The Great Lakes Valley Conference announced Wednesday that its men's and women's basketball tournaments will be coming to St. Joseph in 2027.
The GLVC is partnering with the St. Joseph Sports Commission after three years in St. Charles on the Lindenwood University campus. The Civic Arena will now be the home to the event each March for the next three years.
"It's important to us to be able to build that tradition and build that fanfare," Brett Esely, the St. Joseph Sports Commission executive director, said. "They were willing and excited to partner with us for three (years), and we look forward to creating another great championship experience."
The contract bringing the conference tournament to the Civic Arena is just the latest major basketball event to come to St. Joseph. The city has also hosted the NCAA Division 2 Women's Basketball Elite Eight, and is coming up on the third annual Bill Snyder Women's Basketball Classic featuring Kansas State and Ole Miss.
The St. Joe Sports Commission also put in a bid for the MIAA Tournament, but league officials chose to renew its deal with Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City in February. That didn't deter Esely from seeking an annual opportunity to put basketball in St. Joseph each March.
"The bid we submitted (to the MIAA) was serious. I think it was received serious. The (MIAA) and its administrators made the decision to extend the partnership in Kansas City. Tough one to swallow, but we respect that. We hope to be able to build our own tradition here with our partners now from the Great Lakes Valley Conference."
Of the 15 schools in the conference, nine are in Missouri. The closest geographically are William Jewell College in Liberty and Rockhurst University in Kansas City.
