They played their final game under the Missouri Valley Conference banner and move on next season to the Big East.

NPR: Duke Tops Creighton 66-50, Advances To Round Of 16

The Cardinals were a member of the Missouri Valley Conference in the 1960s and '70s, which meant annual games against the Shockers.

NPR: The Final Four Is Set After Blowouts, Surprises

The Missouri Valley Conference, of which Wichita State is a member, distributes the money it receives from the basketball fund evenly across its members.

FORBES: A Final Four Berth Means Big Money For Wichita State Basketball

Two sections packed with cheering Shockers fans provided all the encouragement necessary for a team that didn't win the Missouri Valley Conference tournament and was thought to be a bubble team for an NCAA berth.

WSJ: Wichita State Upsets Ohio State

The 5-foot-11 guard entered the tournament averaging just 9.3 points, but she had scored a career-high 22 in a Missouri Valley Conference championship game loss to Illinois State and carried that momentum over to the NCAA tournament.

WSJ: Creighton hangs on to defeat Syracuse 61-56

Wichita State made it this year as a bubble team after losing in the Missouri Valley Conference tourney, but the Shockers followed up an opening-round win over Pitt with an impressive victory over Gonzaga, the top seed in the West and the No. 1 team in the nation at the end of the regular season.

NPR: Wichita State Upsets OSU 70-66 For Final Four Trip