The Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC), formerly the Gateway Football Conference, is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) as a football-only conference.
The Western Illinois Leathernecks football program is the intercollegiate American football team for Western Illinois University located in Macomb, Illinois. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and are members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC). The school's first football team was fielded in 1903. The team plays its home games at the 16,368 seat Hanson Field. The Leathernecks are playing one final MVFC campaign in the fall of 2023 before joining the football alliance between the Big South Conference and Western's primary home of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) in 2024.
The Southern Illinois Salukis football program represents Southern Illinois University Carbondale in college football. The Salukis are a member of the NCAA and compete at the Division I Football Championship Subdivision level. The Salukis are a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference and play in Saluki Stadium on the campus of Southern Illinois University Carbondale in Carbondale, Illinois, which has a seating capacity of 15,000.
The 2011 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University in the 2011 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Leathernecks were led by head coach Mark Hendrickson in his 2nd full season and 4th overall year since coaching the first seven games of the 2008 season. They played their home games at Hanson Field and are a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference. They finished the season 2–9, 1–7 in MVFC play to finish in last place.
The 2012 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) in the 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by head coach Mark Hendrickson in his fourth full season and fifth overall year since coaching the first seven games of the 2008 season. They played their home games at Hanson Field. Western Illinois finished the season 3–8 overall and 1–7 in MVFC play to place ninth.
The 2013 Illinois State Redbirds football team represented Illinois State University as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2013 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by fifth-year head coach Brock Spack, the Redbirds compiled an overall record of 5–6 with a mark of 4–4 in conference play, placing sixth in the MVFC. Illinois State played home games at Hancock Stadium in Normal, Illinois.
The 2013 Southern Illinois Salukis football team represented Southern Illinois University Carbondale as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2013 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by sixth-year head coach Dale Lennon, the Salukis compiled an overall record of 7–5 with a mark of 5–3 in conference play, placing in a four-way tie for second in the MVFC. Southern Illinois played home games at Saluki Stadium in Carbondale, Illinois.
The 2015 Illinois State Redbirds football team represented Illinois State University as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2015 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by seventh-year head coach Brock Spack, the Redbirds compiled an overall record of 10–3 with a mark of 7–1 in conference play, sharing the MVFC title with North Dakota State for the second consecutive season. Illinois State received an at-large bid to the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs. After a first-round bye, the Redbirds defeated Western Illinois in the second round, before losing to Richmond in the quarterfinals. The team played home games at Hancock Stadium in Normal, Illinois.
The 2015 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University in the 2015 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by third year head coach Bob Nielson and played their home games at Hanson Field. They were a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference. They finished the season 7–6, 5–3 in MVFC play to finish in a three way tie for third place. They received an at-large bid to the FCS playoffs where they defeated Dayton in the first round before losing in the second round to fellow MVFC member Illinois State.
The 2016 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University as member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2016 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by first-year head coach Charlie Fisher, the Leathernecks compiled an overall record of 6–5 with a mark of 3–5 in conference play, tying for sixth place in the MVFC. Western Illinois played home games at Hanson Field in Macomb, Illinois.
The 2009 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University as a member of the in Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2009 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The team was led by head coaches Mark Hendrickson and Don Patterson, who left the team late in the 2008 season due to health problems. The 2009 season was Patterson's last with Western Illinois. He coached the first three games before stepping down, ceding the head coaching duties to Hendrickson. They played their home games at Hanson Field. The team compiling an overall record of 1–10 with a mark of 0–8 in conference play, placing last out of nine teams in the MVFC.
The 2017 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University in the 2017 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by second-year head coach Charlie Fisher and played their home games at Hanson Field. They were a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC). They finished the season 8–4, 5–3 in MVFC play to finish in fourth place. They received an at-large bid to the FCS Playoffs where they lost to Weber State in the first round.
The 2018 Southern Illinois Salukis football team represented Southern Illinois University Carbondale as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by third-year head coach Nick Hill, the Salukis compiled an overall record of 2–9 with a mark of 1–7 in conference play, placing last out of ten teams in the MVFC. Southern Illinois played home games at Saluki Stadium in Carbondale, Illinois.
The 2018 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by first-year head coach Jared Elliott and played their home games at Hanson Field. They were a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC). They finished the season 5–6, 4–4 in MVFC play to finish in fifth place.
The 2019 Indiana State Sycamores football team represented Indiana State University in the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by third-year head coach Curt Mallory and played their home games at Memorial Stadium. They were a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference. They finished the season 5–7, 3–5 in MVFC play to finish in seventh place.
The 2019 Southern Illinois Salukis football team represented Southern Illinois University Carbondale as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by fourth-year head coach Nick Hill, the Salukis compiled an overall record of 7–5 with a mark of 5–3 in conference play, placing in a three-way tie for third in the MVFC. Southern Illinois played home games at Saluki Stadium in Carbondale, Illinois.
The 2019 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University in the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by second-year head coach Jared Elliott and played their home games at Hanson Field. They were a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC). They finished the season 1–11, 1–7 in MVFC play to finish in a two-way tie for ninth place.
The 2020 Southern Illinois Salukis football team represented Southern Illinois University Carbondale as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by fifth-year head coach Nick Hill, the Salukis compiled an overall record of 6–4 with a mark of 3–3 in conference play, placing fifth in the MVFC. Southern Illinois received an at-large berth in the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs, where they beat Weber State in the first round before losing to the eventual national runner-up, South Dakota State in the quarterfinals. The team played home games at Saluki Stadium in Carbondale, Illinois.
The 2022 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2022 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by first-year head coach Myers Hendrickson. The Leathernecks played their home games at Hanson Field in Macomb, Illinois.
Dennis Houston is an American football wide receiver for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Western Illinois.
