The Pioneer Football League (PFL) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) as a football-only conference. It has member schools that range from New York, North Carolina, and Florida in the east to California in the west. It is headquartered in St. Louis, in the same complex that also contains the offices of the Missouri Valley Conference and Missouri Valley Football Conference. Unlike most other Division I FCS conferences, the Pioneer League consists of institutions that choose not to award athletic scholarships ("grants-in-aid") to football players.
The Missouri Valley Conference is the fourth-oldest collegiate athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the midwest.
Homer Walter Drew Jr. is an American former college basketball coach and administrator who coached at Washington State, LSU, Bethel College, Indiana-South Bend, and Valparaiso. He retired from college basketball in 2011 with 640 career wins, which ranked him sixth amongst all Division I coaches at the time of his retirement. Drew was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019.
The Valparaiso Beacons is the name of the athletic teams from Valparaiso University – often referred to as Valpo – in Valparaiso, Indiana, United States. The Beacons compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level and are members of the Missouri Valley Conference in all sports except football, bowling, and men's swimming.
The Valparaiso Beacons men's basketball team represents Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Indiana. The basketball team competes in the Missouri Valley Conference, having joined that league in 2017 after 10 seasons in the Horizon League. The Beacons play in the Athletics-Recreation Center, which has a nominal capacity of 5,432. The record capacity 5,444 was reached on March 23, 2016, in the NIT Quarterfinal. The team last played in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament in 2015.
Mike Gravier is an American football coach and former player. He is the head football coach at Hug High School in Reno, Nevada, a position he had held since 2019. Gravier served as the head football coach at Malone College—now known as Malone University—in Canton, Ohio, from 1995 to 1998 and at Bluefield College in Bluefield, Virginia, in 2012. He was also the interim head football coach at Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Indiana, for the final game of the 2013 season.
The Hoosier Helmet Trophy is the name of the rivalry trophy between the Butler Bulldogs and Valparaiso Beacons.
The Valparaiso Beacons football program is the intercollegiate American football team for Valparaiso University located in the U.S. state of Indiana. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) as a member of the Pioneer Football League (PFL). Valparaiso's first football team was fielded in 1919. The team plays its home games at the 5,000-seat Brown Field in Valparaiso, Indiana. Landon Fox has served as the team's head coach since 2019. Valparaiso was known as the Crusaders through the 2019 season.
Mike Avery is an American athletic director, soccer coach, and former player who played as a midfielder or forward. He is the head coach and sporting director of USL League Two club Fort Wayne FC.
The 2011 Valparaiso Crusaders football team represented Valparaiso University as a member of the Pioneer Football League (PFL) during the 2011 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by second-year head coach Dale Carlson, the Crusaders compiled an overall record of 1–10 with a mark of 1–7 in conference play, placing last out of ten teams in the PFL. Valparaiso played home games at Brown Field in Valparaiso, Indiana.
The 2012 Valparaiso Crusaders football team represented Valparaiso University in the 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by third-year head coach Dale Carlson and played their home games at Brown Field. They are a member of the Pioneer Football League. They finished the season 1–10, 1–7 in PFL play to finish in ninth place.
The 2013 Valparaiso Crusaders football team represented Valparaiso University in the 2013 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by fourth-year head coach Dale Carlson and played their home games at Brown Field. They were a member of the Pioneer Football League. They finished the season 1–10, 1–7 in PFL play to finish in a tie for ninth place.
The 2014 Valparaiso Crusaders football team represented Valparaiso University in the 2014 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by first-year head coach Dave Cecchini and played their home games at Brown Field. They were a member of the Pioneer Football League. They finished the season 4–8, 2–6 in PFL play to finish in a tie for 9th place.
The 2014–15 Valparaiso Crusaders men's basketball team represented Valparaiso University during the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Crusaders, led by fourth year head coach Bryce Drew, played their home games at the Athletics–Recreation Center and were members of the Horizon League. Valpo finished the season 28–6, 13–3 in Horizon League play to win the Horizon League regular season championship. The Crusaders defeated Cleveland State and Green Bay to win the Horizon League tournament championship. Valpo received an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as a #13 seed and lost in the second round to Maryland.
The 2015–16 Valparaiso Crusaders men's basketball team represented Valparaiso University during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Crusaders, led by fifth year head coach Bryce Drew, played their home games at the Athletics–Recreation Center and were members of the Horizon League. They finished the season 30–7, 16–2 in Horizon League play to win the regular season championship. They lost in the semifinals of the Horizon League tournament to Green Bay. As a regular season conference champion who failed to win their conference tournament, received an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament. As one of the last four teams left out of the NCAA tournament, they received a #1 seed in the NIT where they defeated Texas Southern, Florida State, Saint Mary's, and BYU to advance to the championship game where they lost to George Washington.
The 2016 Valparaiso Crusaders football team represented Valparaiso University in the 2016 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by third-year head coach Dave Cecchini and played their home games at Brown Field. They were members of the Pioneer Football League. They finished the season 4–7, 3–5 in PFL play to finish in a two-way tie for seventh place.
The 2017 Valparaiso Crusaders football team represented Valparaiso University in the 2017 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by fourth-year head coach Dave Cecchini and played their home games at Brown Field. They competed in the Pioneer Football League. They finished the season 6–5, 5–3 in PFL play to finish in a three-way tie for third place. The Crusaders had a winning season for the first time since 2003 and had five league wins for the first time since 1961.
The 2018 Valparaiso Crusaders football team represented Valparaiso University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by fifth-year head coach Dave Cecchini and played their home games at Brown Field. They competed in the Pioneer Football League. They finished the season 2–9, 2–6 in PFL play to finish in a three-way tie for seventh place.
The 2019 Valparaiso Crusaders football team represents Valparaiso University in the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They are led by first-year head coach Landon Fox and play their home games at Brown Field. They compete in the Pioneer Football League. It is the school's centennial football season.
