Missouri Valley Conference logo in Missouri State's colors
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 IFootball Championship Subdivision, but will start 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",[2] competes in Conference USA (CUSA), having moved from the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association after the spring 2023 season.[3] Men's swimming & diving had competed in the Mid-American Conference through the 2023–24 season, but sponsorship of that sport is transferring from that conference to the MVC in July 2024.[4] Missouri State will become a full member of CUSA on July 1, 2025.[5]
Missouri State athletics are frequently abbreviated as "MOST" when televised.
† – Track & field includes both indoor and outdoor
A member of the Missouri Valley Conference, Missouri State University sponsors six men's and 10 women's teams in NCAA sanctioned sports. Two more women's sports, both included in the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women program, are being added in 2024–25.[6]
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
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.[12] The team won the MACHA DIII championship with a 5–3 win over Robert Morris University- Peoria.[13][14][15]
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.
^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.