Ohio Valley Conference The Ohio Valley Conference ( OVC ) is a college athletic conference which operates in the midwestern and southeastern United States . It participates in Division I of the NCAA ; the conference ' s football programs compete in the Football Championship Subdivision ( FCS ; formerly known as Division I - AA ) , the lower of two levels of Division I football competition . The OVC has 12 members , 9 of which compete in football in the conference . History . " Primary source : " The Ohio Valley Conference can trace its roots to 1941 when Murray State athletic director Roy Stewart , Eastern Kentucky athletic director Charles " Turkey " Hughes , and Western Kentucky public relations director Kelly Thompson first formulated the idea of establishing a regional athletics conference . The plan was put on hold due to World War II , but it was resurrected after the conclusion of the war . In 1948 , the three schools joined with Louisville , Morehead State , and Evansville to form the Ohio Valley Conference . While many collegiate conferences are struggling today with the question of whether their policies and rules should be determined by the athletic departments or by the institutional heads , from the very beginning , the OVC has been run by the presidents of its member schools . Historically , the OVC was a pioneer in racial desegregation with Morehead State signing the conference ' s first black athlete , Marshall Banks , in 1958 . The rest of the OVC soon followed in Morehead State ' s wake . Today , the OVC is unique among NCAA Division I conferences in that it includes one historically black university , Tennessee State University , in a conference that otherwise consists of institutions that are not traditionally black . All other HBCUs in NCAA Division I are members of either the MEAC or SWAC , conferences made up entirely of HBCUs . The OVC has also been a leader in advancement of sports opportunities fore women . The conference began adding championship competitions for women in 1977 several years after the AIAW began sponsoring national championships for women , but seven years before the NCAA was ready to move into the field . Since 2009 , the OVC has been led by Commissioner Beth DeBauche , one of only five female commissioners for the twenty - four Division I conferences . Athletic rivalries , especially when competitors are in relatively close proximity , can generate problems with fan behavior , and the conference leadership struggled with controlling the issue for many years . When the national debate on the problem reached its apex in the mid - 1990s , the OVC unveiled the national first of its kind " Sportsmanship Statement ” in 1995 , stating the conference ' s policy on , " . . . principles of fair play , ethical conduct and respect for one ' s opponent . " Since then , the OVC has also introduced individual , team ( for each sport ) , and institutional sportsmanship awards . Founded by six schools , the expansions of 2007 and 2011 have brought the Ohio Valley Conference membership to twelve schools , the most in its history . OVC Digital Network . In August , 2012 , the OVC announced that it had launched the OVC Digital Network as a replacement for and improvement over the conference ' s former efforts to provide streaming video coverage of many athletic events that it had been in place since 2006 . Member schools . Full members . Note = Morehead State ' s football team competes in the Pioneer Football League , a Division I FCS football - only conference whose members choose not to offer athletic scholarships for football . Membership timeline . Purple = Full member < br > Magenta = Full member except football < br > Orange = Associate member for football only < br > Green = Associate for sport other than football Sports offered . The Ohio Valley Conference currently offers championship competition in eighteen NCAA sanctioned sports , eight for men , nine for women , and rifle for men ' s , women ' s , and coed teams . Columbus State is an Associate member for rifle . Men ' s varsity sports not sponsored by the Ohio Valley Conference which are played by OVC schools : Women ' s varsity sports not sponsored by the Ohio Valley Conference which are played by OVC schools : Conference champions . Football conference champions . " This is a list of the champions since 2000 . For the complete history , see List of Ohio Valley Conference football champions . " $ – Jacksonville State ( 6 – 1 ) had the best record in the conference , but was ineligible for the championship due to Academic Progress Rate sanctions . $ $ – Tennessee Tech won the tie - breaker and received the automatic bid to the FCS playoffs . Men ' s basketball . " This is list of the champions since 2000 . For the complete history , see List of Ohio Valley Conference men ' s basketball champions . "