Tickets on Sale for the MVC Women’s Basketball Tournament
December 16, 2022
QUAD CITIES – Visit Quad Cities announced today that tickets for the 2023 Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Women’s Basketball Tournament at Vibrant Arena at The MARK, 1201 River Drive in downtown Moline, Illinois, on March 9-12, 2023, will go on sale Friday, December 16.
The MVC, in its 116th season, is the nation’s second-oldest NCAA Division I conference and is recognized as one of the most progressive athletic leagues in the country. This annual tournament features teams from each of the Conference member institutions. The tournament determines which Valley team receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Women’s Division I Basketball Championship.
Tickets for the 2023 tournament go on sale December 16 at 12 PM (CT) and are available at the Vibrant Arena box office or online at www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets are priced at $65 for reserved seat all-session tickets; $25, $20 and $12 reserved seat tickets per session. Reserved seating all-session tickets are only $45 if purchased before January 16 through an institutional box office.
“The Missouri Valley Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament and Hoops in the Heartland has become an annual tradition in the Quad Cities,” said Dave Herrell, President and CEO, Visit Quad Cities. “Hosting the championship and these amazing student-athletes for multiple days is a privilege. The tournament is important for sports tourism and helps fortify our sports landscape while programming the Vibrant Arena at The MARK. We look forward to welcoming some new member institutions to the QC this year and want to see the arena filled with energy as visitors and Quad Citizens will experience some of the absolute best women’s basketball in the country.”
The 2023 MVC Women’s Basketball Tournament includes a schedule that will provide plenty of opportunities to see these athletes in action. Twelve universities compete in the MVC Women’s Basketball Tournament: Belmont, Bradley, Drake, Evansville, UIC, Illinois State, Indiana State, Missouri State, Murray State, Northern Iowa, Southern Illinois and Valparaiso.
For tournament information, go to www.mvcquadcities.com. For visitor information, go to www.visitquadcities.com.
The 2023 tournament will mark the 16th-consecutive season in its 41-year history that the event will take place at a neutral site. The Valley played its postseason championship in St. Charles, Missouri – at The Family Arena – for eight-straight seasons from 2008-15 and has held the event in the Quad Cities ever since. The Valley becomes the only Division I stand-alone women’s basketball event to be held in the same city eight or more consecutive years. The 2023 MVC Women’s Basketball Tournament title game on Sunday, March 12, will be aired on ESPNU for the second consecutive season. The first 10 tournament contests will be shown exclusively on ESPN+.
About the Missouri Valley Conference
One of the premier women’s basketball leagues in the country, the MVC has seen an average of four league teams participate in postseason play in the last 23 seasons, including five teams reaching the postseason in 2021-22. The Valley has earned multiple NCAA Tournament bids in 14 different seasons, including a pair of bids in the 2022 NCAA Tournament and multiple bids four of the last five seasons. The league has also had two Final Four teams (Missouri State, in both 1992 and 2001), a WNIT champion (Missouri State, 2005) and four WNIT semifinal appearances (Illinois State, in 2011, 2010 and 2009 and UNI in 2021).
The history of Missouri Valley Conference women’s basketball is filled with notable alumni, including the former NCAA all-time leading scorer (Jackie Stiles, Missouri State, 1998-2001) and the NCAA’s all-time leader in career rebounding average (Wanda Ford, Drake, 1983-86), both members of the league’s Athletics Hall of Fame. In addition to Stiles and Ford, 11 other women’s basketball figures have been inducted into the MVC’s Hall of Fame, including Melody Howard and Cheryl Burnett (Missouri State), Cathy Boswell, Kristi Cirone, Jill Hutchison and Charlotte Lewis (Illinois State), Carole Baumgarten, Lorri Bauman and Carla Bennett (Drake), Cindy Scott (Southern Illinois) and Melanie Boeglin (Indiana State).
The league consists of 12 diverse institutions across six states, whose members include Belmont, Bradley, Drake, Evansville, UIC, Illinois State, Indiana State, Missouri State, Murray State, Northern Iowa, Southern Illinois and Valparaiso. Little Rock and Marshall are affiliate members in women’s swimming and diving, and Bowling Green, Northern Illinois, SIUE and Western Michigan are an affiliate member in men’s soccer. Conference members have worked together to focus on common goals and objectives, putting a high value on league harmony while continuing to invest in athletic programs to compete at the highest level. The Valley brand remains very strong, both regionally and nationally, and the great athletic tradition of The Valley remains a compelling force in recruiting student-athletes and in marketing all the MVC programs. For more information, visit www.mvc-sports.com.
About Visit Quad Cities
Founded in 1990, Visit Quad Cities is the official Destination Management and Marketing Organization (DMMO) for the region. Visit Quad Cities is a private 501(c)(6) non-profit engine charged with driving economic opportunity through tourism, building our authentic brand, telling & selling the Quad Cities story, and enhancing Quad Citizens’ quality of life and quality of place.
For more information, visit www.visitquadcities.com, call 800-747-7800 and be sure to connect with them on social media.