Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year


The Larry Bird Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year is an annual basketball award given to the Missouri Valley Conference's most outstanding player. The award was first given following the 1968–69 season. It was renamed to honor Basketball Hall of Famer Larry Bird, who played at Indiana State from 1977 to 1979 and led the Sycamores to the 1979 NCAA Championship game. Bird won every major player of the year award in 1979.
Creighton had the most all-time winners with seven, but it left the conference in July 2013 to join the reconfigured Big East Conference. Among schools remaining in the conference beyond 2013, Bradley and Southern Illinois have the most winners, with six apiece. The only current conference member that has never had a winner is Valparaiso, who played its first MVC season in 2017–18. There have never been any ties for the player of the year, but there have been nine repeat winners in the award's history. Of the repeat winners, only Fred VanVleet of Wichita State won in non-consecutive years.

Key

Winners

SeasonPlayerSchoolPositionClass
1968–69TulsaSG
1969–70CincinnatiC
1970–71DrakeSF
1971–72Memphis StateG
1972–73Memphis StatePF
1973–74LouisvilleSF
1974–75 LouisvilleSF
1975–76Southern IllinoisPG
1976–77BradleySG
1977–78Indiana StateSF
1978–79* Indiana StateSF
1979–80DrakeSF / SG
1980–81 DrakeSF / SG
1981–82TulsaPG / F
1982–83Wichita StateC
1983–84Wichita StatePF
1984–85 Wichita StatePF
1985–86BradleyPG
1986–87BradleySG
1987–88* BradleySG
1988–89BradleyPG
1989–90CreightonPF
1990–91CreightonC
1991–92Southern IllinoisPF
1992–93DrakePG
1993–94TulsaSF
1994–95Southern IllinoisSG
1995–96BradleySG / SF
1996–97Northern IowaPG
1997–98Illinois StateF
1998–99EvansvilleSG / PG
1999–00Indiana StateSF
2000–01Illinois StatePG
2001–02CreightonSF / SG
2002–03 CreightonSF / SG
2003–04Southern IllinoisG
2004–05 Southern IllinoisG
2005–06Wichita StateC
2006–07Southern IllinoisSG
2007–08DrakePG
2008–09CreightonSG
2009–10Northern IowaPF
2010–11Missouri StateSF
2011–12CreightonSF / PF
2012–13 CreightonSF / PF
2013–14Wichita StatePG
2014–15Northern IowaPF
2015–16 Wichita StatePG
2016–17Illinois StatePG
2017–18LoyolaPG
2018–19LoyolaSG
2019–20Northern IowaPG

Winners by school

Footnotes