MVC Champions Clash in Opener

?       The 2007 Missouri Valley Conference season will open with a clash of champions Wednesday night at Creighton's Morrison Stadium.

?       Visiting Bradley has claimed at least a share of the last two regular-season Valley titles, while host Creighton has won the last two MVC Tournament crowns and shared the 2006 regular-season league title with the Braves.

?       Wednesday's 7:05 p.m. game between the Braves and Bluejays will be televised nationally on Fox Soccer Channel, the sixth televised clash between Bradley and Creighton in the last eight years.

It's a Western Thing

?       For the second time in three years, Bradley will play all three NCAA Division I “Western” programs.

?       Already with a 3-0 victory against Western Illinois, Bradley will visit Western Michigan Sunday (noon) and then will host Valley rival Western Kentucky in the regular-season finale Nov. 10 at Shea Stadium.

?       The Braves also played all three “Western” schools during the 2005 season and swept the triumverate with a trio of 1-goal victories.

Winning on the Valley Road

?       Winning on the road is usually the key to winning championships and that certainly has been the case for Bradley the last three years.

?       The Braves are 8-1-3 (.792) on The Valley road since the start of the 2004 season, with the lone loss a 3-2 setback at #23 Creighton Oct. 15, 2005 at Morrison Stadium.

?       Bradley is 4-0-1 in its five Valley road games since that 2005 loss to the Bluejays.

?       In Bradley's three MVC championship seasons, the Braves boast a 7-2-2 (.727) record in Valley road games :2006 (2-0-1), 2005 (2-1-1) and 1998 (3-1-0).

Oh-for-Omaha

?       While Bradley has enjoyed a great deal of success on the road during the Jim DeRose era, the Braves remain winless all-time in Omaha and will bring a n 0-11-1 all-time Omaha record into Wednesday's game at Creighton.

?       In addition to its 0-8-0 road record versus Creighton, Bradley is 0-3-1 in its four neutral-site games played in Omaha.

?       The Braves did take a step in the right direction by ending a 10-game Omaha losing streak during the 2004 MVC Tournament by playing #3 SMU to a 1-1 draw in the semifinals at Morrison Stadium, only to lose the resulting shootout, 5-3.

?       In its most recent game in Omaha, Bradley suffered a 3-2 loss at #23 Creighton Oct. 15, 2005 for its only conference road loss during its two-year Valley championship reign.

Charitable Rivalry

?       Including a trio of spring exhibition games, Bradley and Creighton have joined forces to raise more than $21,000 for charity the last four years, a tradition that began with the “Goals for Life” promotion to benefit the American Cancer Society during the 2004 regular-season meeting in Peoria.

?       The players from both teams made donations to the “Goals for Life” campaign in 2004 at Shea Stadium and the teams have targeted a local charity to benefit from their last three spring exhibition meetings.

$ 2,000  Oct. 8, 2004     Goals for Life            American Cancer Society

$10,000  2005 exhibition  Kicks for Kids            Omaha Children's Hospital

$ 6,000  2006 exhibition  Kickin' It for St. Jude   Midwest affiliate of the 

                                                    St. Jude Children's 

                                                    Research Hospital

$ 3,000  2007 exhibition  Kickin' It for St. Jude   Midwest affiliate of the 

                                                    St. Jude Children's 

                                                    Research Hospital

$21,000  4-Event Total