SEMO says it will stay in the Ohio Valley Conference

After weeks of speculation, Southeast Missouri State University has announced it will stay in the Ohio Valley Conference.

SEMO's Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics posted Monday that the OVC is the best place for the university at this time.

Brady Barke posted that "even with the departures of Tennessee Tech and Little Rock, the conference includes nine full members and eight football-playing institutions," who are committed to recruiting new schools into the league.

Tennessee Tech declared in August that they are moving to the Southern Conference in 2026, after being in the OVC since 1949.

Little Rock announced their move to the United Athletic Conference in October. The Trojans were members of the OVC for four years. Austin Peay also recently joined the ASUN in 2022.

Barke added that SEMO will continue to evaluate opportunities and make adjustments as needed.


(Photo: SEMO Redhawks Facebook)