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 North Dakota State Bison football program represents North Dakota State University in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision level and competes in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. The Bison play in the 19,000-seat Fargodome located in Fargo. The Bison have won 17 national championships and 37 conference championships. They have won nine NCAA Division I AA FCS National Championships between 2011 and 2021. The Bison hold the record for most overall NCAA national championships and the record for the most consecutive championships with five titles between 2011 and 2015 for Division I FCS.
The San Diego Toreros football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the University of San Diego. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and are members of the Pioneer Football League.
The 2012 San Diego Toreros football team represented the University of San Diego in the 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by sixth-year head coach Ron Caragher and played their home games at Torero Stadium. They were a member of the Pioneer Football League. They finished the season 8–3, 7–1 in PFL play to win their second consecutive league championship, shared with Butler and Drake. Head Coach Ron Caragher resigned at the end of the season to take the same position at San Jose State. On December 28, defensive coordinator Dale Lindsey was named the new head coach beginning in 2013.
The 2014 San Diego Toreros football team represented the University of San Diego during the 2014 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by second-year head coach Dale Lindsey and played their home games at Torero Stadium. They were a member of the Pioneer Football League. They finished the season 9–3, 7–1 in PFL play to be crowned PFL champions. Due to Jacksonville's forfeit of the league season after disclosing financial irregularities, they were designated the league's sole champion and earned the PFL's automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs, where they lost in the first round to Montana.
The 2015 San Diego Toreros football team represented the University of San Diego during the 2015 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by third-year head coach Dale Lindsey and played their home games at Torero Stadium. They were a member of the Pioneer Football League. They finished the season 9–2, 7–1 in PFL play to share the league championship with Dayton. Due to their head to head loss to Dayton, they did not receive the PFL's automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs and did not receive an at-large bid.
The 2005 San Diego Toreros football team represented the University of San Diego as a member of the North Division of the Pioneer Football League (PFL) during the 2005 NCAA Division I FCS football season. In their second year under head coach Jim Harbaugh, the Toreros compiled an 11–1 record, outscored their opponents 511 to 205, and won the PFL championship.
The 2016 San Diego Toreros football team represented the University of San Diego during the 2016 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by fourth-year head coach Dale Lindsey and played their home games at Torero Stadium. They were a member of the Pioneer Football League. They finished the season 10–2, 8–0 in PFL play to be crowned PFL champions and earned the PFL's automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs, where they defeated Cal Poly in the first round, before losing in the second round to North Dakota State.
The 2017 North Dakota State Bison football team represented North Dakota State University in the 2017 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by fourth-year head coach Chris Klieman. The team played their 25th season in the Fargodome in Fargo, North Dakota as members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference. The Bison finished the season 14–1, 7–1 in MVFC play to win the MVFC championship for the seventh consecutive year. As a result, the Bison received the conference's automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs as the No. 2 seed. In the playoffs, they defeated San Diego, Wofford, and Sam Houston State to advance to the National Championship game. There they defeated James Madison 17–13 to win the school's sixth National Championship in seven years. The September 30 game against Missouri State was the 700th victory since the team's founding in 1894.
The 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season, part of college football in the United States, was organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level. The FCS Championship Game was played on January 5, 2019, in Frisco, Texas. North Dakota State claimed its second consecutive FCS title, and seventh in eight years.
The 2018 San Diego Toreros football team represented the University of San Diego during the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by sixth-year head coach Dale Lindsey and played their home games at Torero Stadium. They were a member of the Pioneer Football League. They finished the season 9–3, 8–0 in PFL play to be PFL champions. They earned the PFL's automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs where they lost in the first round to Nicholls.
The 2018 North Dakota State Bison football team represents North Dakota State University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by fifth-year head coach Chris Klieman, who also coached his final season with the Bison before heading off to take over for the retiring Bill Snyder at Kansas State. The team played their 26th season in the Fargodome in Fargo, North Dakota as members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference. They entered the season as defending National Champions and had won six of the last seven FCS titles. In 2018, the Bison finished the regular season 11–0, the first undefeated Bison season since the 2013 campaign, and won their eighth consecutive MVFC title. They received an automatic qualifying bid to the FCS playoff tournament and were seeded as the No. 1 team. The Bison then went 4–0 in the FCS playoffs to finish 15–0 and FCS champions.
The 2018 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game that determined a national champion in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision for the 2017 season. It was played at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, on January 6, 2018, with kickoff at 12:00 noon EST, and was the culminating game of the 2017 FCS Playoffs. With sponsorship from Northwestern Mutual, the game was officially known as the NCAA FCS Football Championship Presented by Northwestern Mutual.
The 2019 Drake Bulldogs football team represented Drake University as a member of the Pioneer Football League (PFL) during 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by first-year head coach Todd Stepsis, the Bulldogs compiled an overall record of 6–5 with a mark of 6–2 in conference play, tying for second place in the PFL. The team played its home games at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa.
The 2019 Jacksonville Dolphins football team represented Jacksonville University in the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by fourth-year head coach Ian Shields and played their home games at D. B. Milne Field. They were members of the Pioneer Football League (PFL). On December 3, 2019, Jacksonville University announced the discontinuation of the football program, making 2019 the final season of Dolphins football.
The 2019 Davidson Wildcats football team represents Davidson College in the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They are led by second-year head coach Scott Abell and play their home games at Richardson Stadium. They are members of the Pioneer Football League.
The 2019 San Diego Toreros football team represents the University of San Diego during the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They are led by seventh-year head coach Dale Lindsey and play their home games at Torero Stadium. They are a member of the Pioneer Football League (PFL).
The 2019 Morehead State Eagles football team represents Morehead State University in the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They are led by seventh-year head coach Rob Tenyer and play their home games at Jayne Stadium. They are members of the Pioneer Football League.
The 2020 San Diego Toreros football team represented the University of San Diego during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by eighth-year head coach Dale Lindsey and played their home games at Torero Stadium. They competed as a member of the Pioneer Football League (PFL).
The 2021 Drake Bulldogs football team represented Drake University as a member of the Pioneer Football League (PFL) during 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by third-year head coach Todd Stepsis, the Bulldogs compiled an overall record of 2–9 with a mark of 1–7 in conference play, tying for ninth place in the PFL. The team played its home games at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa.
