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Missouri State Bears and Lady Bears | |
---|---|
University | Missouri State University |
Conference | Missouri Valley Conference (primary) Missouri Valley Football Conference Conference USA (beach volleyball; primary on July 1, 2025) |
NCAA | Division I (FCS) |
Athletic director | Kyle Moats |
Location | Springfield, Missouri |
Varsity teams | 17 |
Football stadium | Robert W. Plaster Stadium |
Basketball arena | Great Southern Bank Arena |
Baseball stadium | Hammons Field |
Soccer stadium | Allison South Stadium |
Mascot | Boomer the Bear and Growl the Bear |
Nickname | Bears and Lady Bears |
Fight song | The Scotsman |
Colors | Maroon and white [1] |
Website | missouristatebears |
The Missouri State Bears and Lady Bears are the athletic teams representing Missouri State University (formerly Southwest Missouri State University). Missouri State's athletics programs date back to 1908. Missouri State competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision, but will start a transition to the Football Bowl Subdivision on July 1, 2024. The majority of sports play in the Division I Missouri Valley Conference. Missouri State football competes in the Missouri Valley Football Conference and the women's beach volleyball team, nicknamed Beach Bears instead of "Bears" or "Lady Bears", [2] competes in Conference USA (CUSA), having moved from the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association after the spring 2023 season. [3] Men's swimming & diving had competed in the Mid-American Conference through the 2023–24 season, but sponsorship of that sport is transferring from that conference to the MVC in July 2024. [4] Missouri State will become a full member of CUSA on July 1, 2025. [5]
Missouri State athletics are frequently abbreviated as "MOST" when televised.
Men's sports | Women's sports |
---|---|
Baseball | Basketball |
Basketball | Beach volleyball |
Football | Cross country |
Golf | Golf |
Soccer | Soccer |
Swimming and Diving | Softball |
Swimming and Diving | |
Tennis | |
Track and field† | |
Volleyball | |
† – Track and field includes both indoor and outdoor |
A member of the Missouri Valley Conference, Missouri State University sponsors six men's and 11 women's teams in NCAA sanctioned sports.
Association | Division | Sport | Year | Opponent/Runner-Up | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
NAIA | n/a | Men's basketball | 1952 | Murray State | 73–64 |
NAIA | n/a | Men's basketball | 1953 | Hamline | 79–71 |
NCAA | Division II | Men's golf [6] | 1963 | Aquinas | 1,188–1,199 |
AIAW | n/a | Softball (Women's College World Series) | 1974 | Northern Colorado | 14–7 |
AIAW | Division II | Field hockey | 1979 | Colgate | 2–0 |
Year | Seed | Round | Opponent | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
1991 | #8 | First Round Second Round | #9 Tennessee Tech #1 Tennessee | W 94–64 L 47–55 |
1992 | #8 | First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Final Four | #9 Kansas #1 Iowa #5 UCLA #2 Ole Miss #4 Western Kentucky | W 75–59 W 61–60 W 83–57 W 94–71 L 72–84 |
1993 | #7 | First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen | #10 Oklahoma State #2 Maryland #6 Louisiana Tech | W 86–71 W 86–82 L 43–59 |
1994 | #6 | First Round Second Round | #11 Northern Illinois #3 Virginia | W 75–56 L 63–67 |
1995 | #9 | First Round Second Round | #8 Utah #1 Colorado | W 49–47 L 34–78 |
1996 | #12 | First Round | #5 Texas | L 55–73 |
1998 | #8 | First Round | #9 Notre Dame | L 64–78 |
1999 | #7 | First Round Second Round | #10 UC Santa Barbara #2 Colorado State | W 72–70 L 70–86 |
2000 | #10 | First Round | #7 Auburn | L 74–78 |
2001 | #5 | First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Final Four | #12 Toledo #4 Rutgers #1 Duke #6 Washington #3 Purdue | W 89–71 W 60–53 W 81–71 W 104–87 L 64–81 |
2003 | #15 | First Round | #2 Texas Tech | L 59–67 |
2004 | #12 | First Round | #5 Notre Dame | L 65–69 (OT) |
2006 | #13 | First Round | #4 Purdue | L 52–73 |
2016 | #13 | First Round | #4 Texas A&M | L 65–74 |
2019 | #11 | First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen | #6 DePaul #3 Iowa State #2 Stanford | W 89–77 W 69–60 L 46–55 |
2021 | #5 | First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen | #12 UC Davis #13 Wright State #1 Stanford | W 70–51 W 64–39 L 62–89 |
2022 | #11 | First Four First Round | #11 Florida State #6 Ohio State | W 61-50 L 63-56 |
Missouri AIAW state tournament: 1970–1982 (won 1971, 1973, 1974, 1975 and 1981 tournaments)
AIAW Region VI tournament: 1974, 1975, 1981
AIAW Division II national tournament: 1981
Gateway Conference (1983–1992) 2
1991, 1992
Missouri Valley Conference (1992–present) 12
1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2012, 2020, 2021
• Beth Cunningham (1 Season 20-12) 2022–Present
Facility | Opened | Renovated | Sport | Capacity |
---|---|---|---|---|
Robert W. Plaster Stadium | 1941 | 1991, 2014 | Football | 17,500 |
Great Southern Bank Arena | 2008 | 2013 | Basketball | 11,000 |
Hammons Student Center | 1976 | Volleyball Swimming | 8,846 300 | |
Hammons Field | 2004 | Baseball | 7,986 | |
Killian Sports Complex | 2009 | Softball | 1,200 | |
Betty and Bobby Allison South Stadium | 2014 | Soccer Track & field | 1,500 | |
Betty and Bobby Allison North Stadium | 2014 | Field hockey Lacrosse | 250 | |
Betty and Bobby Allison Sand Volleyball Courts | 2014 | Beach volleyball | 150 | |
Cooper Tennis Complex w/Mediacom Stadium | 1994 | Tennis | 2,500 | |
Twin Oaks Country Club + 4 Other local courses | n/a | MOST/TOCC Practice Facility 2016 | Golf | N/A |
The university also sponsors several club sports teams, including ice hockey (ACHA), lacrosse (MCLA), and roller hockey (NCRHA).
Missouri State men's ice hockey, known as the Ice Bears, began in 2001 and despite not being a varsity NCAA sport receives much attention on and off-campus. The Ice Bears currently compete at the Division I level of the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) in the Western Collegiate Hockey League (WCHL). [7] The teams play off-campus at the 2,000-seat Mediacom Ice Park. [8] [9] [10]
Men's varsity ice hockey finished the 2009–2010 season ranked 2nd in the MACHA DII with a record of 12–4–0 in 16 league games, the team lost in the MACHA Championship 1–5 to Southern Illinois University- Edwardsville. In addition to the ACHA DII team the University also fields a JV teams playing at the ACHA DIII level. [11] The team won the MACHA DIII championship with a 5–3 win over Robert Morris University- Peoria. [12] [13] [14]
Missouri State also fields a highly successful club Lacrosse Team. Founded in 2003, it competes in the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA) Division II and was a member of the Great Rivers Lacrosse Conference (GRLC) through 2017 before it moved to Division II of the Lone Star Alliance (LSA) in 2018. The Bears have been conference champions five times in their history (2004, 2009, 2010, 2017, and 2018) and have qualified for the MCLA National Championships on four occasions (2009, 2010, 2017, and 2018). The Bears finished the 2018 season with a record of 12–3, including a perfect 6–0 conference record and victories over Creighton, Baylor, and in-state rival University of Missouri. Since 2003, Missouri State has fielded 11 All-Americans, over 80 All-Conference players, 3 GRLC Tournament MVP's, and 4 GRLC Division II Coach's of the Year.
Head coach | Year | Record |
---|---|---|
Daren Turner | 2002–2008 | 24–21 |
Austin Holman | 2009–2010 | 23–9 |
Pat Callaham | 2011–2012 | 12-13 |
Dustin Rich | 2013–2018 | 32-30 |
Donnie Curran | 2019–present | 0-0 |
Conference USA (CUSA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose member institutions are located within the Southern United States and Western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. CUSA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas.
The American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) is a college ice hockey association. The ACHA's purpose is to be an organization of collegiate affiliated programs, which provides structure, regulates operations, and promotes quality in collegiate ice hockey. The ACHA currently has three men's and two women's divisions and includes approximately 450 teams from across the United States and Canada. Most ACHA teams offer few athletic scholarships and typically receive far less university funding. The ACHA offers an opportunity for college hockey programs that struggle with large budgets and Title IX issues, as an alternative to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) financial structure.
The Indiana Hoosiers are the intercollegiate sports teams and players of Indiana University Bloomington, named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Indiana. The Hoosiers participate in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in 24 sports and became a member of the Big Ten Conference on December 1, 1899. The school's official colors are cream and crimson.
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The Miami RedHawks are the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Miami is a member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) and sponsors teams in nine men's and ten women's NCAA sanctioned sports; the RedHawks hockey team is a member of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference. With sponsorship of men's swimming & diving transferring from the MAC to the Missouri Valley Conference in 2024–25, Miami will become a single-sport member of the latter. The football team competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), the highest level for college football. The RedHawks are arch-rivals with the Ohio Bobcats. In box scores for sporting events, the RedHawks sports teams are usually referred to as Miami (OH) to differentiate from the Miami Hurricanes, a Division I school in Florida.
The DePaul Blue Demons are the athletic teams that represent DePaul University, located in Chicago, Illinois. The Blue Demons participate in NCAA Division I and are a member of the Big East Conference.
The Saint Louis Billikens are the collegiate athletic teams that represent Saint Louis University, located in St. Louis, Missouri. The Billikens compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference. The school has nationally recognized soccer programs for men and women. The school has heavily invested in its on-campus athletic facilities since the 1990s with the creation of Hermann Stadium and Chaifetz Arena. Chris May is the current director of athletics of the St. Louis Billikens.
The Air Force Falcons are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the United States Air Force Academy, located in El Paso County, Colorado north of Colorado Springs. The athletic department has 17 men's and 10 women's NCAA-sanctioned teams. The current athletic director is Nathan Pine. The majority of Falcon teams compete as members of the Mountain West Conference.
The Grand Valley State Lakers are the intercollegiate athletic teams of Grand Valley State University, located in Allendale, Michigan, United States. The GVSU Lakers compete at the NCAA Division II level and are members of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC).
The Denver Pioneers are the sports teams of the University of Denver (DU). They play in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I, and have amassed 35 NCAA titles as of 2024, which is in the top 15 among all schools. Denver is a member of The Summit League for men's and women's basketball, swimming and diving, men's and women's soccer, tennis and golf for both men and women, plus women's volleyball. Other DU teams play in various conferences in the sports that are not sponsored by The Summit. The men's ice hockey team is a charter member of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC), which formed in 2011 with play beginning in 2013. The lacrosse teams for men and women are members of the Big East Conference; the men began Big East play in the 2013–14 school year, while the women left the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) after the 2016 lacrosse season. Men's and women's skiing compete in the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association, while the women's gymnastics team became an affiliate of the Big 12 Conference starting with the 2015–16 season.
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The Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens are the athletic teams of the University of Delaware (UD) of Newark, Delaware, in the United States. The Blue Hens compete in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as members of the Coastal Athletic Association and its technically separate football league, CAA Football.
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The Framingham State Rams are composed of 14 varsity teams representing Framingham State University in intercollegiate athletics. All teams compete at the NCAA Division III level and all teams compete in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC).
The Missouri State Lady Bears basketball team represents Missouri State University in NCAA Division I women's basketball. The team has a storied history making 2 NCAA Final Fours, reaching 17 NCAA Tournaments, and claiming 13 conference regular season titles. The Lady Bears compete in the Missouri Valley Conference.
The Beach Bears will part ways with the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA) next season to join TCU and Tarleton State as affiliate members of Conference USA.
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