Mountain West–Missouri Valley Challenge

The Mountain West – Missouri Valley Challenge was an in-season NCAA Division I men's college basketball series, matching up teams from the Mountain West Conference (MW) and the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC). The series began in November 2009 and featured all of the MW teams against most of the MVC teams.^[1][2] The series was discontinued after the 2018 iteration.^[3]

MW–MVC Challenge logo

The first challenge was held in 2009. The conferences agreed to a four-year deal, extending the challenge through 2012.^[4] The challenge was not extended beyond its original term and ended after 2012.^[5] However, it was announced on April 2, 2015 that the conferences would renew the series in 2015.^[6] Since the Mountain West now has 11 members to the MVC's 10, all Missouri Valley members were competing in the renewed series, with one MW team sitting out.

The MW–MVC Challenge occurred from late November through December. The games are hosted by each of the schools. The first two series had nine games played each year, leaving one team from the 10-team MVC without an opponent. In 2011, only eight games were played, leaving two MVC teams without an opponent. With changes to the conference schools, each Challenge since the renewal of the series in 2015 featured 10 games.

The MW leads the series with three wins, one loss, and two ties. New Mexico and Wichita State had the best records at 5–1 each. However, Wichita State will not participate in any future Challenges since the school joined the American Athletic Conference on July 1, 2017.^[7]

Team records

Mountain West Conference (3–1–2)

Institution	Wins	Losses
Air Force Falcons	2	4
Boise State Broncos	4	1
BYU Cougars*	2	0
Colorado State Rams	3	3
Fresno State Bulldogs	1	2
Nevada Wolf Pack	2	1
New Mexico Lobos	5	1
San Diego State Aztecs	6	2
San Jose State Spartans	0	0
TCU Horned Frogs*	1	2
UNLV Runnin' Rebels	4	2
Utah Utes*	1	1
Utah State Aggies	1	1
Wyoming Cowboys	4	2
Overall	36	23

*School that has since left the MW.

Missouri Valley Conference (1–3–2)

Institution	Wins	Losses
Bradley Braves	0	5
Creighton Bluejays*	1	3
Drake Bulldogs	2	4
Evansville Purple Aces	2	3
Illinois State Redbirds	2	3
Indiana State Sycamores	5	3
Loyola Chicago Ramblers	1	1
Missouri State Bears	2	4
Northern Iowa Panthers	3	3
Southern Illinois Salukis	2	3
Valparaiso Crusaders	2	0
Wichita State Shockers*	5	1
Overall	22	33

*School that has since left the MVC.

Results

2009

Date	MVC team	MW team	Score	Location	Challenge leader
Nov 13	Bradley	BYU	70–60	Provo, UT	MW (1–0)
Nov 20	Indiana State	Colorado State	65–60	Terre Haute, IN	Tie (1–1)
Nov 21	Southern Illinois	UNLV	78–69	Las Vegas, NV	MW (2–1)
Dec 5	Missouri State	Air Force	58–48	Springfield, MO	Tie (2–2)
Dec 12	Wichita State	TCU	80–68	Wichita, KS	MVC (3–2)
Dec 19	Creighton	New Mexico	66–61	Albuquerque, NM	Tie (3–3)
Dec 19	Illinois State	Utah	73–63	Salt Lake City, UT	MVC (4–3)
Dec 22	Drake	San Diego State	76–73 ^OT	Des Moines, IA	Tie (4–4)
Dec 23	Northern Iowa	Wyoming	72–54	Cedar Falls, IA	MVC (5–4)
Bold Team denotes winner

• Evansville did not participate in the 2009 Challenge.

2010

Date	MVC team	MW team	Score	Location	Challenge leader
Dec 1	Creighton	BYU	77–65	Omaha, NE	MW (1–0)
Dec 1	Drake	Colorado State	78–67	Fort Collins, CO	MW (2–0)
Dec 1	Southern Illinois	New Mexico	74–59	Carbondale, IL	MW (3–0)
Dec 1	Illinois State	UNLV	51–82	Normal, IL	MW (4–0)
Dec 4	Indiana State	Wyoming	81–51	Laramie, WY	MW (5–0)
Dec 4	Northern Iowa	TCU	64–60	Fort Worth, TX	MW (5–1)
Dec 4	Bradley	Utah	68–60	Peoria, IL	MW (6–1)
Dec 4	Wichita State	San Diego State	83–69	San Diego, CA	MW (7–1)
Dec 5	Evansville	Air Force	57–56	Colorado Springs, CO	MW (8–1)
Bold Team denotes winner

• Missouri State did not participate in the 2010 Challenge.

2011

Date	MVC team	MW team	Score	Location	Challenge leader
Nov 30	No. 22 Creighton	San Diego State	85–83	San Diego, CA	MVC (1–0)
Dec 3	Drake	Air Force	62–60	Des Moines, IA	MVC (2–0)
Dec 3	Indiana State	Boise State	74–65	Boise, ID	MVC (2–1)
Dec 3	Northern Iowa	Colorado State	83–77	Cedar Falls, IA	MVC (3–1)
Dec 3	Missouri State	New Mexico	76–60	Albuquerque, NM	MVC (3–2)
Dec 3	Evansville	TCU	70–68	Evansville, IN	Tied (3–3)
Dec 3	Bradley	Wyoming	66–49	Laramie, WY	MW (4–3)
Dec 4	Wichita State	No. 20 UNLV	89–70	Wichita, KS	Tied (4–4)
Bold Team denotes winner

• The Mountain West Conference had two member schools leave the conference (BYU and Utah) and added Boise State prior to the 2011 Challenge, leaving the MW with eight member schools. Accordingly, only eight games were played.
• Illinois State and Southern Illinois did not participate in the 2011 Challenge.

2012

Date	MVC team	MW team	Score	Location	Challenge Leader
Nov 17	Missouri State	No. 23 San Diego State	60–44	Springfield, MO	MW (1–0)
Nov 28	No. 11 Creighton	Boise State	83–70	Omaha, NE	MW (2–0)
Nov 28	Southern Illinois	Fresno State	57–54	Carbondale, IL	MW (2–1)
Nov 30	Drake	Nevada	76–66	Reno, NV	Tied (2–2)
Dec 1	Evansville	Colorado State	79–72	Fort Collins, CO	MW (3–2)
Dec 1	Indiana State	No. 25 New Mexico	77–68 ^OT	Terre Haute, IN	MW (4–2)
Dec 2	Wichita State	Air Force	72–69	Colorado Springs, CO	MW (4–3)
Dec 4	Illinois State	Wyoming	81–67	Normal, IL	MW (5–3)
Dec 19	Northern Iowa	No. 21 UNLV	73–59	Las Vegas, NV	MW (6–3)
Bold Team denotes winner

• The Mountain West Conference had one member leave the conference (TCU) and added Nevada and Fresno State prior to the 2012 Challenge, returning the conference to nine member schools. Accordingly, nine games were played.
• Bradley did not participate in the 2012 Challenge.

2015

Date	Time	MVC team	MW team	Score	Location	Television	Attendance	Challenge leader
Nov 13	6:00 pm	Southern Illinois	Air Force	77–75	SIU Arena • Carbondale, IL	ESPN3	4,759	MVC (1–0)
	8:00 pm	Illinois State	San Diego State	71–61	Viejas Arena • San Diego, CA	ESPN3	12,414	Tie (1–1)
Nov 14	10:00 AM	Northern Iowa	Colorado State	84–78	McLeod Center • Cedar Falls, IA	ESPN3	4,455	MW (2–1)
Nov 16	5:00 pm	Indiana State	Wyoming	70–55	Hulman Center • Terre Haute, IN	ESPN3	3,601	Tie (2–2)
Nov 18	7:00 pm	Loyola–Chicago	New Mexico	75–51	The Pit • Albuquerque, NM	Root Sports	11,951	MW(3–2)
Dec 1	6:00 pm	Missouri State	Utah State	69–68	JQH Arena • Springfield, MO	ESPN3	3,694	MW (4–2)
Dec 9	6:00 pm	Wichita State	UNLV	56–50	Charles Koch Arena • Wichita, KS	ESPN2	10,506	MW (4–3)
Dec 12	5:00 pm	Drake	Nevada	79–71	Lawlor Events Center • Reno, NV		5,541	MW (5–3)
Dec 20	12:00 pm	Bradley	Boise State	90–70	Taco Bell Arena • Boise, ID	Root Sports	4,405	MW (6–3)
	2:00 pm	Evansville	Fresno State	85–77	Save Mart Center • Fresno, CA		5,251	MW (6–4)
WINNERS ARE IN BOLD. Game Times in MST. The Challenge was not held between the 2012 and 2015 seasons. During this time period, Creighton left the MVC for the Big East in 2013 and was replaced by Loyola–Chicago, keeping the MVC at 10 members. The MW also added San Jose State and Utah State in 2013, expanding to 11 members. Accordingly, 10 games were played in the 2015 Challenge. San Jose State did not participate in the 2015 Challenge.

2016

Date	Time	MVC team	MW team	Score	Location	Television	Attendance	Challenge leader
Dec 3	12:00 pm	Evansville	Boise State	72–67	Ford Center • Evansville, IN	ESPN3	3,773	MVC 1–0
	1:00 pm	Northern Iowa	Wyoming	81–73	Arena-Auditorium • Laramie, WY	MWN	5,539	TIE 1–1
	1:00 pm	Drake	Fresno State	78–76 ^OT	Knapp Center • Des Moines, IA	MC22	2,633	MW 2–1
	2:00 pm	Loyola–Chicago	San Diego State	65–59	Joseph J. Gentile Arena • Chicago, IL	ESPN3	2,189	TIE 2–2
	3:00 pm	Wichita State	Colorado State	82–67	Moby Arena • Fort Collins, CO	CBSSN	6,918	MVC 3–2
	7:00 pm	Indiana State	Utah State	62–61	Smith Spectrum • Logan, UT		7,064	MVC 4–2
	6:00 pm	Bradley	Nevada	91–69	Carver Arena • Peoria, IL	CSN+	5,384	MVC 4–3
	6:00 pm	Illinois State	New Mexico	79–74	Redbird Arena • Normal, IL	CSN Chicago+	6,056	MVC 5–3
	7:00 pm	Missouri State	Air Force	83–70	Clune Arena • Colorado Springs, CO		1,986	MVC 5–4
Dec. 19	8:00 pm	Southern Illinois	UNLV	68–61	Thomas & Mack Center • Paradise, NV		11,758	TIE 5–5
WINNERS ARE IN BOLD. Game Times in MST. San Jose State did not participate in the 2016 Challenge.

2017

Date	Time	MVC team	MW team	Score	Location	Television	Attendance	Challenge leader
Nov 28	6:00 pm	Valparaiso	Utah State	72–65	Athletics–Recreation Center • Valparaiso, IN	ESPN3	2,949	MVC 1–0
	6:00 pm	Missouri State	Colorado State	77–67	JQH Arena • Springfield, MO	ESPN3	4,895	MVC 2–0
	7:00 pm	Loyola–Chicago	Boise State	87–53	Taco Bell Arena • Boise, ID		3,738	MVC 2–1
Nov 29	5:00 pm	Indiana State	Air Force	74–64	Hulman Center • Terre Haute, IN	ESPN3	3,797	MVC 3–1
	6:00 pm	Northern Iowa	UNLV	77–68^OT	McLeod Center • Cedar Falls, IA	ESPN3	4,546	MVC 4–1
	7:00 pm	Evansville	New Mexico	78–59	Dreamstyle Arena • Albuquerque, NM	AT&T	8,943	MVC 4–2
	8:00 pm	Illinois State	Nevada	98–68	Lawlor Events Center • Reno, NV	Stadium	8,293	MVC 4–3
Dec 2	2:00 pm	Southern Illinois	San Jose State	76–58	SIU Arena • Carbondale, IL	ESPN3	4,026	MVC 5–3
	4:00 pm	Drake	Wyoming	96–89^OT	Arena-Auditorium • Laramie, WY		4,853	MVC 5–4
Dec 3	4:00 pm	Bradley	San Diego State	75–52	Viejas Arena • San Diego, CA	Stadium	11,102	TIE 5–5
WINNERS ARE IN BOLD. Game Times in MST. Fresno State did not participate in the 2017 Challenge.^[8]^[9] San Jose State participated in the Challenge for the first time. After the 2016–17 season, Wichita State left the Missouri Valley Conference to join the American Athletic Conference. Valparaiso replaced Wichita State, keeping the MVC at 10 teams.^[10]

2018

Date	Time	MVC team	MW team	Score	Location	Television	Attendance	Challenge leader
Nov 27	8:00 PM	Loyola–Chicago	No. 5 Nevada	79–65	Joseph J. Gentile Arena • Chicago, IL	ESPNews	4,963	MW 1–0
	6:00 PM	Drake	Boise State	83–74	Knapp Center • Des Moines, IA	ESPN+	2,543	Tied 1–1
	7:00 PM	Southern Illinois	Colorado State	82–67	Moby Arena • Fort Collins, CO		2,566	MVC 2–1
Nov 28	5:00 PM	Evansville	Wyoming	86–78	Ford Center • Evansville, IN		4,709	MVC 3–1
	7:00 PM	Northern Iowa	Utah State	52–71	Smith Spectrum • Logan, UT		5,134	MVC 3–2
	7:15 PM	Missouri State	Air Force	69–88	Clune Arena • Colorado Springs, CO		1,629	Tied 3–3
	8:00 PM	Indiana State	San Jose State	86–57	Event Center Arena • San Jose, CA		1,523	MVC 4–3
	8:30 PM	Valparaiso	UNLV	72–64	Thomas & Mack Center • Paradise, NV	ATTSN	7,587	MVC 5–3
Dec 1	1:00 PM	Illinois State	San Diego State	65–75	Redbird Arena • Normal, IL	ESPN+/ESPN3	6,245	MVC 5–4
	6:00 PM	Bradley	New Mexico	75–85	Carver Arena • Peoria, IL	ESPN+/ESPN3	5,494	Tie 5–5
WINNERS ARE IN BOLD. Game Times in MST. Fresno State did not participate in the 2018 Challenge.

References

1. "Valley and Mountain West Announce Challenge Series". MVC-Sports.com. October 28, 2008.
2. TN, Streamline Technologies - Nashville. "Valley and Mountain West Announce Challenge Series". ArchMadness.com. Retrieved 2017-05-17.
3. BrendanJPrice (2018-12-05). "MVC-MW No More, Now What?". Mountain West Connection. Retrieved 2020-12-18.
4. "Missouri Valley, MWC to start basketball series". Las Vegas Review-Journal. January 15, 2009. Retrieved January 16, 2009.
5. Eisenberg, Jeff (May 16, 2012). "Mountain West-Missouri Valley Challenge won't showcase top teams". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
6. "MVC and Mountain West Renew Challenge Series". MVC-Sports.com. April 2, 2015.
7. "Shockers make move: Wichita State leaving MVC for AAC". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2017-05-17.
8. "Breaking: Mountain West/Missouri Valley Challenge matchups announced". Mountain West Connection. 2017-05-15. Retrieved 2017-05-16.
9. "Matchups Set For 2017 Mountain West/Missouri Valley Challenge". www.fanragsports.com. Retrieved 2017-05-16.
10. (Press release). Missouri Valley Conference. May 25, 2017. Archived from the original on June 12, 2017. Retrieved May 26, 2017.