Bowling Green, Ky. — June 20, 2018 — The Bowling Green Area Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Mid-South Conference announced an extension of a contract that will bring at least 12 Mid-South Conference championships to Bowling Green each year. The announcement was made at a press conference on June 20 at the Bowling Green Ballpark.
The CVB and Mid-South Conference entered into a 5-year contract for fiscal year 2016 that was set to expire at the end of fiscal year 2020. The two agencies have entered into a new contract that will now go through fiscal year 2025.
“The Mid-South Conference is a valued partner,” said Vicki Fitch, Executive Director of the Bowling Green Area Convention & Visitors Bureau. “The first three years of our contract have gone well, with the city hosting championships ranging from golf to bowling and volleyball to softball. This is a boon for our local economy. Conference teams utilize Bowling Green hotels and eat at local restaurants.”
“We are so excited to extend this agreement to keep the bulk of our Mid-South Conference championships in Bowling Green and Warren County,” MSC Commissioner Eric Ward said. “Bowling Green has been a tremendous host for a growing number of championships over the past three years; giving our student-athletes quality venues to compete in while providing a first-class championship experience. In tandem with this extension, we are also relocating the conference office to Bowling Green, making Warren County our conference headquarters, as well as our home.”
Fourteen Mid-South Conference championships were contested in the Bowling Green area in 2017-18. That number will grow to 16 championships in 2018-19 — as women’s wrestling and men’s volleyball will join baseball, men and women’s bowling, men and women’s cross country, men and women’s golf, men and women’s soccer, softball, men and women’s tennis, women’s volleyball, and men’s wrestling.
In addition to the championships, the MSC will bring an eight-team invitational tournament for men’s and women’s basketball and an 18-team women’s volleyball invitational to Bowling Green this fall.
The Mid-South Conference will also host its administrative meetings in the city.
“Bowling Green’s top-notch sports facilities and parks help make this relationship possible,” said Amy Cardwell, Sports Sales Director at the CVB. “Hospitality has also played a role in creating this partnership. The welcoming staffs at our hotels, restaurants and stores create an environment that has these teams wanting to come back to Bowling Green.”
The Mid-South Conference is made up of universities from across the southern and midwestern United States, including eight full members and 22 associate members in 11 states. The conference sponsors 27 sports. The coordinating efforts of several athletic facilities and community sponsorships helped bring the Mid-South Conference to Bowling Green.