Courtesy: Missouri State Athletics
SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State swimming & diving head coach Dave Collins has announced the team’s full 2024-25 season schedule.
This upcoming season will mark the first time the Missouri Valley Conference has sponsored men’s swimming & diving since the 2002-03 season, bringing both the men’s and women’s teams under the same conference banner.
“We are very excited about this year’s meet schedule,” Collins said. “We tried to focus on putting together a set of meets that would best prepare us for the championship part of the season. Having the opportunity to race on back-to-back days numerous times this season will be a good test for us.”
The season kicks off on the first weekend of October with the Bears traveling for a two-day meet against Southern Illinois at Dr. Edward J. Shea Natatorium on Oct. 4 and 5. Missouri State ended last season at the facility with the Mid-American Conference Championships last March. The Bears and Salukis battled in a two-day meet in Springfield last year with the men’s and women’s teams splitting the results.
The Bears will stay on the road on Oct. 17 with the women’s team taking on Arkansas in Fayetteville, completing a home-and-home series as the Razorbacks competed in Springfield last November.
Missouri State will have its home opener on Oct. 25 against crosstown rival Drury University at Hammons Student Center Pool. The two teams will face off again for a separate meet the following day at Breech Pool on Drury’s campus.
The Drury Panthers are coming off a fourth consecutive runner-up finish in the Division II Men’s Championships, while the women’s team finished third for the second straight season.
The Bears remain at home to start November with a two-day meet against Omaha on Nov. 1 and 2. The men’s team will take on the Mavericks for the very first time, while the women defeated Omaha in their lone matchup in 2008.
“We also look to build on the momentum established last year when it comes to creating a fun home meet experience for our athletes and fans,” Collins said. “We have some pretty unique things planned so that our home meets become can’t-miss events on campus!”
Missouri State will participate in the House of Champions Invitational for its mid-season three-day meet for the first time since winning both the men’s and women’s competitions in 2016. The meet will go from Nov. 21-23 at IU Natatorium hosted by Indiana University – Indianapolis.
The Bears will be off in December for the first time since the 2020-21 season. The team returns to competition with two-day dual meets against Missouri and McKendree on Jan. 17 and 18 in Columbia, Mo. Missouri State hosted Mizzou last December in what was the highest-attended meet in Hammons Student Center Pool history (372).
The final swim meet before the conference championships will be a two-day home meet against UIC on Jan. 24 and Jan. 25, the latter of which will serve as Missouri State’s senior day. The UIC Flames hosted MoState last January with the Bears winning on both the men’s and women’s sides.
An addition to this year’s schedule is a trip to the Omaha Diving Invite on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1.
Along with the MVC sponsoring men’s swimming & diving this year comes the twist that the men’s conference championships will take place before the women’s championships. The MVC Men’s Swimming & Diving Championships will be from Feb. 19-22 at Corwin M. Nixon Aquatic Center. The meet will be hosted by four-time defending MAC men’s champion Miami University (Ohio).
The Missouri State men have won five MVC championships/invitationals with the most recent being in 2006 the year before moving to the Sun Belt Conference. It most recently won a conference championship in the MAC in 2020.
The MVC Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships will be the following week, starting on Feb. 26 and ending on March 1 at Waukee Community School District Natatorium, which opened earlier this year near Des Moines, Iowa. The Missouri State women will be looking for a ninth consecutive MVC title and what would be their 21st in 23 years.