ST. LOUIS, Mo. — Indiana State finished third overall in the Missouri Valley Conference All-Sports Championship standings as announced by the conference office yesterday afternoon.
 
The Sycamores recorded conference titles in women's indoor and outdoor track & field, as well as claiming the women's swimming & diving championships on their way to finishing inside the top three in the league standings for the third time since the 2020-21 season.
 
"Finishing third in the MVC All-Sports Trophy standings is a tremendous reflection of the commitment, passion and performance displayed by our student-athletes, coaches and staff throughout the year," said Director of Athletics Nathan Christensen. "We are incredibly proud of the broad-based success across Sycamore Athletics and the way our programs continue to represent Indiana State at a high level. At the same time, we remain focused on elevating every one of our programs as we continue pushing toward the top of the MVC. Our community should be proud of what we've accomplished, and the future of Sycamore Athletics is incredibly bright."
 
Illinois State earned the 2025-26 Missouri Valley Conference All-Sports Championship. The MVC first offered an all-sports trophy following the 1949-50 athletics season and then-member Oklahoma State (Oklahoma A&M at the time) earned the league's first title.  Notably, the Redbirds have won six of the last seven MVC all-sports crowns.
 
Illinois State earned team titles this year in men's golf. men's outdoor track & field, and ISU claimed a tournament championship in women's tennis. The Redbirds also had top-five finishes in baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, men's indoor track & field, women's soccer, softball, women's tennis, volleyball, and both women's indoor and outdoor track & field.
 
Nine different institutions claimed at least one regular-season or post-season league title this past season. UIC and UNI led the league with four total championships each. UIC earned regular-season titles in baseball and women's tennis, and the Flames earned tournament championships in baseball and women's soccer. UNI earned MVC Tournament titles in men's basketball and volleyball and also had championships in men's indoor track & field as well as a regular-season volleyball crown. Four other league schools produced three championship crowns: Belmont, Illinois State, Indiana State, and Murray State.
 
Murray State's second-place showing in the all-sports trophy standings is its all-time best. Murray State, which joined the MVC for the 2022-23 season, had a previous high of 7th place. Murray State earned regular-season and tournament titles in women's basketball and also won the women's golf championship. MSU also recorded top-three finishes in women's soccer, softball, women's tennis, baseball, and men's golf. Indiana State finished third in this year's all-sports trophy race, and the Sycamores have been third three times in the past six seasons. Drake has finished in the Top 5 in each of the past four seasons, while UNI, fourth this year, has finished in the Top 5 in three of the past four years.
 
Points -- Team (Championships*)

• 8.857 -- Illinois State (3)
• 8.814 -- Murray State (3)
• 7.719 -- Indiana State (3)
• 7.252 -- UNI (4)
• 7.101 -- Drake (2)

*combined regular-season and tournament championships
 
Prior to Drake's MVC All-Sports crown in 2024, Illinois State, Missouri State or Wichita State had earned the league's all-sports championship trophy every year since 1995. Illinois State won five of six all-sports championships from 1996-01, Missouri State has five titles since 1999-00, and Wichita State had a stretch where it won 11 of 14 all-sports trophies from 2003-04 through 2016-17. Notably, Illinois State has 18 all-sports crowns and has finished first, second, or third in 32 of the past 35 years.
 
The All-Sports Trophy is based on a school's average finish in each of the sponsored championships by the Missouri Valley Conference. Teams are awarded 12 points for first, 11 for second, 10 for third, etc., and the total accumulated points are divided by the number of sports in which a particular school competes. For sports not sponsored by every MVC school, the points decrease by number of competing schools (i.e., in a sport where 10 teams compete, 12/10 = 1.20, so point totals decrease by 1.20; 1st = 12, 2nd = 10.8, 3rd = 9.6, etc.)
 
Finishes in baseball, basketball, soccer, softball, tennis, and volleyball are based on regular-season competition. However, institutions receive three bonus points for each league post-season championship earned in those aforementioned sports.  All other sports are determined by finish at the championship tournament or championship meet.

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