 1 – 0 Bethel (TN) $ 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Tennessee Poly 1 – 1 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Lambuth 2 – 3 – 1 2 – 5 – 1 Delta State 1 – 2 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Freed–Hardeman 0 – 3 – 1 0 – 3 – 1 $ – Conference champion	1934 Mississippi Valley Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Bethel (TN) $ 6 – 0 – 0 7 – 1 – 0 West Tennessee State Teachers 1 – 0 – 0 3 – 3 – 2 Tennessee Junior 2 – 1 – 0 7 – 1 – 0 Freed–Hardeman 2 – 2 – 0 2 – 3 – 0 Delta State 2 – 3 – 0 2 – 6 – 1 Sunflower Junior 1 – 2 – 1 1 – 3 – 1 Lambuth 1 – 4 – 1 1 – 8 – 1 Northwest Mississippi 0 – 3 – 0 0 – 3 – 0 $ – Conference champion

See also

• List of defunct college football conferences

References

1. Mississippi Valley Conference Archived March 21, 2003, at the Wayback Machine , College Football Data Warehouse, retrieved October 28, 2015.
2. "Mississippi Valley Conference Formed With Ten Members". The Birmingham News . Birmingham, Alabama. Associated Press. December 11, 1927. p. 5, sports section. Retrieved May 13, 2023– via Newspapers.com .
3. "Date For Meeting Set—Mississippi Valley Conference Heads To Convene December 13". The Cincinnati Enquirer . Cincinnati, OH. Associated Press. December 7, 1929. p. 16. Retrieved May 13, 2023– via Newspapers.com .
4. "Three New Schools Admitted To M. V. C." The Commercial Appeal . Memphis, Tennessee. December 13, 1931. p. 13. Retrieved May 13, 2023– via Newspapers.com .
5. "Eastern At Top In KY. S. I. A. A. Basketball Race". The Sun-Democrat . Paducah, Kentucky. Associated Press. January 13, 1931. p. 6. Retrieved May 13, 2023– via Newspapers.com .
6. Mount, Wilson (November 24, 1928). "Local Teachers Bow To Murray, Ky., 40-0". The Commercial Appeal . Memphis, Tennessee. p. 24. Retrieved May 10, 2023– via Newspapers.com .
7. Mount, Wilson (December 2, 1929). "Teachers Close Greatest Grid Season in History". The Commercial Appeal . Memphis, Tennessee. p. 11. Retrieved May 13, 2023– via Newspapers.com .
8. "State Teachers Hold M. V. C. Title by Beating Junior Vols". The Commercial Appeal . Memphis, Tennessee. November 28, 1928. p. 20. Retrieved May 13, 2023– via Newspapers.com .
9. Bloom, David (December 10, 1931). "Miss. Valley Conference Faces Important Session". The Commercial Appeal . Memphis, Tennessee. p. 15. Retrieved May 10, 2023– via Newspapers.com .
10. "Tennessee Poly Given Valley Football Title". The Chattanooga Sunday Times . Chattanooga, Tennessee. December 13, 1931. p. 38. Retrieved May 10, 2023– via Newspapers.com .
11. "Trophy Awarded Bethel College". Nashville Banner . Nashville, Tennessee. December 13, 1932. p. 8. Retrieved May 13, 2023– via Newspapers.com .
12. "Bethel Trims Lambuth". The Commercial Appeal . Memphis, Tennessee. December 1, 1933. p. 25. Retrieved May 10, 2023– via Newspapers.com .
13. "Bethel Smothers Lambuth Eagles Under 40-0 Score". The Nashville Tennessean . Nashville, Tennessee. November 30, 1934. p. 21. Retrieved May 10, 2023– via Newspapers.com .