List of Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball champions
| Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Sport | College basketball |
| Conference | Ohio Valley Conference |
| Number of teams | 12 |
| Format | Single-elimination tournament |
| Current stadium | Ford Center |
| Current location | Evansville, Indiana |
| Played | 1949–1955; 1964–1967; 1975–present |
| Last contest | 2024 |
| Current champion | SIU Edwardsville |
| Most championships | Murray State Racers (18) |
| TV partner(s) | ESPN2, ESPNU |
| Official website | ovcsports.com/sports/mbball |
This is a list of regular season and tournament champions in men's basketball of the NCAA Division I Ohio Valley Conference.
Men's basketball conference champions
[edit]The Ohio Valley Conference basketball tournament was held in Louisville from 1949–55 and from 1964 to 1967. The tournaments held from 1948 to 1967 were done at the beginning of the season rather than after conference play. From 1956 to 1963 and from 1968 to 1974, no tournament was held. From 1975 to 1991, the tournament was held at the arena of the team that finished atop the conference standings. It has been held at a neutral site since 1992.[1]
| Season | Regular season champion | Tournament champion | Score | Tournament runner-up | Venue | City |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | Western Kentucky (8–2) | Western Kentucky | Jefferson County Armory | Louisville, Kentucky | ||
| 1950 | Western Kentucky (8–0) | Eastern Kentucky | ||||
| 1951 | Murray State (9–3) | Murray State | ||||
| 1952 | Western Kentucky (9–1) | Western Kentucky | ||||
| 1953 | Eastern Kentucky (9–1) | Western Kentucky | ||||
| 1954 | Western Kentucky (9–1) | Western Kentucky | ||||
| 1955 | Western Kentucky (8–2) | Eastern Kentucky | ||||
| 1956 | Morehead State/Tennessee Tech/Western Kentucky (7–3) | None | None | None | None | None |
| 1957 | Morehead State/Western Kentucky (9–1) | |||||
| 1958 | Tennessee Tech (8–2) | |||||
| 1959 | Eastern Kentucky (10–2) | |||||
| 1960 | Western Kentucky (10–2) | |||||
| 1961 | Morehead State/Western Kentucky/Eastern Kentucky (9–3) | |||||
| 1962 | Western Kentucky (11–1) | |||||
| 1963 | Tennessee Tech/Morehead State (8–4) | |||||
| 1964 | Murray State (11–3) | Murray State | Jefferson County Armory | Louisville, Kentucky | ||
| 1965 | Eastern Kentucky (13–1) | Western Kentucky | ||||
| 1966 | Western Kentucky (14–0) | Western Kentucky | ||||
| 1967 | Western Kentucky (13–1) | Tennessee Tech | ||||
| 1968 | East Tennessee/Murray St (11–3) | None | None | None | ||
| 1969 | Murray State/Morehead State (11–3) | |||||
| 1970 | Western Kentucky (14–0) | |||||
| 1971 | Western Kentucky (12–2) | |||||
| 1972 | Eastern Kentucky/Morehead State/Western Kentucky (9–5) | |||||
| 1973 | Austin Peay (11–3) | |||||
| 1974 | Austin Peay/Morehead State (10–4) | |||||
| 1975 | Middle Tennessee (12–2) | Middle Tennessee | 89–75 | Austin Peay | Murphy Center | Murfreesboro, Tennessee |
| 1976 | Western Kentucky (11–3) | Western Kentucky | 65–60 | Morehead State | E.A. Diddle Arena | Bowling Green, Kentucky |
| 1977 | Austin Peay (13–1) | Middle Tennessee | 77–65 | Austin Peay | Dunn Center | Clarksville, Tennessee |
| 1978 | Middle Tennessee/East Tennessee (10–4) | Western Kentucky | 77–69 | Austin Peay | E. A. Diddle Arena | Bowling Green, Kentucky |
| 1979 | Eastern Kentucky (9–3) | Eastern Kentucky | 78–77 | Western Kentucky | McBrayer Arena | Richmond, Kentucky |
| 1980 | Western Kentucky/Murray St (10–2) | Western Kentucky | 54–51 | Murray State | E. A. Diddle Arena | Bowling Green, Kentucky |
| 1981 | Western Kentucky (12–2) | Western Kentucky | 71–67 | Murray State | ||
| 1982 | Murray State/Western Kentucky (13–3) | Middle Tennessee | 54–52 | Western Kentucky | ||
| 1983 | Murray State (11–3) | Morehead State | 81–65 | Akron | Racer Arena | Murray, Kentucky |
| 1984 | Morehead State (12–2) | Morehead State | 47–44 | Youngstown State | Ellis Johnson Arena | Morehead, Kentucky |
| 1985 | Tennessee Tech (11–3) | Middle Tennessee | 66–63 | Youngstown State | Murphy Center | Murfreesboro, Tennessee |
| 1986 | Akron/Middle Tennessee (10–4) | Akron | 68–63 | Middle Tennessee | James A. Rhodes Arena | Akron, Ohio |
| 1987 | Middle Tennessee (11–3) | Austin Peay | 71–68 | Eastern Kentucky | Murphy Center | Murfreesboro, Tennessee |
| 1988 | Murray State (13–1) | Murray State | 73–70 | Austin Peay | Racer Arena | Murray, Kentucky |
| 1989 | Middle Tennessee/Murray St (10–2) | Middle Tennessee | 82–79 | Austin Peay | First round at campus locations; rest at Nashville Municipal Auditorium | Nashville, Tennessee |
| 1990 | Murray State (10–2) | Murray State | 73–67 | Eastern Kentucky | Racer Arena | Murray, Kentucky |
| 1991 | Murray State (10–2) | Murray State | 79–67 | Middle Tennessee | ||
| 1992 | Murray State (11–3) | Murray State | 81–60 | Eastern Kentucky | Rupp Arena | Lexington, Kentucky |
| 1993 | Tennessee State (13–3) | Tennessee State | 82–68 | Murray State | ||
| 1994 | Murray State (15–1) | Tennessee State | 73–72 | Murray State | Nashville Municipal Auditorium | Nashville, Tennessee |
| 1995 | Murray State/Tennessee State (11–5) | Murray State | 92–84 | Austin Peay | ||
| 1996 | Murray State (12–4) | Austin Peay | 70–68 | Murray State | ||
| 1997 | Murray State/Austin Peay (12–6) | Murray State | 88–85 (OT) | Austin Peay | Gaylord Entertainment Center | |
| 1998 | Murray State (16–2) | Murray State | 92–69 | Tennessee State | ||
| 1999 | Murray State (16–2) | Murray State | 62–61 | Southeast Missouri State | ||
| 2000 | Southeast Missouri/Murray St (14–4) | Southeast Missouri | 67–56 | Murray State | ||
| 2001 | Tennessee Tech (13–3) | Eastern Illinois | 84–83 | Austin Peay | ||
| 2002 | Tennessee Tech (15–1) | Murray State | 70–69 | Tennessee Tech | Commonwealth Convention Center | Louisville, Kentucky |
| 2003 | Austin Peay/Morehead State (13–3) | Austin Peay | 63–57 | Tennessee Tech | Gaylord Entertainment Center | Nashville, Tennessee |
| 2004 | Austin Peay (16–0) | Murray State | 66–60 | Austin Peay | Nashville Municipal Auditorium | |
| 2005 | Tennessee Tech (12–4) | Eastern Kentucky | 52–46 | Austin Peay | Gaylord Entertainment Center | |
| 2006 | Murray State (17–3) | Murray State | 74–57 | Samford | First round games at campus sites; rest at Gaylord Entertainment Center | |
| 2007 | Austin Peay (16–4) | Eastern Kentucky | 63–62 | Austin Peay | ||
| 2008 | Austin Peay (16–4) | Austin Peay | 82–64 | Tennessee State | First round games at campus sites; rest at Nashville Municipal Auditorium | |
| 2009 | Tennessee Martin (14–4) | Morehead State | 67–65 (2OT) | Austin Peay | First round games at campus sites; rest at Sommet Center | |
| 2010 | Murray State (17–1) | Murray State | 62–51 | Morehead State | ||
| 2011 | Murray State (14–4) | Morehead State | 80–73 | Tennessee Tech | Nashville Municipal Auditorium | |
| 2012 | Murray State (15–1) | Murray State | 54–52 | Tennessee State | ||
| 2013 | East: Belmont (14–2) West: Murray State (10–6) |
Belmont | 70–68 (OT) | Murray State | ||
| 2014 | East: Belmont (14–2) West: Murray State (13–3) |
Eastern Kentucky | 79–73 | Belmont | ||
| 2015 | East: Belmont (11–5) West: Murray State (16–0) |
Belmont | 88–87 | Murray State | ||
| 2016 | East: Belmont (12–4) West: Tennessee-Martin (10–6) |
Austin Peay | 83–73 | Tennessee–Martin | ||
| 2017 | East: Belmont (15–1) West: Tennessee-Martin (10–6) |
Jacksonville State | 66–55 | UT Martin | ||
| 2018 | Murray State (15–2) | Murray State | 68–51 | Belmont | Ford Center | Evansville, Indiana |
| 2019 | Belmont/Murray State (16–2) | Murray State | 77–65 | Belmont | ||
| 2020 | Belmont/Murray State (15–3) | Belmont | 76–75 | Murray State | ||
| 2021 | Belmont (18–2) | Morehead State | 86–71 | Belmont | ||
| 2022 | Murray State (18–0) | Murray State | 71–67 | Morehead State | ||
| 2023 | Morehead State (14–4) | Southeast Missouri | 89–82 (OT) | Tennessee Tech | ||
| 2024 | Little Rock/Tennessee Martin/Morehead State (14–4) | Morehead State | 69–55 | Little Rock | ||
| 2025 | Southeast Missouri State (15–5) | SIU Edwardsville | 69–48 | Southeast Missouri State |
Tournament championships by school
[edit]Schools highlighted in pink are former members of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament championships are indicated in bold.
| School | Number of Tournament Championships | Last Tournament Championship | Final Appearances (since 1975) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Murray State | 18 | 2022 | 1980, 1981, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022 |
| Western Kentucky | 10 | 1981 | 1976, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982 |
| Eastern Kentucky | 6 | 2014 | 1979, 1987, 1990, 1992, 2005, 2007, 2014 |
| Morehead State | 6 | 2024 | 1976, 1983, 1984, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2021, 2022, 2024 |
| Middle Tennessee | 5 | 1989 | 1975, 1977, 1982, 1985, 1986, 1989, 1991 |
| Austin Peay | 5 | 2016 | 1975, 1977, 1978, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2016 |
| Belmont | 3 | 2020 | 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 |
| Tennessee State | 2 | 1994 | 1993, 1994, 1998, 2008, 2012 |
| Southeast Missouri | 2 | 2023 | 1999, 2000, 2023, 2025 |
| Tennessee Tech | 1 | 1967 | 2002, 2003, 2011, 2023 |
| Akron | 1 | 1986 | 1983, 1986 |
| Eastern Illinois | 1 | 2001 | 2001 |
| Jacksonville State | 1 | 2017 | 2017 |
| SIU Edwardsville | 1 | 2025 | 2025 |
| UT Martin | 0 | – | 2016, 2017 |
| Little Rock | 0 | – | 2024 |
| Samford | 0 | – | 2006 |
| Youngstown State | 0 | – | 1984, 1985 |
Currently, Lindenwood, Western Illinois, Southern Indiana have never appeared in an OVC Tournament Final or won the conference championship.
