No.

The South Dakota State University men’s basketball team ranks second in conference tournament championships, behind former Summit League member Valparaiso.
Valparaiso, which joined the Horizon League in 2007 after leaving the Summit League (then called the Midcontinent Conference), won eight tournament titles, while South Dakota State has won seven entering the 2026 event.
Valparaiso’s best showing at the NCAA Tournament was in 1998, when the No. 13 seed made it to the Sweet 16.

SDSU has yet to advance past the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Jackrabbits won the conference title five times from 2012-2018, and in 2022 and 2024.
After Valparaiso and SDSU, Oral Roberts and North Dakota State both have five conference titles.
The 2026 Summit League Tournament takes place March 4-8 in Sioux Falls. NDSU is seeded No. 1, University of South Dakota fourth and SDSU seventh.
This fact brief responds to conversations such as this one.
Sources
The New York Times, Valparaiso to Leave Mid-Continent for Horizon
Summit League, Men’s basketball history
KELO-TV, Summit League men’s bracket unveiled
South Dakota News Watch partners with Gigafact to publish fact briefs that refute or confirm a claim with supporting information and additional evidence and context. Send questions or feedback to factbrief@sdnewswatch.org. Submit a question for us to answer on the South Dakota News Watch Tipline.
Support fact briefs. Help us fight misinformation by supporting fact briefs that refute or confirm a claim with supporting information and additional evidence and context.
This story was produced by South Dakota News Watch, an independent, nonprofit organization. Read more stories and donate at sdnewswatch.org and sign up for an email to get stories when they're published. Contact Michael Klinski at michael.klinski@sdnewswatch.org.

