Life in the Valley

Bears Leaving Valley for Conference USA in Football-Driven Move

This should have been a great day for the Missouri Valley Conference.

Two of its best baseball teams, the Indiana State Sycamores and the Evansville Purple Aces, are set to resume their rivalry on ESPNU at 3:30 p.m. Central this afternoon with Mike Ferrin and Mike Rooney on the call. Indiana State is looking to add to its 3-game lead over UE and UIC, while the Purple Aces look to stay in the race for the regular-season championship and remind the Sycamores that the road to MVC glory might not be as easy to traverse as some would expect.

Today should have been a celebration of all that.

Instead, Missouri State jacked the party, announcing their intentions to join Conference USA as of July 1, 2025, according to several news outlets this morning. The move, unquestionably driven by Missouri State’s goal of playing in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS, formerly Division 1-A), removes another traditionally strong baseball program from the Valley – a conference that has seen the departures of Creighton, Wichita State, and Dallas Baptist in recent years. Valparaiso, UIC, Belmont, and Murray State have all been added in that time to try and stem the tide – while Loyola of Chicago both entered and exited.

“This is an exciting day for Missouri State,” said MSU President Clif Smart, in a statement released by the university Friday. “The opportunities associated with membership in an FBS conference allow us to continue to expand as a university and raise our reputation to the next level. We have valued our membership in the Missouri Valley Conference premier conference in the NCAA — and look forward to a final year in the league before we transition to CUSA.”

(Schools always “value” their membership in a league most when they announce they’re leaving it.)

From a baseball perspective, Conference USA is a competitive mid-major league. It was Dallas Baptist’s escape hatch when it left the Valley a couple years ago and also features programs such as Louisiana Tech and Western Kentucky, who both have 30+ wins this season. Sam Houston joined C-USA from the Southland recently (with a stop in the WAC, if I remember right). Other future Bears conference foes include Florida International, Jacksonville State, Liberty, Middle Tennessee State, New Mexico State, and fellow ’25 members Kennesaw State and Delaware. UTEP, a full C-USA member, doesn’t play baseball.

Whereas currently, Missouri State’s longer road trips for baseball were 500-mile rides to places like Chicago and Valparaiso, the Bears will now be looking at a monstrosity of a league that stretches from the east coast (Delaware) to the southeast (Kennesaw, FIU) to the southwest (New Mexico State). It is potentially a step forward for baseball in terms of conference scheduling, though not a major one. Upon entry, Missouri State will likely become the lone current C-USA program to have reached a College World Series, barring a team making it to Omaha this season.

The biggest question for loyal Valley fans now is where does the conference go from here. Saint Louis would be a great add from the Atlantic-10, but SLU isn’t leaving there thanks to basketball. Oral Roberts, currently in the Summit League, went to the College World Series in ’23 and became the first mid-major to win a game in Omaha since Coastal Carolina won the whole thing in 2016, but ORU has had a tough season (20-27-1) and are last in the 6-team Summit. Omaha, also from the Summit, could be a target if the Valley expands, but that wouldn’t be a friendly road trip for the eastern half of the Valley, especially since those 5 schools (Valpo, UE, Indiana State, Belmont, and Murray State) just saw their western-most road trip disappear.

But MVC expansion isn’t an “if.” It’s a must. And it must be considered from a baseball perspective. Arch Madness is the top of the organizational chart when it comes to everything not involved with MVC Football, but the conference has been a viable, challenging conference in baseball for a long time and that needs to continue. Now is not the time for idly melancholy as team after team jettisons. The MVC must be aggressive about adding 2-4 new baseball members. This would also help create a far more substantial basketball league (remember Drake and Northern Iowa are in the league but don’t play baseball).

Standing pat isn’t an option. Perhaps, after adding Belmont and Murray State from Tennessee and Kentucky, respectively, the Valley might be wise to continue that pattern. There are more strong and emerging mid-major baseball programs to be found in the South than there are in the Midwest. If Missouri State can join a conference where nearby foes Delaware and New Mexico State are colleagues, the Valley can look beyond its traditional boundaries for the sake of not only saving the league, but letting it thrive. Perhaps it’s time for overtures to other OVC schools or Southern Conference universities to expand the Valley’s profile.

Regardless of how it happens … Something must happen. This repeated scene of a strong Valley program bouncing for alleged greener pastures (more about that tomorrow) is getting old. Adding a couple more fair to middling midwestern programs, even if they are in nice TV markets, isn’t going to do.

TV markets don’t get teams to regionals. They don’t raise the profile of conferences. Good baseball does that. Good recruiting does that. Good coaches and players do that. The Valley has all of those things. It’s time to get serious about building on that and not just 1 addition at a time.

And by the way, yes, one of the biggest games of the Valley season is today. It’s unfortunate Missouri State chose today to announce their move, spoiling the party for the rest of the league. But in this conference realignment world, it’s everybody for themselves.

It’s time for the Valley to go get the schools who will usher in a new wonderful era of MVC baseball.

The future of Valley baseball is at stake.

Today on Valley Diamonds: All of these are of course weather permitting. Been a rough weather week for many in Valley locales. All times Central.

Evansville at #20 Indiana State, 3:30 p.m., ESPNU
Missouri State at Belmont, 4, ESPN+
Valparaiso at Murray State, 5, ESPN+
Bradley at Southern Illinois, 6, ESPN+
Illinois State at UIC, 6, ESPN+

If You’re Still Starved for More College Baseball: If you’re looking for a game to watch once all the Valley action has ended, the final game of the day on ESPN+ features Abilene Christian at Grand Canyon at 9 p.m.