Belmont University announced it will join the Missouri Valley Conference for the 2022-23 season.
The Belmont Bruins will officially leave the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) at the conclusion of the school year and begin play in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) for the start of the 2022-23 season.
Belmont has been in the OVC since 2012 and prior to that spent 11 years in the Atlantic Sun Conference. The Bruins started out as an independent from 1996 to 2001 after making the leap to division one after being an NAIA school for many years prior.
Belmont President Dr. Greg Jones said, “Belmont University is on the move. The Missouri Valley Conference is on the move. Nashville as a city, and the metropolitan area is on the move, and when you bring all of that momentum together, it was indeed an obvious choice for us to accept the invitation and be a part of this great athletic conference.”
Belmont has made eight appearances in the NCAA tournament and is just one of four programs to win 19 or more games in 16 straight seasons.
MVC Commissioner Jeff Jackson said, “This is a great day for the Missouri Valley Conference. It’s not often that you have an opportunity to add to your membership one of the premier athletic departments in the United States, and we’ve been able to accomplish that with the addition of Belmont University.”
