Missouri Valley Conference Basketball Media Guides 2013-14 Men's Basketball Media Guide | Page 6

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national team championships, including Wichita State’s men’s
basketball NIT title in 2011. In 2001, Missouri State added
to The Valley women’s accomplishments, as the Lady Bears
advanced to the Women’s Basketball Final Four in St. Louis.
Creighton (2004) and Missouri State (2005) have claimed national championships (WNIT)
in women’s basketball. MSU
also has a 1992 NCAA Women’s Final Four appearance,
and Creighton (2003), Drake
(1999) and Illinois State
(2009)?have?made?semifinal?
trips to the WNIT postseason
tournament.
Indeed, the inclusion of
women’s programs under The
Valley banner has provided a
boost. The Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference
-- which began in 1982 -merged with The Missouri
Valley Conference and was
unveiled as part of the new
conference on July 1, 1992.
While the inclusion of women’s sports under a compreJackie Stiles of Missouri State
hensive athletic umbrella is
is the all-time leading scorer
a recent development in the
in NCAA women’s basketball.
league’s storied history, over
the years, Valley student-athletes and coaches have become household names during the
league’s illustrious history, both during their collegiate careers
and, for some, professional careers.
In fact, The Valley began honoring that tradition in the
summer of 1997, when the conference began its athletics Hall
of Fame. Hersey Hawkins of Bradley, Larry Bird of Indiana
State, Wes Unseld of Louisville, Coach Henry Iba of Oklahoma
State, Dave Stallworth of Wichita State, Ed Macauley of Saint
Louis, and Oscar Robertson of Cincinnati were members of
the initial induction class. Currently, nearly 80 former players, coaches and alums dot the league’s Hall of Fame.
Men’s basketball, perhaps, has the league’s most storied tradition, boasting the likes of Hall of Famers Bird and
Robertson as former players, but The Valley has also produced national-caliber student-athletes in its other sponsored
sports. In 2001, Missouri State’s Jackie Stiles became the
first?Valley?woman?to?earn?the?Honda-Broderick?Cup,?given?
to the nation’s top female collegiate student-athlete. In the
sport?of?track?and?field,?Indiana?State’s?Holli?Hyche?captured?
seven national sprint titles in the early 1990s, Southern Illinois’ Darrin Plab won back-to-back NCAA outdoor high jump
titles in 1991 and 1992, SIU’s Brittany Riley became the
World record holder in the weight throw in 2007, and Kylie
Hutson of Indiana State swept both the