OVC History
Additionally, the OVC annually presents the Steve Hamilton Sportsmanship Award, in honor of the former Morehead State student-athlete, coach and athletics director, to a junior or senior student-athlete with significant athletic contributions who best exemplifies the characteristics of sportsmanship and citizenship. Most recently, the Conference has also implemented the OVC Institutional and Team Sportsmanship Awards, which are presented to one institution and 18 sport-specific teams voted by their peers to have best exhibited the standards of sportsmanship and ethical conduct as outlined by the OVC and NCAA.
women. In addition, the OVC also sponsors the combined men’s and women’s sport of rifle. Now in its seventh decade of competition, the Ohio Valley Conference has grown significantly from its humble beginnings while increasing the number of athletics opportunities it provides for students. Current league representatives include charter members Eastern Kentucky University, Morehead State University and Murray State University, along with Austin Peay State University, Belmont University, Eastern Illinois University, Jacksonville State University, Southeast Missouri State University, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Tennessee State University, Tennessee Technological University and the University of Tennessee at Martin.
2020-21 OVC Women’s Soccer Predicted Order of Finish
(As selected by the OVC Women’s Head Soccer Coahes and Sports Information Directors) 1. Murray State (5 first-place votes) 2. Southeast Missouri (7 first-place votes) 3. SIUE (6 first-place votes) 4. UT Martin (2 first-place votes) 5. Belmont (2 first-place votes) 6. Tennessee Tech 7. Austin Peay 8. Eastern Illinois 9. Eastern Kentucky 10. Morehead State 11. Jacksonville State
181 172 167 156 128 119 80 75 62 47 23
OVC Preseason Player Watch List Claire Larose, Austin Peay Julie Garst, Belmont Itxaso Aguero, Eastern Illinois Katie Shaffer, Eastern Kentucky Cynthia Bagozzi, Jacksonville St. Nichole Palmer, Morehead St. Abby Jones, Murray St. Megan Heisserer, SEMO MacKenzie Litzsinger, SIUE Kendall Powell, Tennessee Tech Erica Meyers, UT Martin
The vision of leadership demonstrated by the Founding Fathers in 1948 remains alive today as the Ohio Valley Conference prepares for the future. One example is in regard to the current trend in collegiate athletics administration for increased involvement of university presidents in setting policies and making rules. The presidents of OVC institutions, however, have always governed the Conference, long before presidential governance became a national theme. The Ohio Valley Conference sponsors the following sports: baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, tennis and track for men, and basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, tennis, track, volleyball and beach volleyball for
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// OVC CHAMPIONS • 2001 • 2002 • 2007 • 2011 • 2014 • 2019 //
on what has become a national issue. In 1995, the OVC implemented a first-of-itskind “Sportsmanship Statement,” a policy which promotes principles of fair play, ethical conduct and respect for one’s opponent. The statement has become a model for others to follow across the nation and has answered the challenge of the NCAA Presidents Commission to improve sportsmanship in collegiate athletics.
OVC
