The Ohio Valley Conference, which Belmont will join next season, announced its new two-division, six-team setup for basketball only in a statement Tuesday.
Belmont will also compete with Eastern Kentucky, Jacksonville State, Morehead State, Tennessee State and Tennessee Tech in the OVC’s new East Division. The West division will consist of Austin Peay, Eastern Illinois, Murray State, Southeastern Missouri, SEIU, and Tennessee-Martin.
The divisions are currently set officially for men’s and women’s basketball. Volleyball and softball will also use the same scheduling format, but may not have formal divisions in place. Baseball, women’s soccer and men’s and women’s tennis will not use these divisions.
“OVC Divisional play for basketball, softball, and volleyball beginning in 2012 has been talked about for some time, and Thursday’s announcement provides greater clarity and direction moving forward.” said Belmont University Director of Athletics Mike Strickland.
The OVC expects to also announce next season’s conference basketball schedule “in the coming weeks.”