University of Illinois Chicago to join Missouri Valley Conference in 2022-23
The Chicago market isn't leaving the Missouri Valley Conference after all.
The Valley announced Wednesday morning that the University of Illinois Chicago will join the league for the 2022-23 academic year.
Illinois Chicago will become the 12th member of the league following previous additions of Murray State and Belmont. The league will lose Loyola Chicago to the Atlantic 10 Conference this summer.
"A great addition for The Valley," MVC Commissioner Jeff Jackson said in a statement. "UIC's combination of academics, location, facilities, financial commitment to athletic success, and leadership will enhance the brand of the MVC and the experiences of our student-athletes."
UIC has competed in the Horizon League since the 1994-95 season. UIC men's basketball is currently ninth in its conference with a 7-10 record. Murray State is first and Belmont is third in the Ohio Valley.
The Flames have made the men's basketball tournament three times in program history (1998, 2002, 2004) and play in a 7,000-person venue just west of downtown Chicago. The women's basketball program has never reached the NCAA Tournament.
The Valley is not expected to seek further expansion for the 2022-23 season although there are possibilities for the league to look to get to 14 programs in the future if there are two additional schools that make sense. Kansas City and Northern Kentucky have been additional schools connected to the league recently but they're not expected to receive an invitation during this round of expansion.
Missouri State is staying put in the Valley despite previous rumblings surrounding a possible move in order to be at the FBS level in football. Those rumors have calmed in recent months but a possible move shouldn't be ruled out in the future as the university continues to invest in the football program.
Having 12 programs in the league will force changes to the league with attention going to how the basketball tournaments will be formatted going forward. A 12-team format will likely reward the top four teams in the conference with first-round byes with teams 5-12 playing on the first day — expanding the opening days of the tournaments from two games to four.
Missouri Valley Conference 2022-23
Missouri State
Illinois Chicago
Murray State
Belmont
Drake
Northern Iowa
Bradley
Illinois State
Southern Illinois
Valparaiso
Indiana State
Evansville
Wyatt D. Wheeler is a reporter and columnist with the Springfield News-Leader. You can contact him at 417-371-6987, by email at wwheeler@news-leader.com or Twitter at @WyattWheeler_NL. He's also the co-host of Sports Talk on Jock Radio weekdays from 4-6 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Missouri Valley Conference announces UIC Flames joining MVC in 2022-23
