June 2, 2016 MVC Release
ST. LOUIS - Missouri State University has been selected to host three conference championship events during the 2016-17 academic year, the Missouri Valley Conference announced Thursday (June 2).
The Bears will host the 2016 MVC Men's Soccer Championship at Betty and Bobby Allison South Stadium, November 8-13; the 2017 MVC Outdoor Track & Field Championships, also at Allison South Stadium, May 11-14; and the 2017 MVC Baseball Championship at Hammons Field, May 24-27.
These site awards were approved by the league's Joint Committee (faculty athletics representatives, directors of athletics and senior woman administrators of each institution) and are subject to ratification at the MVC Presidents' Council meeting on June 16.
"We're very pleased that The Valley has selected us to host these events," said Missouri State Director of Athletics Kyle Moats. "This will give us an opportunity to showcase the new Betty and Bobby Allison South Stadium for two great championship events. And we're always proud to host postseason baseball events at Hammons Field and look forward to serving as the host institution for the 2017 tournament there."
MSU last hosted the MVC men's soccer tournament in 1998 when Cooper Soccer Complex served as the host facility. The Bears fell 1-0 to No. 13 Creighton in that championship game and look forward to the opportunity to play host to the event in the heart of the Springfield campus for the first time this fall. The new-look soccer event will feature games on Nov. 8, 9, 11 and 13 with all seven league teams advancing to the tournament. Tuesday's single match will feature the No. 6 seed vs. the No. 7 seed with the winner facing the No. 3 seed on Wednesday. The semifinals will be played Friday with the championship match on Sunday, Nov. 13. The winner of the tournament receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship. All six matches will be on The Valley on ESPN3
After waiting 22 years, the Bears will host the 2017 MVC Outdoor Track & Field Championships, May 11-14. Missouri State has hosted the MVC Outdoor Track & Field meet just once when the event was held at Robert W. Plaster Stadium in 1995. MSU also served as the host for the 1991 Gateway Conference (women's) track finals in 1991 at Plaster.
Betty and Bobby Allison South Stadium is nestled in between JQH Arena and Glass Hall on the main MSU campus in Springfield. The soccer and track complex has 1,000 permanent seats with designed room for portable seating areas along the west side. The lighted facility, which opened in 2014-15, also has a state-of-the-art scoreboard, two locker rooms, press box, concessions area and artificial turf infield.
On the baseball side, Hammons Field will serve as the host site of the Valley baseball event for the fourth time. The Bears most-recently hosted the tournament in 2012 and played host at the 8,000-seat facility in 2004 and 2007. Hammons Field was also the host site for the 2015 NCAA Springfield Regional. All games of the 2017 Championship will be televised live on ESPN3.
Other championship sites announced by MVC Commissioner Doug Elgin for 2016-17 are: Women's Individual Tennis at Evansville, Ind.; Cross Country at Cedar Falls, Iowa; Women's Soccer at Normal, Ill.; Volleyball at Cedar Falls, Iowa; Women's Swimming & Diving at Iowa City, Iowa; Indoor Track & Field at Cedar Falls, Iowa; Women's Golf at Cape Girardeau, Mo.; Men's Golf at Chicago, Ill.; Men's and Women's Team Tennis at Normal, Ill.; and Softball at Normal, Ill. The MVC Men's Basketball Championship will return to Scottrade Center in St. Louis, March 2-5, while the Women's Basketball Championship will be back in Moline, Ill., for a second season, March 9-12.
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