Who should replace Missouri State in the Missouri Valley Conference?
I have a couple of suggestions that are relatively near to St. Louis.
With the news that Missouri State University is leaving the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC or The Valley) to join the Conference USA (C-USA) in 2025, who will take their place in The Valley, if they decide to replace Missouri State?
With the Bears departing The Valley, the MVC will have no Missouri-based teams despite having its league HQ there.
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (Edited News Release/KY3) - Missouri State University has accepted an invitation to join Conference USA as a full-league member, effective July 1, 2025. League and university officials announced the move on Friday morning.
The transition plans will be formally announced at a news conference on May 13 at 1 p.m. at Great Southern Bank Arena on the Springfield campus.
The announcement will officially place Missouri State University in the NCAA’s exclusive Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) for the first time.
Sam Federman at Mid-Major Madness:
The everlasting game of musical chairs known as conference realignment saw the music stop on Friday, and three schools found a new home.
[…]
The Bears athletic program has called the Missouri Valley Conference home for the last 34 years, winning one tournament championship (1992) and one regular season championship (2011) in men’s basketball. For Missouri State, the move elevates the status of the football program into the FBS. A founding member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (then known as the Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference) in 1985, the Bears have played in the FCS Playoffs four times, most recently in 2021.
This offseason, Missouri State fired head basketball coach Dana Ford, replacing him with Cuonzo Martin, who helmed the program to its 2011 regular season MVC championship, before leading the Tennessee, Cal, and Missouri programs.
In addition to Missouri State, Conference USA is also adding Kennesaw State (2024-25) and the University of Delaware (2025-26), to expand the conference to 12 programs.
Located in Springfield, Missouri, the university adds to the geographic diversity of Conference USA, which has eleven states represented in its twelve schools.
Dave Eminian writes in the Peoria Journal-Star on who should replace Missouri State in the MVC:
Missouri State announced Friday it will leave the Missouri Valley Conference after the 2024-25 season and head to Conference USA.
It's primarily a football move. In the basketball landscape, it's a step down the ladder from the MVC. But gone they are, and that leaves the Valley with 11 teams — and odd number and not what the league prefers.
So who will be the incoming 12th team in 2025-26? Will the league try to maintain a 6-6 public-private split in its membership? What schools are the best fit?
Eminian listed some suggestions: Wright State, Northern Kentucky University, University of Texas-Arlington (UT-Arlington), and University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC).
I have a couple of plausible candidates: Southeastern Missouri State (SEMO) and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE).
SEMO
Advantages:
Football program that is somewhat respectable, but not in the best shape.
Instant rivalries with SIUC and Murray State.
Keeps a foothold in Missouri for the MVC.
Disadvantages:
A 3rd team in the Cape Girardeau/Paducah/Carbondale DMA (SIUC and Murray State are also in the DMA).
No men’s soccer team.
SIUE
Advantages:
Former associate membership in Soccer, since their main conference (Ohio Valley Conference/OVC) didn’t sponsor it until recently.
A potential budding rivalry between SIUE and SIUC in Carbondale for the Battle of SIU Rivalry.
They could also have potential rivalries with Bradley and Illinois State University (ISU).
An actual presence in the St. Louis DMA, as it would be near their league HQ in St. Louis.
Disadvantages:
Football program is nonexistent.
Basketball program is low-mid-major.
My recommendation would be SEMO, since it is a Missouri school that has a football program. I’d love for SIUE to be in it, but since they don’t have a football program, they would be at a disadvantage.