ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - Since 1991, the Missouri Valley Conference has conducted their conference tournament in St. Louis.
Many future NBA players have competed in the tournament dubbed Arch Madness. Among the NBA players who have competed in Arch Madness included Kyle Korver, Doug McDermott, Fred Van Vleet, Landry Shamet, Austin Reaves, Danny Granger and so many more.
Despite fears of Arch Madness ending in March 2025 when the current deal ends, Arch Madness will continue to be staple event in the city till the end of the decade potentially.
Missouri Valley Conference Commissioner Jeff Jackson and St. Louis Blues CEO Chris Zimmermann announced Thursday that the tournament will remain in St. Louis till 2028 at the least, with option to extend the agreement through the 2030 event.
“We are so fortunate to be in a position to continue our relationship with the Enterprise Center and the City of St. Louis,” says Commissioner Jackson said in a press release. “Arch Madness has proven to be a fabulous experience for our student-athletes. I want to thank Chris Zimmerman and Todd Mitchell (Vice President & General Manager of Enterprise Center) for their efforts on this matter and everyone’s on-going support of “The Valley.”
The tournament has been an annual staple in St. Louis since 1991, when the tournament was held at the Kiel Auditorium. The tournament would only be held there for a year then moved to the old Checkerdome for three seasons. Since 1995, the arena now known Enterprise Center has been the host of the tournament.
According to the conference, over 1.5 million people have attended the tournament since it moved to St. Louis in 1991.
The relationship between the two parties have let Enterprise Center to not only host Arch Madness but also multiple NCAA Tournament rounds over the years. Enterprise Center is currently set to serve as a site for the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament in 2026.
Despite no longer being a member of the conference, Creighton was the most frequent winner of Arch Madness winning a still-record nine tournaments in St. Louis from 1991 to their last season in the conference in 2013.
Drake Bullsdogs won last year's conference tournament, blowing out Bradley 77-51. The 2024 men's tournament is set to take begin on Thursday March 7, with the final on Sunday March 10.