Drake University earns its first Missouri Valley Conference All-Sports Championship
Drake has earned its first Missouri Valley Conference All-Sports Championship in school history, the league announced this week.
Drake is the second private institution in MVC history to win the honor. Tulsa earned the MVC trophy in 1960-61.
"The Drake Bulldogs have made history," Drake athletics director Brian Hardin said. "This prestigious award is a monumental honor of achievement, a testament to the collective effort of our student-athletes, coaches and staff, and the unwavering support of our (fans). From a historical standpoint, this is an incredibly rare accomplishment. We will continue striving to make (all Bulldogs) proud to be associated with Drake athletics."
The Bulldogs won conference regular-season team championships in men's cross country, women's basketball and women's soccer. Drake captured conference tournament titles in both men's and women's basketball.
In addition to the five team titles, Drake had top-five finishes in men's basketball (regular season), men's golf, men's outdoor track and field, men's indoor track and field, women's cross country, women's golf, women's tennis and volleyball.
The Bulldogs finished third in 2022-23, which was the school's highest finish since 1994-95.
While not considered in the Missouri Valley's All-Sports scoring, Drake also won the Pioneer Football League championship, marking its first-ever appearance in the FCS Playoffs, and earned regular-season and tournament runner-up finishes in Summit League men's tennis.
The MVC first offered an All-Sports trophy following the 1949-50 athletics season. Then-member Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State) earned the league's first title.
Ten different institutions claimed at least one regular-season league title during the 2023-24 school year. Indiana State's six total titles led the league.
Missouri Valley Conference All-Sports Championship standings
Drake: 8.787 aggregate score (5 titles)
Illinois State: 8.442 (1)
Indiana State: 8.148 (6)
Belmont: 7.696 (1)
Missouri State: 7.463 (1)
Southern Illinois: 7.411 (3)
Note: The conference released only the top six schools.
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 postseason championship earned in those aforementioned sports. All other sports are determined by finish at the championship tournament or championship meet.
Drake University and the Missouri Valley Conference contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Drake earns its first Missouri Valley All-Sports Championship
