The Joseph J. Gentile Arena , formerly known as the Joseph J. Gentile Center or "The Joe", is a 4,486-seat multi-purpose arena on the campus of Loyola University in Chicago, Illinois . The arena opened in 1996. It is the home of the Loyola Ramblers men's and women's basketball programs. Renovations at the facility began in the summer of 2011.
58-545: On March 3, 2011, the $ 26 million Norville Center for Intercollegiate Athletics opened adjacent to the Gentile Arena. The Norville Center houses the university's athletic training facilities, locker rooms, as well as the offices of the athletic department that were formerly housed in Alumni Gym. The Gentile Center was the site of the 1999 Midwestern Collegiate Conference NCAA women's volleyball tournament. The Gentile Center
116-508: A 19–12 record in the NCAA tournament from 2003 to 2011, ranking tops among all 32 NCAA Division I conferences for winning percentage (.613) in March Madness during that span. This historic stretch of conference dominance was thanks to NCAA Tournament wins from Butler (15), Milwaukee (3), and Cleveland State (1) . Butler appeared in the men's national championship game in both 2010 and 2011 . Since
174-407: A 9 seed, lost in the first round to LSU while 13 seed Cleveland State upset No. 8 (AP)/No. 9 (ESPN) (4 seed) Wake Forest 84–69 (and achieved the third biggest upset in NCAA history winning by 15 points) and shocked the nation in the first round of play before falling to 12 seed Arizona in the second round of tournament play. Butler finished the season ranked No. 22 in the final AP poll and No. 25 in
232-541: A Sweet 16 berth by beating Old Dominion and Maryland before losing to eventual national champion Florida . Wright State also qualified for the NCAA tournament as the winner of the Horizon League tournament championship and tying Butler for the regular season championship. As a 14 seed, the Raiders fell to No. 13 (AP)/No. 11 (ESPN) (3 seed) Pittsburgh in the first round. During the 2007–08 basketball season, Butler won
290-622: A new athletic conference was needed. Further progress was made through a series of early 1979 meetings in San Francisco , Chicago , and St. Louis that included participation by Butler , Creighton , Marquette , and Oral Roberts . On June 16, 1979, the Midwestern City Conference (nicknamed the MCC or Midwestern City 6) was formed by charter members Butler, Evansville , Loyola, Oklahoma City , Oral Roberts, and Xavier, with Detroit joining
348-684: Is a collegiate athletic conference in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I . Headquartered in Indianapolis , the league's eleven member schools are located in and near the Great Lakes region and in part of the Southern United States . The Horizon League founded in 1979 as the Midwestern City Conference . The conference changed its name to Midwestern Collegiate Conference in 1985 and then
406-491: Is in his 17th year as league commissioner, just finished a five-year term on the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee. As stated on their official website, the recent success of Horizon League athletic teams on the national stage heightened the visibility of the league and its member schools and quickly moved it closer toward its stated goal of becoming one of the nation's top 10 Division I NCAA athletic conferences. In
464-432: The 1963 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament , Loyola defeated two-time defending champ Cincinnati . Before post-season tournaments determined champions, former Horizon member Butler claimed national titles in 1924 and 1929. The League hosted the men's Final Four in 1991, 1997, 2000, 2006, 2009 and 2010. It also hosted the women's Final Four in 2005 and 2007. Horizon League commissioner Jonathan B. LeCrone, who
522-467: The 2003 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament , the Horizon League entered two teams for the first time since 1998. Milwaukee , who earned a 12 seed in its first bid to the tournament since joining the conference, lost by one point to Notre Dame in the first round. Butler , who earned both an at-large bid and a 12 seed, made its fifth tournament appearance in seven years. The Bulldogs made it to
580-525: The Indiana University and Purdue University systems. At that time, the athletic program transferred to the new Indiana University Indianapolis with an athletic brand name of IU Indy, maintaining IUPUI's Division I and Horizon League memberships. The start of the 2020s set further membership changes into motion, with the arrivals of Purdue Fort Wayne and Robert Morris from the Summit League and
638-1834: The Mid-American Conference ). Membership [ edit ] Akron 1988-1989 through 1991-1992 Butler 1984-1985 through 1985-1986 Cleveland State 1988-1989 through 1991-1992 Dayton 1984-1985 through 1987-1988 DePaul 1983-1984 through 1990-1991 Detroit 1983-1984 through 1985-1986 Evansville 1983-1984 through 1985-1986 Illinois-Chicago 1988-1989 through 1991-1992 Loyola (Illinois) 1983-1984 through 1985-1986 Marquette 1986-1987 through 1988-1989 Northern Illinois 1987-1988 through 1991-1992 Notre Dame 1983-1984 through 1987-1988 Valparaiso 1987-1988 through 1991-1992 Wisconsin-Green Bay 1988-1989 through 1991-1992 Wright State 1990-1991 through 1991-1992 Xavier 1983-1984 through 1985-1986 Membership timeline [ edit ] [REDACTED] Commissioner [ edit ] Jean Lenti Ponsetto (1987–1989) Arnie Fielkow (1989–1991) Phyllis Holmes (1991–1992) Women's Basketball [ edit ] Conference Champions [ edit ] Regular season [ edit ] Season Teams School 1984 6 Loyola (Illinois) 1985 8 Notre Dame 1986 8 Notre Dame 1987 4 DePaul 1988 6 DePaul 1989 8 Northern Illinois/DePaul 1990 7 Northern Illinois 1991 8 Wisconsin-Green Bay 1992 7 Wisconsin-Green Bay Conference Tournament [ edit ] Season Teams Champion 1989 8 DePaul 1990 7 Northern Illinois 1991 8 DePaul 1992 7 Northern Illinois Honors [ edit ] Coach of
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#1732880215772696-870: The Missouri Valley Football Conference ; Robert Morris originally planned to play the 2020–21 season as an independent and join Big South Conference football in July 2021, but COVID-19 issues led the Big South to bring Robert Morris into its football league for its rescheduled spring 2021 season. North Star Conference North Star Conference [REDACTED] Association NCAA Founded 1983 Ceased 1992 Division Division I No. of teams 15 Locations [REDACTED] The North Star Conference or NSC
754-664: The Northeast Conference (NEC), respectively, announced on August 5, 2019 and June 15, 2020. This brought the Horizon League up to 12 full-time members for the first time since the 1994–95 season. It was short-lived, however, as the UIC Flames were reported to be following many of their former conference colleagues to the MVC effective July 1, 2022. On July 6, 2022, the Horizon League and Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) jointly announced that they would merge their men's tennis leagues under
812-499: The 2023–24 season. Men's and women's associate Chicago State also announced they would join the Northeast Conference , which sponsors the sport for both sexes— however, they announced that they would keep their tennis programs in the Horizon for one extra year before moving them to the NEC for the 2025–26 season. Prior to the 2023–24 academic year, the conference announced a brand refresh with
870-570: The Big East. The Horizon announced that Oakland University , formerly of the Summit League, would immediately replace Loyola within a month. The next change in the Horizon League's membership came in 2015 with the arrival of Northern Kentucky University from the Atlantic Sun Conference . Two more membership changes were announced near the end of the 2016–17 school year. First, Valparaiso announced on May 25, 2017, that it would leave for
928-626: The Bulldogs claimed victory over Purdue in the Wooden Tradition. On February 5, 2007, Butler became the first school in Horizon League history to rank in the Top 10 of the national college basketball polls, as the Bulldogs reached No. 9 and No. 10 in the ESPN/USA Today and AP polls, respectively. The Bulldogs ended their season with a No. 21 ranking in the final AP poll, a 5 seed in the NCAA tournament and
986-493: The Great Alaska Shootout with wins over Michigan , Virginia Tech and Texas Tech , and also claimed wins over Ohio State and Florida State , who extended their record against BCS schools to 10–1 since the start of the 2006–07 season. As a 7 seed in the 2008 NCAA basketball tournament , the Bulldogs beat 10 seed South Alabama before falling in overtime to No. 5 (AP)/No. 4 (ESPN) (2 seed) Tennessee . Butler finished
1044-491: The Horizon League in 2001. The conference started with a membership of six teams and has fluctuated in size with 24 different schools as members at different times. The league currently has 11 members. The Horizon League currently sponsors 19 sports and is a non-football conference. In May 1978, DePaul University hosted a meeting with representatives from Bradley , Dayton , Detroit , Illinois State , Loyola–Chicago , Air Force , and Xavier who all agreed in principle that
1102-475: The Horizon League which are played by Horizon schools: In addition to the above sports, Northern Kentucky will add men's triathlon, which has no NCAA recognition of any kind, as a varsity sport in 2024–25. Departing member in pink. Women's varsity sports not sponsored by the Horizon League which are played by Horizon schools: In 2006, the conference launched the Horizon League Network (HLN) as
1160-795: The Horizon banner, effective immediately. The five OVC members that sponsored the sport became Horizon associates. At the same time, the Horizon announced that Belmont , which had just left the OVC for the Missouri Valley Conference (which sponsors tennis only for women), would become a men's tennis associate, and Chicago State , which became a D-I independent after leaving the Western Athletic Conference days earlier, would become an associate in both men's and women's tennis. The Horizon later lost men's associate Lindenwood after they dropped nine NCAA sports, including men's tennis, after
1218-589: The MVC effective July 1. The Crusaders replaced Wichita State , who announced that it would leave the MVC for the American Athletic Conference . Three days before Valparaiso's departure, the Horizon League Board of Directors unanimously approved the membership of Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) to replace Valparaiso, also effective July 1. IUPUI was dissolved in 2024 and replaced by separate institutions affiliated with
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#17328802157721276-545: The March 7 ESPN/USA Today Top 25 Poll. In the 2006 NCAA basketball tournament , 11 seed Milwaukee once again advanced in the Tournament by upsetting the No. 20 (6 seed) Oklahoma 82–74. The Panthers, led by first year head coach Rob Jeter , fell to eventual national champion No. 11 (AP)/No. 10 (ESPN) (3 seed) Florida in the second round of the tournament. The league had a team advance past
1334-418: The NCAA began seeding teams in 1979, Loyola's 4 seed in the 1985 tournament is the best for a Horizon League team. The Horizon League currently holds the best winning percentage among non- BCS conferences in the men's NCAA basketball Tournament (.488, 7th overall amongst the 32 Division I conferences). One former Horizon League member claims a national championship from the era before the league's creation. In
1392-571: The South Regional Champions, No. 3 (1 seed) Duke for the NCAA Division I National Championship. Butler lost what many call the most thrilling college basketball game in a generation, losing 61–59 in a game that came down to the final play. This is the farthest any team has reached in the tournament while a member of the Horizon League. Butler was the first Division I men's team to play in the Final Four in its hometown since UCLA in 1972, and
1450-707: The Sweet 16 with victories over No. 20 (5 seed) Mississippi State and No. 14 (4 seed) Louisville before falling to No. 3 (1 seed) Oklahoma in the East Regional. The Bulldogs finished the year ranked No. 21 in the final ESPN/USA Today Top 25 Poll. In the men's 2005 NCAA basketball tournament , the Horizon League enjoyed one of its best showings ever as 12 seed Milwaukee marched to the Sweet 16 with victories over No. 19 (5 seed) Alabama and No. 14 (4 seed) Boston College before they fell to then-No. 1 and eventual tournament runner-up Illinois . Milwaukee ranked as high as No. 23 in
1508-1975: The Year [ edit ] 1983-84 1984-85 Mary DiStanislao, Notre Dame 1985-86 Mary DiStanislao, Notre Dame 1986-87 1987-88 Muffet McGraw , Notre Dame 1988-89 Jane Albright-Dieterle, Northern Illinois 1989-90 Jane Albright-Dieterle, Northern Illinois 1990-91 1991-92 Player of the Year [ edit ] 1983-84 1984-85 1985-86 Trena Keys, Notre Dame 1986-87 Trena Keys, Notre Dame 1987-88 1988-89 1989-90 Carol Owens, Northern Illinois 1990-91 Lisa Foss, Northern Illinois 1991-92 Attendance [ edit ] Season Teams G/S Attendance P/G Net Total 1984 6 57 18,694 328 UP 1,329 1985 8 89 23,198 261 DN 2,767 1986 8 95 21,662 228 DN 1,536 1987 4 50 14,678 294 UP 1,224 1988 6 64 23,870 373 UP 9,192 1989 8 94 41,514 442 UP 17,644 1990 7 85 53,752 632 UP 16,336 1991 8 88 53,675 610 DN 77 1992 7 76 48,155 634 Up 18,195 Women's Volleyball [ edit ] Conference Champions [ edit ] Regular season [ edit ] Season Number of Teams School 1983 6 1984 8 1985 8 1986 4 1987 6 1988 8 Northern Illinois 1989 7 1990 8 1991 7 Conference Tournament [ edit ] Season Teams Champion 1988 8 Northern Illinois 1989 7 1990 8 1991 7 References [ edit ] ^ Kay, Linda (10 May 1983). "Eight schools form women's league" . Chicago Tribune . p. 7 . Retrieved 24 March 2015 . ^ http://static.psbin.com/n/p/u9cn7ltjxiqcun/2011-12_WBB_Guide-Small.pdf ^ "Butler" (PDF) . Archived from
1566-772: The arrival of the Northern Kentucky Norse to the league, who departed from the Atlantic Sun Conference . Valparaiso won the regular season championship again but was defeated by Green Bay in the tournament championship 78–69. The Milwaukee baseball team made national headlines during the 1999 College World Series by upsetting No. 1 ranked Rice in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. In the 2004–05 academic year, Milwaukee's men's soccer team defeated 16th-ranked San Francisco , while Detroit upset Michigan in women's soccer in their respective NCAA tournaments. Also that year, Butler's men's cross country team finished fourth in
1624-586: The centerpiece of a revamped web portal. The digital network aired over 200 live events free on the league's official website at the time. The Horizon League and WebStream Productions launched a completely redesigned HLN website in September 2009. The site serves as a portal to hundreds of live and on-demand videos while giving its users the ability to interact on an array of social media platforms. The Horizon League Network migrated to ESPN3 in 2014, and over 700 events streamed live in 2015–16. Horizon League coverage
1682-640: The conference in 1993. The largest non-merger conference expansion in NCAA history occurred on December 9, 1993, when Cleveland State , UIC , Northern Illinois , Wisconsin–Green Bay , Wisconsin–Milwaukee , and Wright State left the Mid-Continent Conference to join the Midwestern Collegiate Conference beginning with the 1994–95 academic year. With Evansville's departure to the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) , there were 12 league members. Xavier, Notre Dame, and La Salle withdrew
1740-655: The conference was created primarily as a basketball conference. With the exception of Butler and Dayton, all charter members' women's basketball teams were already competing at the NCAA Division I level; Butler and Dayton upgraded their teams from NCAA Division II and commenced competition in the conference's second season. The conference was effectively absorbed by the Mid-Continent Conference (now known as The Summit League ), as six of its final seven members moved their women's sports to that organization (the remaining member, Akron, moved all its sports for both sexes to
1798-549: The final ESPN/USA Today poll. After defeating No. 25 (12 seed) UTEP , 13 seed Murray State and No. 4 (1 seed) Syracuse , the No. 8 (ESPN)/No. 11 (AP) (5 seed) Butler men's team defeated No. 7 Kansas State , the 2 seed in the West, by a score of 63–56 to advance to their first Final Four. After beating the No. 12 (ESPN)/No. 13 (AP) (5 seed) Michigan State Spartans 52–50 in the national semifinals, Butler played in Indianapolis against
Joseph J. Gentile Arena - Misplaced Pages Continue
1856-630: The first of either sex since Texas played in the 1987 Women's Final Four on its home court . Also of note, former Milwaukee head coach Bruce Pearl coached the Tennessee Volunteers to the Elite Eight and narrowly lost the opportunity to play Butler by losing to Michigan State, who Butler beat in the Final Four. Butler once again represented the Horizon League in the tournament with another very strong showing. As an 8 seed, Butler defeated (9 seed) Old Dominion , narrowly upset Pittsburgh (who
1914-685: The first round for the second straight year and third time in the last four years. In the 2006–07 basketball season, Butler won the Preseason NIT tournament in Madison Square Garden with wins over in-state rivals Notre Dame and Indiana in the NIT's Midwest regional bracket, followed by wins over No. 21 Tennessee and No. 23 Gonzaga in the NIT Final Four in Madison Square Garden. Later,
1972-465: The following season. The University of Notre Dame joined the conference for all sports except basketball and football in 1982. The conference attained automatic qualification for the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship in 1984 and the conference moved its headquarters to Indianapolis . Three changes occurred in the summer of 1985: Oklahoma City dropped out of the NCAA altogether; the conference name
2030-449: The following summer of 1995, followed by Northern Illinois in 1997. The conference changed its name to the Horizon League on June 4, 2001, in part due to the initials causing confusion between the MCC and the Mid-Continent Conference, who also used the initials. That year, Youngstown State University joined from the Mid-Con, and on May 17, 2006, Valparaiso University announced it would do
2088-454: The following year. As of the 2023–24 academic year , Detroit, now known as Detroit Mercy, is the only remaining member from the league's original members. In 1980, the league established its headquarters in Champaign, Illinois . The MCC gained an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament in 1981, followed by the announcement that Saint Louis University would be joining
2146-503: The introduction of a new secondary logo. The logo is a gold stylized H that incorporates the arch of the conference's primary logo and a number one to symbolize unity. As of the 2023–24 academic year , eight of the 11 full Horizon League members are former members of the Mid-Con (now known as the Summit League), with the exceptions being Detroit Mercy, Northern Kentucky, and Robert Morris. Nicknames and school names reflect those used in
2204-503: The last school year of conference membership. Full members Affiliate members Other Conference Other Conference The Horizon League sponsors championship competition in nine men's and ten women's NCAA sanctioned sports: For 2020–21, Detroit Mercy, Wright State and Green Bay announced eliminating men's and women's tennis, while Youngstown State reinstated men's swimming & diving. Departing members in pink. Men's varsity sports not sponsored by
2262-537: The men's basketball tournament and automatic qualification to the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship in 1989. In 1991, the conference received an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament and lost members Marquette and Saint Louis. Duquesne and La Salle joined the MCC in 1992, the same year the conference gained an automatic berth to the NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship . Duquesne and Dayton left
2320-574: The most prolific mid-major (non-power 6) conferences in all of college basketball. Even more impressively, those 24 clubs produced 22 wins in that span, including five "Sweet 16" appearances, making the Horizon League the only non-BCS conference to have Sweet 16 participants in five NCAA tournaments during that span (2003, 2005, 2007, 2010 and 2011). Four schools from the conference have produced "modern-day" Sweet 16 appearances – Loyola ( 1985 ), Xavier ( 1990 ), Butler ( 2003 , 2007 , 2010 and 2011 ), and Milwaukee ( 2005 ). The Horizon League also compiled
2378-698: The nation at the NCAA Cross-Country Championships, and their own Victoria Mitchell became the first Horizon League athlete to win an individual national title when she captured the 3,000 Meter Steeplechase at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Green Bay also upset 6th-ranked Oregon State in the opening round of the NCAA softball tournament. Although the league does not sponsor football , current members Robert Morris and Youngstown State play in Division I FCS . Youngstown State plays in
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2436-405: The original (PDF) on 2014-04-29 . Retrieved 2012-01-07 . {{ cite web }} : CS1 maint: archived copy as title ( link ) ^ http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/nd/sports/w-baskbl/auto_pdf/0405mg-180-208.pdf ^ http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/nd/sports/w-baskbl/auto_pdf/0405mg-149-179.pdf ^ "Archived copy" (PDF) . Archived from
2494-636: The original (PDF) on 2014-07-22 . Retrieved 2012-03-12 . {{ cite web }} : CS1 maint: archived copy as title ( link ) ^ "Archived copy" (PDF) . Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-12-10 . Retrieved 2012-01-08 . {{ cite web }} : CS1 maint: archived copy as title ( link ) ^ "2011-12 Women's Basketball Media Guide by Matt Zircher - Issuu" . ^ http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/xavi/sports/w-baskbl/auto_pdf/2011-12/misc_non_event/1112-mg-pt5-history.pdf ^ "Jean Lenti Ponsetto Profile - DePaul University Official Athletic Site" . Archived from
2552-553: The original (PDF) on 2015-04-04 . Retrieved 2015-03-24 . ^ "Archived copy" (PDF) . Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-07-28 . Retrieved 2012-01-08 . {{ cite web }} : CS1 maint: archived copy as title ( link ) ^ "Green Bay joins MU; North Star grows to 8" . The Milwaukee Journal. October 15, 1987. pp. Page 10C . Retrieved 17 November 2012 . ^ "2009 Women's Basketball Media Guide by University of Dayton - Issuu" . ^ "Archived copy" (PDF) . Archived from
2610-467: The original (PDF) on 2015-07-21 . Retrieved 2012-01-08 . {{ cite web }} : CS1 maint: archived copy as title ( link ) ^ http://detroittitans.com/sports/2011/10/24/WBB_1024111151.aspx?path=wbball ^ "Evansville Athletics - 2011-12 Women's Basketball Media Reference Guide" . Archived from the original on 2012-03-19 . Retrieved 2012-01-08 . ^ "UIC OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE - Women's Basketball" . Archived from
2668-414: The original on 2011-01-05 . Retrieved 2012-01-08 . ^ http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/loyc/sports/w-baskbl/auto_pdf/11WBBYearly.pdf ^ "Archived copy" (PDF) . Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-09-03 . Retrieved 2012-01-08 . {{ cite web }} : CS1 maint: archived copy as title ( link ) ^ "Archived copy" (PDF) . Archived from
2726-499: The original on 2012-10-30 . Retrieved 2012-11-17 . ^ http://www.ncaapublications.com/productdownloads/BKW09.pdf External links [ edit ] https://web.archive.org/web/20080510134324/http://www2.ncaa.org/portal/media_and_events/ncaa_publications/records_books/winter/basketball/index.html Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=North_Star_Conference&oldid=1186227889 " Categories : North Star Conference Sports in
2784-524: The same in 2007. In April 2013, the split of the original Big East Conference caused a ripple effect that fell to the Horizon League; Loyola announced that it would leave the Horizon League effective July 1 to join the Missouri Valley Conference, who itself lost Creighton to the reconfigured Big East. Butler also left the Horizon League. They spent a season in the Atlantic 10 before joining
2842-589: The season ranked No. 11 in the AP poll and No. 14 in the ESPN/USA Today poll. Cleveland State also earned a 6 seed in the NIT, losing in the first round to Dayton . Starting in 2009, regional convenience store and gas station chain Speedway served as the title sponsor of the conference tournament that Cleveland State won and earned the Horizon League's automatic bid to the NCAA Tourney while Butler earned an at-large bid. Butler,
2900-671: The second consecutive season. This time they faced Connecticut at Reliant Stadium in Houston. The Huskies were too much for the Butler Bulldogs to handle, as Butler lost the game 53–41 in an unusually low-scoring national championship game. This made Butler national runner-up for the second straight season. In the 2012 postseason, the Detroit Titans won their first Horizon League Championship since 1999 under head coach Ray McCallum . They defeated top seeded Valparaiso 70–50. The tournament MVP
2958-461: The teams’ home markets. In recent years, WMYD Detroit , Marquee Sports Network , Bally Sports Ohio , Bally Sports Great Lakes , Bally Sports Wisconsin , and SportsNet Pittsburgh have broadcast multiple men's and women's basketball contests. From 1995 to 2011, the Horizon League sent an impressive 24 qualifiers (7 At-Large berths) to the Men's NCAA basketball tournament, making the Horizon League one of
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#17328802157723016-413: Was No. 1 ranked and seeded), Wisconsin (4 seed) and Florida (2 seed) to return to the Final Four. Butler faced VCU , an 11 seed Cinderella team who unexpectedly reached the Final Four as the first team to play five tournament games to reach the Final Four, due to VCU's participation in the inaugural First Four Round. After Butler defeated VCU 70–62, the Bulldogs were in the national championship game for
3074-461: Was a women's conference in the NCAA . The conference existed from the 1983–84 school year through the 1991–92 school year. Originally announced in 1983, the conference was formed by charter members Butler , Dayton , DePaul , Detroit , Evansville , Loyola (Chicago) , Notre Dame , and Xavier . Although the conference was to offer competition in cross country, softball, swimming, tennis, and volleyball,
3132-485: Was absorbed into ESPN+ , along with other mid-major conferences, in 2018. The conference extended its deal with ESPN in 2021. Over 500 events are aired on ESPN+ annually, along with select men's basketball games airing on ESPN2 and ESPNU and the men's and women's basketball championships airing on ESPN and ESPNU. Basketball games not selected for broadcast on national linear television are often televised by regional sports networks and over-the-air channels within
3190-587: Was also the site of the 2014 NCAA Men's Collegiate Volleyball Championships on May 1 and May 3, 2014. Joe Gentile was a Chicago area car dealer who donated money to the university for the arena. This article about a sports venue in Illinois is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article related to a building or structure in Chicago is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Midwestern Collegiate Conference The Horizon League
3248-571: Was altered slightly to Midwestern Collegiate Conference ; and the conference began sponsoring women's athletics. The latter triggered Notre Dame's temporary withdrawal from the league as its women's teams were contracted to the North Star Conference . ESPN began televising the MCC Championship game in 1986. In 1987, Oral Roberts left the conference while Dayton joined and Notre Dame rejoined. The conference earned its first at-large bid to
3306-451: Was son Ray McCallum, Jr. Valparaiso was the regular season champion of the Horizon for the second straight year. It defeated Wright State 62–54 in the championship game under coach Bryce Drew for its first Horizon League Championship. This was the first season that the league was absent of Butler, who departed for the Atlantic 10 . Green Bay won the regular season championship in 2014. It
3364-501: Was upset by Milwaukee in the tournament semi-final. Milwaukee would go on to win the tournament, knocking off Wright State. Following a good outcome, finishing as the 2014 champions, the Milwaukee Panthers were banned from the 2015 NCAA Tournament and postseason play. Valparaiso won the regular and postseason championships. It entered the NCAA tournament as a 13th seed, although losing in the first round. The 2015 season ushered in
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