MVC Release
 
ST. LOUIS – Missouri State University will serve as the host institution for four championship events during the 2018-19 athletic season, Missouri Valley Conference commissioner Doug Elgin announced Thursday (May 31) afternoon.
 
Notably, the Bears will host the MVC Volleyball Championship at Hammons Student Center on Thanksgiving weekend, Nov. 22-24.
 
MSU will also host three events away from the Springfield campus, starting with the MVC Individual Women's Tennis Championship at Cooper Tennis Complex in Springfield, Oct. 5-7. Later in the year, Missouri State will serve as the host institution for the MVC Women's Swimming & Diving Championships which will take place Feb. 20-23 in Columbia, Mo., and finally the Men's Golf Championship, April 22-23 at Sunrise Beach, Mo.
 
"We are honored to be selected to host four Missouri Valley Championship events next year, and I think it's great for our coaches and student-athletes to get that opportunity," said Director of Athletics Kyle Moats. "We also hosted four championships last year and three the year before. I think that speaks very highly of our staff, our fans and our facilities."
 
The MVC Volleyball Championship are being held at Hammons Student Center for the 10th time in program history. The Bears also hosted in 1982, 1984, 1991, 1993, 1996, 2003, 2007, 2012 and 2015, advancing to the championship match on five of those occasions with a title in 1993. The league's top six teams advance to the single-elimination tournament, and all five matches will be on an ESPN digital network (ESPN3 or ESPN+).
 
Missouri State hosted the spring half of the MVC Tennis Championships in 2018, winning the team tournament at Cooper Tennis Complex in April en route to the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2002.  In 2018-19, the Bears will host the individual portion of the championship at Cooper with the Valley's flighted singles and doubles champions crowned in Springfield for the first time.
 
The MVC Swimming & Diving Championships will be held at a neutral site for the third straight year after two seasons in Iowa City, Iowa. This year's meet will take place at the Mizzou Rec Center in Columbia with Missouri State hosting the women's-only meet at a location three hours from home. Missouri State, which has won 10 of the last 11 MVC Swimming titles, has never hosted the Valley women's swimming meet.
 
The season finale in men's golf returns to The Club at Porto Cima at Sunrise Beach near the Lake of the Ozarks. Missouri State has hosted the MVC Men's Golf Championship at Porto Cima twice in recent years – 2011 and 2015.
 
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 June 13-14.
 
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