2011 Baseball - Creighton University Bluejays

Records and History 2010 in Review Opponents Meet the Players Meet the Staff Creighton BaseballThis is Creighton104Creighton BluejaysMissouri Valley ConferenceFrom its early beginning to its current standing on the map ofcollege athletics, the Missouri Valley Conference continues to beproactive in its approach as it enters its 104th year in 2010-11.The nation’s second-oldest NCAA Division I conference is aleader in college athletics and one of the nation’s most progressiveconferences.The Missouri Valley Conference enters a new decade facinga rapidly changing environment in NCAA Division I athleticsas conference expansion and realignment swept the nation inthe summer of 2010. Although The Valley was untouched, theleague will remain vigilant in monitoring changes or potentialchanges in other conferences that might impact membership, orpresent opportunities for expansion.Men’s basketball continues to be the engine that drives Valleyathletic programs. With UNI’s NCAA Sweet 16 appearance in2010, the league has had four different Sweet 16 teams since2006, and The Valley is the only non-BCS league with morethan two different Sweet 16 teams in that span. Notably, a runof nine straight seasons with two or more teams in the NCAAsended in 2007, as the past three seasons have seen only thetournament champion included in the NCAA field.Last year, UNI’s team swept both the regular season andState Farm MVC Tournament titles, earning the Valley’s loneNCAA Tournament berth in the process. The Panthers escapedwith a 69-66 victory over UNLV in the NCAA’s opening round.UNI then became the first MVC team to beat a #1 seed in theNCAA Tournament since Cincinnati beat #1-ranked Ohio Statein the NCAA championship game in 1962, when it toppled#1-seeded Kansas 69-67. Ali Farokhmanesh’s key field goalsin the final moments of both tournament games sealed thosevictories and the Panthers finished with a school-record 30 wins(30-5), losing to Michigan State in the Sweet 16 in St. Louis.Notably, The Valley made history in March 2007 with recordattendance for four days at St. Louis’ Scottrade Center as 85,074fans turned out to watch the five sessions of the tournament.The two sellout crowds of 22,612 for both the semifinals andfinal of the 2007 State Farm Tournament set an all-time attendancerecord for basketball at the arena and also gave TheValley the distinction of having the largest championship crowdof any of the 30 NCAA conference tournaments in 2007. TheState Farm MVC Tournament continues to be a spectacularshowcase for the league, and the MVC has extended the tournamentagreement with the Scottrade Center that will keep ArchMadness in St. Louis through 2013. At the 2011 State FarmMVC Championship, the league will surpass one million in totalattendance for the event, now in its 21st year.In women’s basketball, the MVC matched a league-hightying six teams earning post-season berths, while 2010 markedthe 11th straight season that The Valley earned at least threepost-season bids. Illinois State advanced to the semifinals of theWNIT, marking the fourth time in league history that a Valleyschool has played in the WNIT semifinals, while Bradley andWichita State earned their first-ever postseason wins in programhistory. UNI won its first-ever State Farm MVC Championshiptitle, earning its first berth to the NCAA Tournament field of 64.The conference remains committed to keeping the tournamentat a neutral site at the Family Arena in St. Charles Mo., as establishinga neutral site remains a huge part of the overall effort toimprove women’s basketball in The Valley.In volleyball, for the sixth time in league history, two MVCteams were invited to dance in the 2009 NCAA VolleyballChampionship – UNI and Wichita State. With first-round winsover Washington State and Saint Louis, respectively, it markedjust the second time in MVC history that two teams advanced tothe second round of the NCAA Tournament in the same season(2006 – Missouri State and UNI).In baseball, Illinois State clinched a share of the regular-seasonMVC title for the first time in league history, and the Redbirdstook home the State Farm MVC Tournament trophy as well,topping host and top-seeded Wichita State. Illinois State earnedits second bid to the NCAA Tournament.In softball, the MVC returned to its multi-bid status after aone-year hiatus, sending two teams – Creighton and Illinois State– to the NCAA Tournament. The 2010 campaign marked theseventh time in eight seasons that The Valley has placed multipleteams into the NCAA field.In men’s soccer, for the 13th time in league history, at leasttwo MVC teams were invited to dance in the 2009 NCAAMen’s Soccer Championship – Drake and Missouri State. TheBulldogs won their first league tournament championship andsaw its magical run end at the NCAA Elite Eight, falling to No.4 North Carolina, 2-1. The 2009 campaign marked the thirdstraight season and the ninth time in the past 10 years that aValley men’s soccer team advanced to the Quarterfinal Roundof the NCAA Championship.During the tenure of Doug Elgin, The Valley’s ninth andlongest-tenured commissioner, The Valley has been aggressive inhosting NCAA events in St. Louis. Since 1998, the MVC servedas host for a staggering nine NCAA tournament events in the13-year period, which has made St. Louis one of the most frequentstops on the NCAA Tournament trail. The Valley hostedWomen’s Final Fours in 2001 and 2009, and the Men’s Final Fourin 2005.The seeds for the creation of the conference were plantedby eight administrators representing five institutions, who met atthe Midland Hotel in Kansas City, Mo., on Jan. 12, 1907. The fiveschools which formed the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate AthleticAssociation were Washington University of St. Louis, and thestate universities of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska. Twomonths after the initial meeting, two more schools -- DrakeUniversity and Iowa State College -- were admitted.In the fall of 1907, basketball became the first competitivesport. Today, the Missouri Valley Conference sponsors thefollowing sports: baseball, men’s and women’s basketball,men’s and women’s cross country and track & field (indoor andoutdoor), men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s soccer,softball, women’s swimming and diving, men’s and women’s tennis,and women’s volleyball.Athletic accomplishments on the men’s athletics side include14 national basketball championships, 16 trips to the NCAAFinal Four, a 1989 national baseball championship and 19College World Series qualifiers. In 2010, Missouri State’s men’sbasketball program won the CollegeInsider.com PostseasonTournament, the league’s first national title in men’s basketballsince 1982 (Bradley, NIT). In 2001, Missouri State added to TheValley women’s accomplishments, as the Lady Bears advancedto the Women’s Basketball Final Four in St. Louis. Creighton(2004) and Missouri State (2005) have claimed national championships(WNIT) in women’s basketball, while MSU also has a1992 NCAA Women’s Final Four appearance, and Creighton(2003), Drake (1999) and Illinois State (2009) have made semifinaltrips to the WNIT postseason tournament.Indeed, the inclusion of women’s programs under The Valleybanner has provided a boost. The Gateway Collegiate AthleticConference -- which began in 1982 -- merged with the MissouriValley Conference and was unveiled as part of the new conferenceon July 1, 1992.While the inclusion of women’s sports under a comprehensiveathletic umbrella is a recent development in the league’sstoried history, over the years, Valley student-athletes andcoaches have become household names during the league’sillustrious history, both during their collegiate careers and, forsome, professional careers.In fact, The Valley began honoring that tradition in the summerof 1997, when the conference began its athletics Hall ofFame. 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 initialinduction class. Currently, more than 60 former players,coaches and alumni dot the league’s Hall of Fame.In the fall of 1997, Creighton’s Johnny Torres was named thecollegiate male soccer player of the year for a second straightyear, while SMU’s Luchi Gonzalez (2001) and Tulsa’s Ryan Pore(2004) have also earned a National Player of the Year honorin men’s soccer. Meanwhile league member Wichita State hasproduced three national collegiate players of the year in baseball,including Joe Carter (1981), Phil Stephenson (1982) and DarrenDreifort (1993).League members include Bradley, Creighton, Drake,Evansville, Illinois State, Indiana State, Missouri State, NorthernIowa, Southern Illinois, and Wichita State. Central Arkansas andSouthern Illinois-Edwardsville are men’s soccer affiliates, beginningin 2010.1818 Chouteau Ave.St. Louis, MO 63103Phone: (314) 421-0339Fax: (314) 421-0620www.mvc.orgMVC StaffDoug Elgin - CommissionerPatty Viverito - Senior Associate CommissionerJoe Mitch - Associate CommissionerJack Watkins - Associate Commissioner forMarketing and TelevisionMike Kern - Associate Commissioner forCommunicationsMary Mulvenna - Assistant Commissioner forComplianceKelli Briscoe - Director of Communications & SportsAdministrationKristin Gregory - Assistant Director ofCommunications & SportsDerrick Docket - Director of New Media& TechnologyRich Steed - Chief Financial OfficerLori Brutton - Assistant to Chief Financial OfficerMaxine Day - Executive AssistantCarla Fight - Assistant to the Commissioner2010-11 ChampionshipsOct. 8-10 Individual Tennis (W) - Normal, Ill.Oct. 30 Cross Country (M/W) - Wichita, Kan.Nov. 5-7 Soccer (W) - Omaha, Neb.Nov. 10-14 Soccer (M) - Peoria, Ill.Nov. 25-27 Volleyball - Wichita, Kan.Jan. 21-23 Individual Tennis (M) - Des Moines, IowaFeb. 17-19 Swimming & Diving (W) - Carbondale, Ill.Feb. 26-27 Indoor Track & Field (M/W) - Cedar Falls, IowaMar. 3-6 MVC Basketball (M) - St. Louis, Mo.Mar. 10-13 MVC Basketball (W) - St. Charles, Mo.April 22-23 Golf (W) - Normal, Ill.April 25-26 Golf (M) - Lake of the Ozarks, Mo.Apr. 29-May 1 Tennis (M/W) - St. Louis, Mo.May 12-14May 13-15May 24-28BradleyCreightonDrakeEvansvilleIllinois StateIndiana StateMissouri StateNorthern IowaSouthern IllinoisWichita StateDoug ElginCommissionerSoftball - Springfield, Mo.Outdoor Track & Field (M/W) - Cedar Falls, IowaBaseball - Omaha, Neb.League Schoolswww.bradleybraves.comwww.gocreighton.comwww.godrakebulldogs.comwww.gopurpleaces.comwww.goredbirds.comwww.gosycamores.comwww.missouristatebears.comwww.unipanthers.comwww.siusalukis.comwww.goshockers.comKelli BriscoeBaseball SID