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Missouri State Bears and Lady Bears
University	Missouri State University
Conference	Missouri Valley (primary) MVFC (football) CUSA (beach volleyball; primary on July 1, 2025) The American (men's soccer, from 2025)
NCAA	Division I (FCS)
Athletic director	Patrick Ransdell
Location	Springfield, Missouri
Varsity teams	19
Football stadium	Robert W. Plaster Stadium
Basketball arena	Great Southern Bank Arena
Baseball stadium	Hammons Field
Soccer stadium	Allison South Stadium
Mascot	Boomer the Bear and Growl the Bear
Nickname	Bears and Lady Bears Beach Bears (beach volleyball)
Fight song	The Scotsman
Colors	Maroon and white
Website	missouristatebears.com

The Missouri State Bears and Lady Bears are the athletic teams representing Missouri State University (formerly Southwest Missouri State University). Missouri State's athletics programs date back to 1908. Missouri State competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision, but started a transition to the Football Bowl Subdivision on July 1, 2024. The majority of sports play in the Division I Missouri Valley Conference.

Missouri State football competes in the Missouri Valley Football Conference and the women's beach volleyball team, nicknamed Beach Bears instead of "Bears" or "Lady Bears", competes in Conference USA (CUSA), having moved from the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association after the spring 2023 season.

Men's swimming & diving had competed in the Mid-American Conference through the 2023–24 season, but sponsorship of that sport transferred from that conference to the MVC in July 2024. Missouri State will become a full member of CUSA on July 1, 2025. With CUSA sponsoring soccer only for women, the men's soccer team will join the American Athletic Conference.

Missouri State athletics are frequently abbreviated as "MOST" when televised.

Sports sponsored

A member of the Missouri Valley Conference, Missouri State University sponsors six men's and 13 women's teams in NCAA sanctioned sports. The women's sports of acrobatics & tumbling and stunt, both included in the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women program, were added in 2024–25.

National championships

Team

Notes

1. Women's College World Series

Women's basketball NCAA tournament results

NCAA Tournament appearances

WBIT appearances

2024

WNIT appearances

2002, 2005 (Champions), 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2023

AIAW tournament appearances

Missouri AIAW state tournament: 1970–1982 (won 1971, 1973, 1974, 1975 and 1981 tournaments)
AIAW Region VI tournament: 1974, 1975, 1981
AIAW Division II national tournament: 1981

Conference championships

Gateway Conference (1983–1992) 2
1991, 1992

Missouri Valley Conference (1992–present) 12
1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2012, 2020, 2021

Head coaches

• Reba Sims (10 seasons, 129–116), 1969–1979
• Marti Gasser (4 seasons, 62–60), 1979–1983
• Valerie Goodwin-Colbert (4 seasons, 48–63), 1983–1987
• Cheryl Burnett (15 seasons, 319–136), 1987–2002
  • 10 NCAA Tournament Appearances
    • 2 Final Four Appearances
    • 3 Sweet 16 Appearances
  • 1 WNIT Appearance
• Katie Abrahamson-Henderson (5 seasons, 95–61), 2002–2007
  • 3 NCAA Tournament Appearances
  • WNIT Championship
• Nyla Milleson (5 seasons, 105–87), 2007–2013
  • 3 WNIT Appearances
• Kellie Harper (6 seasons, 118–79), 2013–2019
  • 2 NCAA Appearances
  • 3 WNIT Appearances
• Amaka Agugua-Hamilton (3 seasons, 73-15), 2019–2022
  • 1 NCAA Appearance
    • 1 Sweet Sixteen Appearance

• Beth Cunningham (2 seasons, 43-20) 2022–Present

• • 1 WBIT Appearance
  • 1 WNIT Appearance

Retired numbers

• 10 Jackie Stiles, 1997–2001 (finished career as leading career scorer in NCAA Division I women's basketball with 3,393 points; now #5 on the list)
• 22 Kari Koch, 2002-2006
• 35 Melody Howard, 1990–1994
• 42 Jeanette Tendai, 1982–1986

Facilities

Notes

1. For swimming, capacity decreases to 300.
2. For field hockey and lacrosse, the capacity is 250.

Club sports

The university also sponsors several club sports teams, including ice hockey (ACHA), lacrosse (MCLA), and roller hockey (NCRHA).

Men's ice hockey

Missouri State men's ice hockey, known as the "Ice Bears", began in 2001 and despite not being a varsity NCAA sport receives much attention on and off-campus. The Ice Bears currently compete at the Division I level of the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) in the Western Collegiate Hockey League (WCHL). The teams play off-campus at the 2,000-seat Mediacom Ice Park.

Men's varsity ice hockey finished the 2009–2010 season ranked 2nd in the MACHA DII with a record of 12–4–0 in 16 league games, the team lost in the MACHA Championship 1–5 to Southern Illinois University- Edwardsville. In addition to the ACHA DII team the University also fields a JV teams playing at the ACHA DIII level. The team won the MACHA DIII championship with a 5–3 win over Robert Morris University- Peoria.

Men's lacrosse

Missouri State also fields a highly successful club Lacrosse Team. Founded in 2003, it competes in the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA) Division II and was a member of the Great Rivers Lacrosse Conference (GRLC) through 2017 before it moved to Division II of the Lone Star Alliance (LSA) in 2018. The Bears have been conference champions five times in their history (2004, 2009, 2010, 2017, and 2018) and have qualified for the MCLA National Championships on four occasions (2009, 2010, 2017, and 2018). The Bears finished the 2018 season with a record of 12–3, including a perfect 6–0 conference record and victories over Creighton, Baylor, and in-state rival University of Missouri. Since 2003, Missouri State has fielded 11 All-Americans, over 80 All-Conference players, 3 GRLC Tournament MVP's, and 4 GRLC Division II Coach's of the Year.

References

1. "Colors - Identity Standards - Missouri State University". February 5, 2015. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
2. See, e.g., "Beach Volleyball Program Will Join C-USA in 2024" (Press release). Missouri State Athletics. May 11, 2023. Retrieved May 18, 2023. The Beach Bears will part ways with the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA) next season to join TCU and Tarleton State as affiliate members of Conference USA.
3. "BVB: C-USA Adds TCU, Tarleton State and Missouri State as Affiliate Members for Beach Volleyball" (Press release). Conference USA. May 11, 2023. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
4. "MVC To Sponsor Men's Swimming & Diving in 2024-25" (Press release). Missouri Valley Conference. April 11, 2024. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
5. "CUSA Adds Missouri State" (Press release). Conference USA. May 10, 2024. Retrieved May 10, 2024.
6. "American Athletic Conference Adds Missouri State University as Affiliate Member in Men's Soccer" (Press release). American Athletic Conference. October 25, 2024. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
7. "Missouri State Will Add Two Women's Varsity Sports" (Press release). Missouri State Athletics. December 11, 2023. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
8. "NCAA Division II Men's Golf Championship Results" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
10. https://web.archive.org/web/20080724171155/http://www.cfpmidweek.com/weeks/IssuePDFs/vo5i19web.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 24, 2008. Retrieved June 10, 2010. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
11. "Experience Fall in the Ozarks - Springfield Missouri Travel & Tourism - Ozarks/Midwest Vacations". springfieldmo.org. Archived from the original on 13 June 2010. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
12. "Alumni News - Missouri State University Alumni Association - Missouri State University". Archived from the original on June 1, 2010. Retrieved June 10, 2010.
13. "Mid-America Collegiate Hockey Association Home Page". Machahockey.com. 2012-03-08. Retrieved 2012-05-30.
15. https://web.archive.org/web/20080724170815/http://www.cfpmidweek.com/weeks/IssuePDFs/vo5i21web.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 24, 2008. Retrieved June 10, 2010. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

External links

• Official website

Links to related articles

v t e Missouri Valley Conference Members Belmont Bruins Bradley Braves Drake Bulldogs Evansville Purple Aces Illinois State Redbirds Indiana State Sycamores Missouri State Bears and Lady Bears (leaving in 2025) Murray State Racers Northern Iowa Panthers Southern Illinois Salukis Valparaiso Beacons UIC Flames Men's soccer associates Bowling Green Falcons Northern Illinois Huskies Western Michigan Broncos Men's swimming & diving associates Ball State Cardinals Miami RedHawks Women's swimming & diving associate Little Rock Trojans Championships & awards Baseball tournament Men's basketball tournament (Arch Madness) Women's basketball tournament (Hoops in the Heartland) Men's soccer tournament Women's soccer tournament Hall of Fame v t e Missouri Valley Football Conference Teams Illinois State Redbirds Indiana State Sycamores Missouri State Bears (leaving in 2025) Murray State Racers North Dakota Fighting Hawks North Dakota State Bison Northern Iowa Panthers South Dakota Coyotes South Dakota State Jackrabbits Southern Illinois Salukis Youngstown State Penguins Championships & awards All-time standings Conference champions Seasons 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 v t e Conference USA Full members FIU Panthers Jacksonville State Gamecocks Kennesaw State Owls Liberty Flames/Lady Flames Louisiana Tech Bulldogs/Lady Techsters Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders New Mexico State Aggies Sam Houston Bearkats UTEP Miners (leaving in 2026) Western Kentucky Hilltoppers/Lady Toppers Future full members Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens (joining in 2025) Missouri State Bears/Lady Bears (joining in 2025) Baseball affiliate members Dallas Baptist Patriots Beach volleyball affiliate members Florida Atlantic Owls Missouri State Beach Bears (becoming full member in 2025) Tarleton Texans Tulane Green Wave UAB Blazers Bowling affiliate members Arkansas State Red Wolves Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks Tulane Green Wave Valparaiso Beacons Vanderbilt Commodores Wichita State Shockers Youngstown State Penguins History Metro Conference Great Midwest Conference 2005 NCAA conference realignment 2010–2013 Conference USA realignment 2021–2026 NCAA conference realignment Southland Bowling League v t e Sports teams based in Missouri Baseball MLB Kansas City Royals St. Louis Cardinals TL Springfield Cardinals PL Cape Catfish O'Fallon Hoots Basketball IBA St. Louis Trotters Football NFL Kansas City Chiefs UFL St. Louis Battlehawks X League Kansas City Force Independent Kansas City Storm Ice hockey NHL St. Louis Blues ECHL Kansas City Mavericks NA3HL St. Louis Jr. Blues Roller derby WFTDA Arch Rival Roller Derby CoMo Derby Dames Springfield Roller Derby St. Chux Derby Chix MRDA St. Louis GateKeepers Rugby USAR Kansas City Blues St. Louis Bombers Soccer MLS St. Louis City SC MLS Next Pro St. Louis City 2 NWSL Kansas City Current USL2 St. Charles FC St. Louis Scott Gallagher NPSL Club Atletico Saint Louis Demize NPSL MASL Kansas City Comets St. Louis Ambush Tennis WTT Springfield Lasers College athletics NCAA Division I Kansas City Roos Lindenwood Lions Missouri Tigers Missouri State Bears and Lady Bears Saint Louis Billikens Southeast Missouri State Redhawks NCAA Division II Central Missouri Mules and Jennies Drury Panthers Lincoln Blue Tigers Maryville Saints Missouri S&T Miners Missouri Southern Lions Missouri Western Griffons Northwest Missouri State Bearcats Southwest Baptist Bearcats Truman Bulldogs UMSL Tritons William Jewell Cardinals NCAA Division III Washington Bears NAIA Central Methodist Eagles

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