The Missouri Valley Conference has announced its women’s basketball tournament will move to St. Louis, where the men’s tournament has been held for over three decades.
The tournament for both the men and women will be held on the same weekend, and the format also will change. The top 10 teams in the 11-team league will qualify for the postseason tournament and the top two seeds in each field will get automatic bids to the semifinals.
The tournament champion earns an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
League officials said that provides a “meaningful reward” for regular-season success “while preserving the excitement and intensity that have long defined MVC championship basketball.”
Last March, Belmont became the league’s first top-seeded men’s program to lose in the quarterfinal round. Sixth-seeded Northern Iowa won the four-day tournament that was filled with upsets.
The 2027 tournaments, scheduled for next March 3-7, have four first-round games for the women on Wednesday, four first-round games on Thursday, second-round games for both tournaments on Friday, semifinals on Saturday and both championship games on Sunday.
MVC commissioner Jeff Jackson said in a call with reporters a main driver of the changes was the NCAA's decision to expand to 76 teams next season, increasing the potential for the Valley to secure an at-large bid.
He said the double-bye format will enhance the league's chances by avoiding the risk of a quarterfinal upset for its top contenders.
"Being in a situation where you are having an opportunity to put your best teams forward probably enhances those opportunities," he said.
Jackson added opponents having to play two additional games will give the top two seeds a decided — and earned — advantage.
"We kinda felt that wearing them down a little bit would be a little bit more of an advantage for [seeds] 1 and 2," Jackson said.
Jackson said finances were not a consideration in merging the tournaments, despite attendance declines that have been felt throughout college basketball. Still, Jackson said the fans will benefit from having both tournaments at the same venue at the same time.
"I think it's going to be really hard to find another week in college basketball that's going to rival what we will have a chance to accomplish in St. Louis," he said.
Illinois State University Director of Athletics Jerri Beggs welcomed the changes.
“We all want to see multiple teams earn bids on the men’s and women’s side of the NCAA tournament, which directly benefits all conference schools through valuable NCAA tournament units,” Beggs said in an email.
Beggs said having both tournaments at the same venue will make it easier for each schools’ fans to watch both of their teams play.
”There will be a period of adjustment, but the Arch Madness brand is one of our strongest assets as a conference and I think the women’s tournament can benefit from the brand recognition, the outstanding facility, and the draw of the city of St. Louis.”
The MVC men’s tournament has been held at Enterprise Center in St. Louis since 1991. The women’s tournament has rotated among several venues in recent years. The games were played last season Coralville, Iowa. The 2025 tournament was played in Evansville, Indiana, after a nine-year run in the Quad Cities.
