2019 Missouri Valley Football Conference season

2019 Missouri Valley Football Conference season
2019 Missouri Valley Football Conference season
League	NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision
Sport	Football
Duration	August 24, 2019; through January 11, 2020
Number of teams	10
2020 NFL Draft
Regular season
Champion; ; Playoff Participants	North Dakota State ; ; South Dakota State ; Illinois State ; Northern Iowa
Football seasons
	← 2018 2020 →

Last updated April 24, 2024

2019 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 1 North Dakota State $^	8	–	0	16	–	0
No. 5 Northern Iowa ^	6	–	2	10	–	5
No. 7 Illinois State ^	5	–	3	10	–	5
No. 10 South Dakota State ^	5	–	3	8	–	5
Southern Illinois	5	–	3	7	–	5
South Dakota	4	–	4	5	–	7
Indiana State	3	–	5	5	–	7
Youngstown State	2	–	6	6	–	6
Missouri State	1	–	7	1	–	10
Western Illinois	1	–	7	1	–	11

$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2019 Missouri Valley Football Conference season was the 34th season of college football play for the Missouri Valley Football Conference and part of the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. This was the MVFC's 8th consecutive season with 10 teams, and would be their last for now as they added North Dakota in the following offseason.

North Dakota State won the conference title and achieved the number 1 overall seed again in the 2019 FCS Playoffs. The Bison would go on to win their 8th National Championship in 9 years. South Dakota State, Illinois State, and Northern Iowa all made the playoffs, with the Jacks being the number 7 overall seed. Illinois State and Northern Iowa both played in the first round. Illinois State beat Southeast Missouri State and Northern Iowa beat San Diego to advance to the second round. In the second round, Illinois State beat 8th overall seed Central Arkansas and Northern Iowa upset South Dakota State to both advance to the quarterfinals. North Dakota State beat Nicholls to advance to the quarterfinals. In the quarterfinals, NDSU beat Illinois State to advance to the semifinals, and Northern Iowa lost to 2nd seeded James Madison. North Dakota State would beat Montana State in the semifinals, and James Madison in the championship.

Previous season

In 2018, North Dakota State won the conference and received the automatic bid to the 2018 playoffs. The Bison won their seventh NCAA Division I Football Championship title in eight years. South Dakota State and Northern Iowa also made the playoffs. NDSU and SDSU were both national seeds, with the Bison being the number 1 overall seed and the Jacks being the number 5 overall seed and received a bye to the second round. Northern Iowa played in the first round, and beat Lamar to advance to the second round. Northern Iowa lost to UC Davis in the second round. North Dakota State beat Montana State in the second round and Colgate in the quarterfinals, before meeting South Dakota State in the semifinals and winning to advance to the title game. South Dakota State beat Duquesne in the second round, and Kennesaw State in the quarterfinals before losing to NDSU in the semifinals. NDSU beat Eastern Washington in the title game.

Coaching changes

North Dakota State

On December 13, 2018, Matt Entz was named the new head coach at North Dakota State.^[1] Entz takes over for Chris Klieman, who left the program for a head coaching job at Kansas State.^[2] The Wildcats allowed Klieman to finish out the 2018 playoffs at NDSU before heading to Manhattan.

Preseason

MVFC Media Day

Preseason Poll

The annual preseason poll; voted on by conference coaches, athletic directors, and media members.^[3]

Predicted finish	Team	Points (1st place votes)
1	North Dakota State	392 (32)
2	South Dakota State	348 (4)
3	Illinois State	289 (3)
4	Indiana State	279 (1)
5	Northern Iowa	266
6	South Dakota	176
7	Youngstown State	153
8	Western Illinois	128
9	Southern Illinois	89
10	Missouri State	80

Preseason awards

Individual awards

Award	Player	School	Position	Year
Preseason Team Offense	Ryan Boyle	Indiana State	QB	Sr.
	D.J. Davis	Southern Illinois	RB	Sr.
	James Robinson	Illinois State	RB	Sr.
	Pierre Strong Jr.	South Dakota State	RB	So.
	Clint Ratkovich	Western Illinois	FB	Jr.
	Dakarai Allen	South Dakota	WR	Sr.
	Dante Hendrix	Indiana State	WR	So.
	Cade Johnson	South Dakota State	WR	Jr.
	Briley Moore	Northern Iowa	TE	Sr.
	Drew Himmelman	Illinois State	OL	Jr.
	Zack Johnson	North Dakota State	OL	Sr.
	Dillon Radunz	North Dakota State	OL	Jr.
	Jackson Scott-Brown	Northern Iowa	OL	Sr.
	Wyatt Wozniak	Indiana State	OL	Sr.
Preseason Team Defense	Ryan Earith	South Dakota State	DL	Sr.
	Darin Greenfield	South Dakota	DL	Sr.
	Anthony Knighton	Southern Illinois	DL	Jr.
	Derrek Tuszka	North Dakota State	DL	Sr.
	Jabril Cox	North Dakota State	LB	Jr.
	Angelo Garbutt	Missouri State	LB	Sr.
	Jonas Griffith	Indiana State	LB	Sr.
	Christian Rozeboom	South Dakota State	LB	Sr.
	Jeremy Chinn	Southern Illinois	DB	Sr.
	James Hendricks	North Dakota State	DB	Sr.
	Luther Kirk	Illinois State	DB	Sr.
	Devin Taylor	Illinois State	DB	Jr.
	Xavior Williams	Northern Iowa	DB	Jr.
Preseason Team Special Teams	Bradey Sorensen	South Dakota State	LS	Jr.
	Jerry Nunez	Indiana State	PK	Sr.
	Garret Wegner	North Dakota State	P	Jr.
	Je'Quan Burton	Southern Illinois	RS	So.

^[4]

Rankings

**Legend**
		Improvement in ranking
		Drop in ranking
		Not ranked previous week
		No change in ranking from previous week
RV		Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25 of poll
т		Tied with team above or below also with this symbol

		Pre	Wk 1	Wk 2	Wk 3	Wk 4	Wk 5	Wk 6	Wk 7	Wk 8	Wk 9	Wk 10	Wk 11	Wk 12	Wk 13	Final
Illinois State	STATS Perform	15	16	13	15	14	10	14	11	8	7	11	7	7	13	7
Illinois State	AFCA Coaches	13	16	12	10	8	6	13	10	7	7	12	8	6	14	7
Indiana State	STATS Perform	16	14
Indiana State	AFCA Coaches	16	15
Missouri State	STATS Perform
Missouri State	AFCA Coaches
North Dakota State	STATS Perform	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
North Dakota State	AFCA Coaches	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Northern Iowa	STATS Perform	18	11	11	9	9	13	10	14	11	9	5	4	9	6	5
Northern Iowa	AFCA Coaches	20	12	10	8	7	13	10	15	12	10	7	5	10	6	5
South Dakota	STATS Perform
South Dakota	AFCA Coaches
South Dakota State	STATS Perform	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	4	4	8	5	10	10
South Dakota State	AFCA Coaches	4	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	5	4	9	5	12	12
Southern Illinois	STATS Perform
Southern Illinois	AFCA Coaches													25т	25
Western Illinois	STATS Perform
Western Illinois	AFCA Coaches
Youngstown State	STATS Perform				24	22	18	19	19
Youngstown State	AFCA Coaches				21	20	17	17	18

Schedule

Index to colors and formatting
MVFC member won
MVFC member lost
MVFC teams in bold

All times Central time.

† denotes Homecoming game
^ denotes AP Poll ranking for FBS teams

Regular season schedule

Week 0

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 24	3:00 PM	Samford	Youngstown State	Cramton Bowl • Montgomery, AL		W 45–22	12,560
^#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Week 1

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 29	6:30 PM	Southern Illinois	No. 17 Southeast Missouri State	Houck Stadium • Cape Girardeau, MO	ESPN+	L 26–44	8,312
August 29	7:00 PM	Western Illinois	North Alabama	Braly Municipal Stadium • Florence, AL	ESPN+	L 17–26	10,567
August 29	8:00 PM	No. 3 South Dakota State	Minnesota	TCF Bank Stadium • Minneapolis, MN	FS1	L 21–28	49,112
August 29	8:00 PM	Missouri State	Northern Arizona	Walkup Skydome • Flagstaff, AZ	Pluto TV	L 23–37	6,891
August 31	11:00 AM	No. 16 Indiana State	Kansas	David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium • Lawrence, KS	FOX	L 17–24	32,611
August 31	11:00 AM	No. 18 Northern Iowa	No. 21^ Iowa State	Jack Trice Stadium • Ames, IA	Big 12 on ESPN+	L 26–29^(3OT)	61,500
August 31	2:00 PM	No. 25 Montana	South Dakota	DakotaDome • Vermillion, SD	ESPN+	L 17–31	5,193
August 31	3:00 PM	Butler	No. 1 North Dakota State	Target Field • Minneapolis, MN	ESPN+	W 57–10	34,544
August 31	6:00 PM	No. 15 Illinois State	Northern Illinois	Huskie Stadium • DeKalb, IL	ESPN+	L 10–24	14,568
^#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Week 2

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 7	1:00 PM	Dayton	No. 14 Indiana State	Memorial Stadium • Terre Haute, IN		L 35–42	4,950
September 7	2:00 PM	Howard	Youngstown State	Stambaugh Stadium • Youngstown, OH		W 54–28	12,390
September 7	2:30 PM	North Dakota	No. 1 North Dakota State	Fargodome • Fargo, ND	ESPN+	W 38–7	18,923
September 7	2:30 PM	Southern Illinois	UMass	McGuirk Stadium • Amherts, MA	FloSports	W 45–20	10,524
September 7	3:00 PM	Western Illinois	Colorado State	Canvas Stadium • Fort Collins, CO		L 13–38	24
September 7	4:00 PM	Southern Utah	No. 11 Northern Iowa	UNI-Dome • Cedar Falls, IA		W 34–14	9,241
September 7	6:00 PM	South Dakota	No. 4^ Oklahoma	Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium • Norman, OK		L 14–70	82,181
September 7	6:00 PM	Long Island	No. 3 South Dakota State	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD		W 38–3	10,153
September 7	6:30 PM	Morehead State	No. 16 Illinois State	Hancock Stadium • Normal, IL	ESPN+	W 42–14	11,256
^#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Date	Bye Week
September 7	Missouri State

Week 3

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 14	12:00 PM	No. 1 North Dakota State	No. 18 Delaware	Delaware Stadium • Newark, DE	FloSports	W 47–22	14,489
September 14	1:00 PM	Eastern Kentucky	Indiana State	Memorial Stadium • Terre Haute, IN		W 19–7	4,416
September 14	1:00 PM	Drake	No. 3 South Dakota State	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD		W 38–10	11,565
September 14	2:00 PM	Duquesne	Youngstown State	Stambaugh Stadium • Youngstown, OH		W 34–14	15,991
September 14	2:00 PM	Houston Baptist	South Dakota	DakotaDome • Vermillion, SD	ESPN3	L 52–53	5,077
September 14	2:00 PM	No. 13 Illinois State	Eastern Illinois	O'Brien Field • Charleston, IL	ESPN+	W 21–3	6,119
September 14	3:00 PM	No. 10 Montana State	Western Illinois	Hanson Field • Macomb, IL	ESPN+	L 14–23	4,728
September 14	6:00 PM	UT Martin	Southern Illinois	Saluki Stadium • Carbondale, IL	ESPN+	W 28–14	8,983
September 14	7:00 PM	Missouri State	Tulane	Yulman Stadium • New Orleans, LA	ESPN3	L 6–58	18,746
^#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Date	Bye Week
September 14	Northern Iowa

Week 4

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 21	1:00 PM	Eastern Illinois	Indiana State	Memorial Stadium • Terre Haute, IN		W 16–6	6,216
September 21	2:00 PM	No. 6 Kennesaw State	Missouri State	Robert W. Plaster Stadium • Springfield, MO	ESPN+	L 24–35	11,421
September 21	2:30 PM	No. 4 UC Davis	No. 1 North Dakota State	Fargodome • Fargo, ND	ESPN+	W 27–16	18,425
September 21	3:00 PM	South Dakota	Northern Colorado	Nottingham Field • Greeley, CO	Pluto TV	W 14–6	5,745
September 21	3:00 PM	Tennessee Tech	Western Illinois	Hanson Field • Macomb, IL	ESPN3	L 24–38	1,594
September 21	4:00 PM	Idaho State	No. 9 Northern Iowa	UNI-Dome • Cedar Falls, IA		W 13–6	8,339
September 21	6:00 PM	Southern Illinois	Arkansas State	Centennial Bank Stadium • Jonesboro, AR	ESPN3	L 28–41	24,176
September 21	6:00 PM	Southern Utah	No. 3 South Dakota State	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD		W 43–7	14,269
September 21	6:30 PM	Northern Arizona	No. 15 Illinois State	Hancock Stadium • Normal, IL	ESPN+	W 40–27	9,891
^#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Date	Bye Week
September 21	No. 24 Youngstown State

Week 5

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	Result	Attendance
September 28	6:00 PM	Robert Morris	No. 22 Youngstown State	Stambaugh Stadium • Youngstown, OH	W 45–10	12,659
September 28	7:00 PM	No. 9 Northern Iowa	No. 5 Weber State	Stewart Stadium • Ogden, UT	L 17–29	6,582
^#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Date	Bye Week
September 28	No. 1 North Dakota State	No. 3 South Dakota State	No. 14 Illinois State	Missouri State	Indiana State	South Dakota	Southern Illinois	Western Illinois

Week 6

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
October 5	12:00 PM	No. 1 North Dakota State	No. 10 Illinois State	Hancock Stadium • Normal, IL	ESPN+	NDSU 37–3	13,391
October 5	2:00 PM	Southern Illinois	No. 3 South Dakota State	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD	ESPN+	SDSU 38–10	13,776
October 5	2:00 PM	Indiana State	South Dakota	DakotaDome • Vermillion, SD	ESPN+	USD 38–0	5,255
October 5	3:00 PM	Missouri State	Western Illinois	Hanson Field • Macomb, IL	ESPN+	MOST 37–31^(3OT)	3,149
October 5	4:00 PM	No. 18 Youngstown State	No. 13 Northern Iowa	UNI-Dome • Cedar Falls, IA	ESPN+	UNI 21–14	10,137
^#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Week 7

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
October 12	12:00 PM	Western Illinois	Indiana State	Memorial Stadium • Terre Haute, IN	ESPN+	INST 20–10	7,243
October 12	1:00 PM	No. 10 Northern Iowa	No. 1 North Dakota State †	Fargodome • Fargo, ND	ESPN+	NDSU 46–14	18,178
October 12	2:00 PM	South Dakota	Missouri State	Robert W. Plaster Stadium • Springfield, MO	ESPN3	USD 45–10	5,784
October 12	5:00 PM	No. 3 South Dakota State	No. 19 Youngstown State	Stambaugh Stadium • Youngstown, OH	ESPN+	SDSU 38–28	12,381
October 12	6:00 PM	No. 13 Illinois State	Southern Illinois	Saluki Stadium • Carbondale, IL	ESPN3	ILST 21–7	5,525
^#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Week 8

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
October 19	12:00 PM	No. 3 South Dakota State	Indiana State	Memorial Stadium • Terre Haute, IN	ESPN3	SDSU 42–23	4,642
October 19	1:00 PM	No. 10 Illinois State	Western Illinois	Hanson Field • Macomb, IL	ESPN+	ILST 28–14	2,984
October 19	2:00 PM	No. 18 Youngstown State	Southern Illinois †	Saluki Stadium • Carbondale, IL	ESPN+	SIU 35–10	7,670
October 19	2:30 PM	Missouri State	No. 1 North Dakota State	Fargodome • Fargo, ND	ESPN+	NDSU 22–0	18,252
October 19	4:00 PM	South Dakota	No. 14 Northern Iowa	UNI-Dome • Cedar Falls, IA	ESPN+	UNI 42–27	10,201
^#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Week 9

In Week 9, the 2019 edition of the Dakota Marker was preceded by ESPN's College Gameday on the campus of South Dakota State University.

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
October 26	1:00 PM	Western Illinois	Youngstown State	Stambaugh Stadium • Youngstown, OH	ESPN+	YSU 59–14	10,437
October 26	2:00 PM	No. 11 Northern Iowa	Missouri State †	Robert W. Plaster Stadium • Springfield, MO	ESPN+	UNI 29–6	6,583
October 26	2:00 PM	No. 1 North Dakota State	No. 3 South Dakota State	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD	ESPN+	NDSU 23–16	19,371
October 26	2:00 PM	Indiana State	No. 8 Illinois State	Hancock Stadium • Normal, IL	ESPN3	ILST 24–7	8,510
October 26	4:00 PM	Southern Illinois	South Dakota	DakotaDome • Vermillion, SD	ESPN+	SIU 48–28	4,734
^#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Week 10

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
November 2	12:00 PM	No. 9 Northern Iowa	No. 7 Illinois State	Hancock Stadium • Normal, IL	ESPN+	UNI 27–10	6,705
November 2	12:00 PM	Southern Illinois	Indiana State	Memorial Stadium • Terre Haute, IN	ESPN+	MOST 23–14	4,110
November 2	1:00 PM	South Dakota	Western Illinois	Hanson Field • Macomb, IL	ESPN+	WIU 38–34	1,728
November 2	2:00 PM	No. 4 South Dakota State	Missouri State	Robert W. Plaster Stadium • Springfield, MO	ESPN3	SDSU 35–14	5,108
November 2	5:00 PM	No. 1 North Dakota State	Youngstown State	Stambaugh Stadium • Youngstown, OH	ESPN+	NDSU 56–17	11,102
^#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Week 11

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
November 9	2:00 PM	Youngstown State	South Dakota	DakotaDome • Vermillion, SD	ESPN+	USD 56–21	4,561
November 9	2:00 PM	No. 11 Illinois State	No. 4 South Dakota State	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD	ESPN+	ILST 27–18	7,211
November 9	2:00 PM	Missouri State	Southern Illinois	Saluki Stadium • Carbondale, IL	ESPN3	SIU 37–14	4,678
November 9	2:30 PM	Western Illinois	No. 1 North Dakota State	Fargodome • Fargo, ND	ESPN+	NDSU 57–21	17,441
November 9	4:00 PM	Indiana State	No. 5 Northern Iowa	UNI-Dome • Cedar Falls, IA	ESPN+	UNI 17–9	8,442
^#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Week 12

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
November 16	1:00 PM	Youngstown State	Indiana State	Memorial Stadium • Terre Haute, IN		INST 24–17	3,645
November 16	12:00 PM	Missouri State	No. 7 Illinois State	Hancock Stadium • Normal, IL	ESPN+	ILST 17–12	5,701
November 16	1:00 PM	Southern Illinois	Western Illinois	Hanson Field • Macomb, IL	ESPN+	SIU 45–21	1,739
November 16	2:00 PM	No. 4 Northern Iowa	No. 8 South Dakota State	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD	ESPN3	SDSU 38–7	7,317
November 16	2:30 PM	South Dakota	No. 1 North Dakota State	Fargodome • Fargo, ND	ESPN+	NDSU 49–14	17,844
^#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Week 13

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
November 23	11:00 AM	No. 7 Illinois State	Youngstown State	Stambaugh Stadium • Youngstown, OH	ESPN+	YSU 21–3	9,190
November 23	1:00 PM	Western Illinois	No. 9 Northern Iowa	UNI-Dome • Cedar Falls, IA	ESPN+	UNI 38–7	8,920
November 23	2:00 PM	No. 1 North Dakota State	Southern Illinois	Saluki Stadium • Carbondale, IL	ESPN+	NDSU 21–7	5,423
November 23	2:00 PM	No. 5 South Dakota State	South Dakota	DakotaDome • Vermillion, SD	ESPN+	USD 24–21	5,405
November 23	2:00 PM	Indiana State	Missouri State	Robert W. Plaster Stadium • Springfield, MO	ESPN+	INST 51–24	3,352
^#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Postseason

In 2019, four MVFC teams made the FCS playoffs. North Dakota State (No. 1) and South Dakota State (No. 7) both received a first round bye. Illinois State and Northern Iowa both were unseeded and played in the first round.

Index to colors and formatting
MVFC member won
MVFC member lost
MVFC teams in bold

All times Central time. Tournament seedings in parentheses

First round

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
November 30	1:00 PM	No. 13 Illinois State	No. 12 Southeast Missouri State (OVC)	Houck Stadium • Cape Girardeau, MO	ESPN3	W 24–6	3,274
November 30	1:00 PM	San Diego (PFL)	No. 6 Northern Iowa	UNI-Dome • Cedar Falls, IA	ESPN+	W 17–3	3,743
^#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Second round

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
December 7	1:00 PM	No. 6 Northern Iowa	No. 10 South Dakota State	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD	ESPN3	UNI 13–10	4,102
December 7	2:00 PM	No. 13 Illinois State	No. 9 Central Arkansas (ASUN)	Estes Stadium • Conway, AR	ESPN3	W 24–14	5,127
December 7	2:30 PM	No. 19 Nicholls (Southland)	No. 1 (1) North Dakota State	Fargodome • Fargo, ND	ESPN3	W 37–13	15,690
^#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Quarterfinals

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
December 13	6:00 PM	No. 6 Northern Iowa	No. 2 (2) James Madison (CAA)	Bridgeforth Stadium • Harrisonburg, VA	ESPN2	L 0–17	8,741
December 14	11:00 AM	No. 13 Illinois State	No. 1 North Dakota State	Fargodome • Fargo, ND	ESPN	NDSU 9–3	14,132
^#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Semifinals

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
December 21	1:00 PM	No. 5 (5) Montana State (Big Sky)	No. 1 (1) North Dakota State	Fargodome • Fargo, ND	ESPN2	W 42–14	18,077
^#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

National Championship

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
January 11	11:00 AM	No. 2 (2) James Madison (CAA)	No. 1 (1) North Dakota State	Toyota Stadium • Frisco, TX	ABC	W 28–20	17,866
^#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

MVFC records vs other conferences

2019-20 records against non-conference foes (through January 11, 2020):

FCS Power Conferences	Record
Big Sky	5–3
CAA	2–0
FCS Power Total	7–3

Other FCS Conferences	Record
ASUN	0–1
Big South	1–0
Ivy League	None
MEAC	1–0
Northeast	2–0
OVC	4–1
Patriot	None
PFL	4–0
SoCon	1–0
Southland	1–1
SWAC	None
WAC	2–0
FCS Independents	1–0
Other FCS Total	17–3

FBS Opponents	Record
Football Bowl Subdivision	1–7
Total Non-Conference Record	25–13

Post Season

FCS Power Conferences	Record
Big Sky	1–0
CAA	1–1
FCS Power Total	2–1

Other FCS Conferences	Record
ASUN	1–0
Big South	None
Ivy League	None
MEAC	None
Northeast	None
OVC	1–0
Patriot	None
PFL	1–0
SoCon	None
Southland	1–0
SWAC	None
WAC	None
Other FCS Total	4–0

Total Postseason Record	6–1

Awards and honors

Player of the week honors

Week	Offensive			Defensive			Special Teams			Newcomer
Week	Player	Position	Team	Player	Position	Team	Player	Position	Team	Player	Position	Team
Week 1 (Sept. 1)^[5]	Trey Lance	QB	NDSU	Kaleb Brewer	DL	INST	Matthew Cook	PK	UNI	Trey Lance	QB	NDSU
Week 2 (Sept. 8)^[6]	Javon Williams	RB	SIU	Christian Rozeboom	LB	SDSU	Jaxon Janke	PR/WR	SDSU	Will McElvain	QB	UNI
Week 3 (Sept. 15)^[7]	Austin Simmons	QB	USD	Inoke Moala	DL	INST	Griffin Crosa	K	NDSU	Tre' Strong	CB	SIU
Week 4 (Sept. 22)^[8]	Brady Davis	QB	ILST	Elerson G. Smith	DL	UNI	Sam Fenlason	PK	ILST	Avante Cox	WR	SIU
Week 5 (Sept. 29)^[9]	Joe Alessi	RB	YSU	Chris Kolarevic	LB	UNI	Jake Coates	PR	YSU	Will McElvian	QB	UNI
Week 6 (Oct. 6)^[10]	Austin Simmons	QB	USD	Elerson Smith	DE	UNI	Brendan Withrow	P	MOST	Trey Lance	QB	NDSU
Week 7 (Oct. 13)^[11]	J'Bore Gibbs	QB	SDSU	Clayton Glasco	LB	INST	Garret Wegner	PK	NDSU	J'Bore Gibbs	QB	SDSU
Week 8 (Oct. 20)^[12]	Isaiah Weston	WR	UNI	Chris Kolarevic	LB	UNI	Jack Colquhoun	P	SIU	Javon Williams	RB	SIU
Week 9 (Oct. 27)^[13]	Avante Cox	WR	SIU	Josh Hayes	CB	NDSU	Matthew Cook	PK	UNI	Avante Cox	WR	SIU
Week 10 (Nov. 3)^[14]	Connor Sampson	QB	WIU	Omar Brown	DB	UNI	Kobe Johnson	RB/KR	NDSU	Omar Brown	DB	UNI
Week 11 (Nov. 10)^[15]	Austin Simmons	QB	USD	Dylan Draka	LB	ILST	Sam Fenlason	PK	ILST	Jalen Bussey	RB	NDSU
Week 12 (Nov. 17)^[16]	D.J. Davis	RB	SIU	Devin Taylor	DB	ILST	Brendan Withrow	P	MOST	Javon Williams Jr.	RB	SIU
Week 12 (Nov. 17)^[16]	D.J. Davis	RB	SIU	Devin Taylor	DB	ILST	Brendan Withrow	P	MOST	Keaton Heide	QB	SDSU
Week 13 (Nov. 24)^[17]	Nathan Mays	QB	YSU	Justus Reed	DE	YSU	Dalton Godfrey	LS	USD	Dominique Dafney	WR	INST
Week 13 (Nov. 24)^[17]	Dominique Dafney	WR	INST	Justus Reed	DE	YSU	Dalton Godfrey	LS	USD	Dominique Dafney	WR	INST

Players of the Year

On November 27, 2021, the Missouri Valley Football Conference released their Players of the Year and All-Conference Honors.^[18]

Offensive Player of the Year

Trey Lance, QB (Fr, North Dakota State)

Defensive Player of the Year

Derrek Tuszka, DE (Sr, North Dakota State)

Newcomer of the Year

Trey Lance, QB (Fr, North Dakota State)

Freshman of the Year

Trey Lance, QB (North Dakota State)

Coach of the Year

Matt Entz (North Dakota State)

All-Conference Teams

Award	Player	School	Position	Year
First Team Offense	Trey Lance	North Dakota State	QB	Fr.
	James Robinson	Illinois State	RB	Sr.
	Pierre Strong Jr.	South Dakota State	RB	So.
	Clint Ratkovich	Western Illinois	FB	Jr.
	Dante Hendrix	Indiana State	WR	So.
	Cade Johnson	South Dakota State	WR	Jr.
	Isaiah Weston	Northern Iowa	WR	So.
	Ben Ellefson	North Dakota State	TE	Sr.
	Drew Himmelman	Illinois State	OL	Jr.
	Zack Johnson	North Dakota State	OL	Sr.
	Dillon Radunz	North Dakota State	OL	Jr.
	Jackson Scott-Brown	Northern Iowa	OL	Sr.
	Cordell Volson	North Dakota State	OL	Jr.
First Team Defense	Romeo McKnight	Illinois State	DL	Jr.
	Justus Reed	Youngstown State	DL	Jr.
	Elerson Smith	Northern Iowa	DL	Jr.
	Derrek Tuszka	North Dakota State	DL	Sr.
	Jabril Cox	North Dakota State	LB	Jr.
	McNeece Egbim	Missouri State	LB	Sr.
	Jonas Griffith	Indiana State	LB	Sr.
	Christian Rozeboom	South Dakota State	LB	Sr.
	Omar Brown	Northern Iowa	DB	Fr.
	Jeremy Chinn	Southern Illinois	DB	Sr.
	James Hendricks	North Dakota State	DB	Sr.
	Luther Kirk	Illinois State	DB	Sr.
	Devin Taylor	Illinois State	DB	Jr.
First Team Special Teams	Matthew Cook	Northern Iowa	PK	Fr.
	Chandler Collins	Missouri State	LS	Sr.
	Brady Schutt	South Dakota	P	Jr.
	Dakota Caton	Indiana State	RS	So.

Award	Player	School	Position	Year
Second Team Offense	Austin Simmons	South Dakota	QB	Sr.
	D.J. Davis	Southern Illinois	RB	Sr.
	Javon Williams Jr.	Southern Illinois	RB	Fr.
	Dominique Dafney	Indiana State	FB	Sr.
	Luke Sellers	South Dakota State	FB	Sr.
	Avante Cox	Southern Illinois	WR	So.
	Caleb Vander Esch	South Dakota	WR	Jr.
	Christian Watson	North Dakota State	WR	So.
	Brett Samson	South Dakota	TE	Jr.
	Spencer Brown	Northern Iowa	OL	Jr.
	Matt Clark	South Dakota State	OL	Sr.
	Ernest Dye Jr.	Southern Illinois	OL	Sr.
	Zeveyon Furcron	Southern Illinois	OL	Jr.
	Wyatt Wozniak	Indiana State	OL	Sr.
Second Team Defense	Jared Brinkman	Northern Iowa	DL	Jr.
	Ryan Earith	South Dakota State	DL	Sr.
	Darin Greenfield	South Dakota	DL	Sr.
	Ma'Lik Richmond	Youngstown State	DL	Sr.
	Jack Cochrane	South Dakota	LB	Jr.
	Cody Crider	Southern Illinois	LB	Sr.
	Ty DeForest	Illinois State	LB	Sr.
	Chris Kolarevic	Northern Iowa	LB	So.
	Marquise Bridges	North Dakota State	DB	Sr.
	Qua Brown	Southern Illinois	DB	Jr.
	Don Gardner	South Dakota State	DB	Jr.
	Josh Hayes	North Dakota State	DB	Jr.
	Xavior Williams	Northern Iowa	DB	Jr.
Second Team Special Teams	Jerry Nunez	Indiana State	PK	Sr.
	Jared Drake	Western Illinois	LS	Sr.
	Brendan Withrow	Missouri State	P	Sr.
	Jake Coates	Youngstown State	RS	Jr.

All-Newcomer Team

Award	Player	School	Position	Year
Newcomer Team Offense	Trey Lance	North Dakota State	QB	Fr.
	J'Bore Gibbs	South Dakota State	QB	Fr.
	Will McElvain	Northern Iowa	QB	Fr.
	Kobe Johnson	North Dakota State	RB	Fr.
	Jeff Proctor	Illinois State	RB	Jr.
	Javon Williams Jr.	Southern Illinois	RB	Fr.
	Dominique Dafney	Indiana State	FB	Sr.
	Avante Cox	Southern Illinois	WR	So.
	Jaxon Janke	South Dakota State	WR	Fr.
	Kacper Rutkiewicz	Illinois State	WR	Fr.
	Adam Solomon	Illinois State	OL	Sr.
Newcomer Team Defense	Quinton Hicks	South Dakota State	DE	Fr.
	Aaron Mends	Illinois State	LB	Sr.
	Jakari Starling	South Dakota	LB	Fr.
	Omar Brown	Northern Iowa	DB	Fr.
	Keawvis Cummings	Indiana State	DB	Sr.
	Zaire Jones	Youngstown State	DB	Jr.
	Marquis Smith	Western Illinois	DB	Jr.
	Diamond Evans	South Dakota State	CB	Fr.
	Michael Griffin II	South Dakota State	S	Jr.
	Clayton Isbell	Illinois State	S	Fr.
Newcomer Team Special Teams	Matthew Cook	Northern Iowa	PK	Fr.
	Jack Colquhoun	Southern Illinois	P	Jr.
	Justin Hall	Western Illinois	RS/WR	Fr.

Source:^[19]

National awards

On November 25, 2019, STATS Perform released their list of finalists for the Walter Payton Award, Buck Buchanan Award, and the Jerry Rice Award, respectively.

Walter Payton Award

The Walter Payton Award is given to the best FCS offensive player. Trey Lance (QB) of North Dakota State won the award. Lance was also the first freshman to win the Walter Payton Award in its 33-year history. Here were the other MVFC finalists:

Cade Johnson (WR - South Dakota State)
James Robinson (RB - Illinois State)

Buck Buchanan Award

The Buck Buchanan Award is given to the best FCS defensive player. Here were the MVFC finalists:

Jeremy Chinn (S - Southern Illinois)
Christian Rozeboom (LB - South Dakota State)
Elerson Smith (DL - Northern Iowa)
Derrek Tuszka (DL - North Dakota State)

Jerry Rice Award

The Jerry Rice Award is given to the best FCS freshman. Trey Lance (QB) of North Dakota State won the award. Here were the other MVFC finalists:

Omar Brown (DB - Northern Iowa)
Javon Williams Jr. (RB - Southern Illinois)

FCS Coach of the Year

Matt Entz of North Dakota State was the only finalist for FCS Coach of the Year.

Finalists source:^[20]
Winners source:^[21]

All-Americans

	AP^[22] 1st Team	AP 2nd Team	AP 3rd Team	AFCA^[23] 1st Team	AFCA 2nd Team	STATS^[24] 1st Team	STATS 2nd Team	STATS 3rd Team	ADA ^[25]	HERO ^[26] 1st Team	HERO 2nd Team	HERO 3rd Team
Ben Ellefson, TE, North Dakota State					Y			Y				Y
Bradey Sorenson, LS, South Dakota State											Y
Cade Johnson, WR, South Dakota State	Y						Y					Y
Chandler Collins, LS, Missouri State							Y
Christian Rozeboom, LB, South Dakota State		Y		Y		Y				Y
Derrek Tuszka, DL, North Dakota State	Y				Y	Y				Y
Dillon Radunz, OL, North Dakota State	Y			Y		Y			Y	Y
Drew Himmelman, OL, Illinois State	Y			Y		Y						Y
Elerson Smith, DL, Northern Iowa		Y		Y				Y				Y
Isaiah Weston, WR, Northern Iowa												Y
Jabril Cox, LB, North Dakota State			Y				Y			Y
James Hendricks, DB, North Dakota State											Y
James Robinson, RB, Illinois State	Y			Y		Y				Y
Javon Williams Jr., WR, Southern Illinois							Y
Jeremy Chinn, DB, Southern Illinois		Y			Y	Y				Y
Jonas Griffith, LB, Indiana State							Y					Y
LaCale London, DL, Western Illinois												Y
Luther Kirk, DB, Illinois State			Y	Y			Y			Y
Omar Brown, DB, Northern Iowa			Y
Pierre Strong Jr., RB, South Dakota State			Y								Y
Trey Lance, QB, North Dakota State		Y			Y		Y		Y	Y
Zack Johnson, OL, North Dakota State		Y						Y		Y

Home attendance

Team	Stadium	Capacity	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3	Game 4	Game 5	Game 6	Game 7	Game 8	Game 9	Total	Average	% of Capacity
Illinois State	Hancock Stadium	13,391	11,256	9,891	13,391†	8,510	6,705	5,701				55,454	9,242	69.0%
Indiana State	Memorial Stadium	12,764	4,950	4,416	6,216	7,243†	4,642	4,110	3,645			35,222	5,031	39.4%
Missouri State	Robert W. Plaster Stadium	17,500	11,421†	5,784	6,583	5,108	3,352					32,248	6,449	36.9%
North Dakota State	Fargodome	18,700	18,923†	18,425	18,178	18,252	17,441	17,844	15,690‡	14,132‡	18,077‡	156,962	17,440	93.3%
Northern Iowa	UNI-Dome	16,324	9,241	8,339	10,137	10,201†	8,442	8,920	3,743‡			59,023	8,431	51.7%
South Dakota	DakotaDome	9,100	5,193	5,077	5,255	4,734	4,561	5,405†				30,225	5,037	55.4%
South Dakota State	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium	19,340	10,153	11,565	14,269	13,776	19,371†	7,211	7,317	4,102‡		87,764	10,970	56.7%
Southern Illinois	Saluki Stadium	15,000	8,983†	5,525	7,670	4,678	5,423					32,279	6,455	43.0%
Western Illinois	Hanson Field	17,128	4,728†	1,594	3,149	2,984	1,728	1,739				15,922	2,653	15.5%
Youngstown State	Stambaugh Stadium	20,630	12,390	15,991†	12,659	12,381	10,437	11,102	9,190			84,150	12,021	58.3%

Bold - Exceed capacity
†Season high

2020 NFL Draft

The following list includes all MVFC players who were drafted in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Player	Position	School	Draft Round	Round Pick	Overall Pick	Team	Notes
Jeremy Chinn	S	Southern Illinois	2	32	64	Carolina Panthers	from Kansas City via Seattle
Derrek Tuszka	ILB	North Dakota State	7	40	254	Denver Broncos	Compensatory selection

Undrafted free agents

Player	Position	School	Team
Kameron Cline	DL	South Dakota	Indianapolis Colts
James Robinson	RB	Illinois State	Jacksonville Jaguars
Ben Ellefson	TE	North Dakota State	Jacksonville Jaguars
Zack Johnson	OL	North Dakota State	Green Bay Packers
Madre Harper	CB	Southern Illinois	Las Vegas Raiders
Luke Sellers	FB	South Dakota State	Detroit Lions
Mikey Daniel	FB	South Dakota State	Atlanta Falcons
Jermiah Braswell	WR	Youngstown State	Arizona Cardinals
Jonas Griffith	LB	Indiana State	San Francisco 49ers

Source:^[27]

Head coaches

Through January 11, 2020

Team	Head coach	Years at school	Overall record	Record at school	MVFC record	MVFC titles	FCS playoff appearances	FCS playoff record	National Titles
Illinois State	Brock Spack	11	84–50 (.627)	84–50 (.627)	53–35 (.602)	2	5	7–5 (.583)	0
Indiana State	Curt Mallory	3	12–22 (.353)	12–22 (.353)	8–16 (.333)	0	0	0–0 (–)	0
Missouri State	Dave Steckel	5	13–42 (.236)	13–42 (.236)	7–33 (.175)	0	0	0–0 (–)	0
North Dakota State	Matt Entz	1	16–0 (1.000)	16–0 (1.000)	8–0 (1.000)	1	1	4–0 (1.000)	1
Northern Iowa	Mark Farley	19	159–83 (.657)	159–83 (.657)	99–45 (.688)	7	12	16–12 (.571)	0
South Dakota	Bob Nielson ^{[lower-alpha 1]}	4	207–106–1 (.661)	21–26 (.447)	14–18 (.438)	0	1	1–1 (.500)	2
South Dakota State	John Stiegelmeier ^{[lower-alpha 2]}	23	166–102 (.619)	166–102 (.619)	66–30 (.688)	1	9	8–9 (.471)	0
Southern Illinois	Nick Hill	4	17–28 (.378)	17–28 (.378)	10–22 (.313)	0	0	0–0 (–)	0
Western Illinois	Jared Elliott	2	6–17 (.261)	6–17 (.261)	5–13 (.278)	0	0	0–0 (–)	0
Youngstown State	Bo Pelini ^{[lower-alpha 3]}	5	100–55 (.645)	33–28 (.541)	18–22 (.450)	0	1	4–1 (.800)	0

↑ Bob Nielson coached Western Illinois from 2013-15, which included a run in the playoffs that ended in the second round. Nielson also coached Minnesota-Duluth from 1999-2003 and 2008-12, that second stint included five consecutive NCAA Division II playoff appearances highlighted by 2 National Titles. In the first stint at MN-Duluth included his first Division II playoff appearance. Nielson also coached Wisconsin-Eau Claire from 1996-98 that included one NCAA Division III playoff run that ended in the semifinals. Before that, he coached Wartburg from 1991-95, which included two Division III playoff runs as well. His first head coaching job was at Ripon from 1989-90.
↑ John Stiegelmeier has coached South Dakota State since 1997, when the school was still part of NCAA Division II. While in Division II, the school did not achieve any playoff appearances.
↑ Bo Pelini previously coached Nebraska of the FBS for 7 straight seasons between 2008-2014. He also coached the Cornhuskers for one game back in 2003. Pelini's teams at Nebraska finished with a 67-27 overall record and a 39-17 conference record between the Big 12 and the Big Ten, since the Cornhuskers moved to the Big Ten in 2011. While at Nebraska, his teams achieved bowl berths in all seven years he was a full-time head coach, including 3 bowl wins in the Gator and Holiday bowls.

Related Research Articles

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 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 North Dakota State Bison are the athletic teams of North Dakota State University (NDSU), which is located in the city of Fargo, North Dakota. The teams are often called the "Thundering Herd". The current logo is a bison.

The 2012 North Dakota State Bison football team represented North Dakota State University in the 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by tenth-year head coach Craig Bohl and played their home games at the Fargodome in Fargo, North Dakota. North Dakota State entered the season as the defending NCAA Division I Football and Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) champions. In 2012, the Bison won their second straight MVFC title posting, a 7–1 conference record and 10–1 overall mark in the regular season. In the FCS playoffs they defeated South Dakota State, Wofford, Georgia Southern, and Sam Houston State to finish the season 14–1 and win their second consecutive national title.

The 2012 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team represented South Dakota State University as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by 16th-year head coach John Stiegelmeier, the Jackrabbits compiled an overall record of 9–4 with a mark of 6–2 in conference play, placing second in the MVFC. South Dakota State received an at–large bid to the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs, where the Jackrabbits defeated Eastern Illinois in the first round before falling to fellow MVFC member and eventual national champion, North Dakota State, in the second round. The team played home games at Coughlin–Alumni Stadium in Brookings, South Dakota.

The 2014 Illinois State Redbirds football team represented Illinois State University as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2014 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by sixth-year head coach Brock Spack, the Redbirds compiled an overall record of 13–2 with a mark of 7–1 in conference play, sharing the MVFC title with North Dakota State. Illinois State received an at-large bid to the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs. After a first-round bye, the Redbirds defeated Northern Iowa in the second round, Eastern Washington in the quarterfinals, and New Hampshire in the semifinals before losing to North Dakota State in the NCAA Division I Championship Game. The team played home games at Hancock Stadium in Normal, Illinois.

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 2015 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 2014 season. It was played at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, on January 10, 2015, with kickoff at 1:00 p.m. EST, and was the culminating game of the 2014 FCS Playoffs. With sponsorship by Northwestern Mutual, the game was officially known as the NCAA FCS Championship presented by Northwestern Mutual.

The 2019 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team represented South Dakota State University as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by 23rd-year head coach John Stiegelmeier, the Jackrabbits compiled an overall record of 8–5 with a mark of 5–3 in conference play, placing in a three-way tie for third in the MVFC. South Dakota State received an at-large bid to the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs, where, after a first round bye, the Jackrabbits lost to Northern Iowa in the second round. The team played home games on campus at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium in Brookings, South Dakota.

The 2019 Illinois State Redbirds football team represented Illinois State University as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by 11th-year head coach Brock Spack, the Redbirds compiled an overall record of 10–5 with a mark of 5–3 in conference play, placing in a three-way tie for third in the MVFC. Illinois State received an at-large bid to the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs, where the Redbirds beat Southeast Missouri State in the first round and Central Arkansas in the second round before losing to the eventual national champion, North Dakota State, in the quarterfinals. The team played home games at Hancock Stadium in Normal, Illinois.

The 2019 North Dakota State Bison football team represented North Dakota State University in the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by first-year head coach Matt Entz. The team played in the Fargodome in Fargo, North Dakota, for the 27th season as members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC). They entered the season as defending national champions, having won seven of the prior eight FCS titles. In 2019, the Bison finished the regular season 12–0, the second consecutive undefeated Bison season, and won their ninth 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 16–0 as FCS champions, becoming the first team at any level of college football to finish a season 16–0 since Yale in 1894. They also extended their FCS-record winning streak to 37 games.

The 2019 Northern Iowa Panthers football team represented the University of Northern Iowa in the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The team was led by Mark Farley in his 19th season and played their home games in the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference. They finished the season 10–5, 6–2 in MVFC play to finish in second place. They received an at-large bid to the FCS Playoffs where they defeated San Diego and South Dakota State to advance to the quarterfinals where they lost to James Madison.

The 2022 North Dakota State Bison football team represented North Dakota State University as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2022 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Bison were led by fourth-year head coach Matt Entz. They played their home games at the Fargodome in Fargo, North Dakota.
The Bison finished their regular season with an overall record of 9–2 and 7–1 in MVFC play. NDSU received the number 3 overall seed in the FCS playoffs. The Bison then beat Montana in the second round, Samford in the quarterfinals, and Incarnate Word in the semifinals, before falling to topseed and archrival South Dakota State in the FCS National Championship. This was the program's first loss in the FCS title game, and only their third ever loss in a title game at any level.

The 2022 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team represented South Dakota State University as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2022 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led John Stiegelmeier in his 26th and final season as head coach, the Jackrabbits compiled an overall record of 14–1 with a mark of 8–0 in conference play, winning the MVFC title. South Dakota State received the MVFC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs, where after a first-round bye, the Jackrabbits defeated Delaware in the second round, Holy Cross in the quarterfinals, Montana State in the semifinals, and fellow MVFC member North Dakota State in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Game to win program's first national title. The team played home games on campus at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium in Brookings, South Dakota.

The 2022 Missouri Valley Football Conference football season was the 37th season of college football play for the Missouri Valley Football Conference and part of the 2022 NCAA Division I FCS football season. This was the MVFC's 3rd straight season with 11 teams, and was the last as the conference added a 12th team for the 2023 season.

The 2023 North Dakota State Bison football team represented North Dakota State University as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Bison were led by fifth-year head coach Matt Entz. Following the season he was hired by USC as the team's linebackers coach. The Bison played home games at the Fargodome in Fargo, North Dakota.

The 2023 Missouri Valley Football Conference football season was the 38th season of college football play for the Missouri Valley Football Conference and part of the 2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season. This was the MVFC's first season with 12 teams, as the conference added Murray State over the offseason. It was also the last season with 12 teams for now, as it was announced in May 2023 that Western Illinois would be leaving the MVFC after the 2023 season for the Ohio Valley Conference.

The 2021 Missouri Valley Football Conference football season was the 36th season of college football play for the Missouri Valley Football Conference and part of the 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season. This was the MVFC's 2nd straight season with 11 teams.
North Dakota State made it to the National Championship and won their 9th FCS title in program history. South Dakota State made the playoffs unseeded, and won their way into the semifinals where they lost to 8th seeded Montana State. Southern Illinois also made it to the playoffs, and beat fellow MVFC member South Dakota in the first round, but would fall to eventual champion North Dakota State in the second round. Northern Iowa also made it to the playoffs, but lost to Eastern Washington in the first round.

The 2020 Missouri Valley Football Conference season was the 35th season of college football play for the Missouri Valley Football Conference and part of the 2020-21 NCAA Division I FCS football season. This was the MVFC's first season with 11 teams, as they added North Dakota in the offseason. Although, the conference technically only had 10 of their members play the season, since Indiana State opted out of the Spring season.

The 2024 Missouri Valley Football Conference season will be the 39th season of college football play for the Missouri Valley Football Conference and part of the 2024 NCAA Division I FCS football season. This will be the MVFC's first season returning to 11 teams, and its 4th in the last 5 seasons.

References

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↑ "Valley Football - Players of the Week (Nov. 24)". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. November 24, 2019. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
↑ "2019 MVFC All-Conference Teams". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. November 27, 2019. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
↑ "2019 All-Newcomer Team". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. December 2, 2019. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
↑ "STATS Announces FCS Finalists For Payton, Buchanan, Rice and Robinson Awards". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. November 25, 2019. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
↑ "STATS Perform Congratulates All the Winners and Nominees of the 2019 STATS Perform FCS Awards". statsperform.com. STATS Perform. January 13, 2020. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
↑ "2019 Associated Press FCS All-America teams". fcsinsider.com. FCS Insider. December 17, 2019. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
↑ "Illinois State's James Robinson & Montana's Dante Olson Highlight the 2019 AFCA FCS Coaches' All-American Teams". afca.com. AFCA. December 20, 2019. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
↑ "Six North Dakota State football players lead 2019 STATS FCS All-America Team". ncaa.com. NCAA. December 20, 2019. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
↑ "FCS ADA Announces 2019 All-America Team". nacda.com. FCS ADA. December 18, 2019. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
↑ "2019 HERO Sports All-American Team". herosports.com. HERO Sports. December 16, 2019. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
↑ "Undrafted free agent tracker 2020: Rookie signings from all 32 NFL teams in one spot following NFL Draft". cbssports.com. CBS Sports. April 30, 2020. Retrieved June 13, 2023.

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[28] Bob Nielson coached Western Illinois from 2013-15, which included a run in the playoffs that ended in the second round. Nielson also coached Minnesota-Duluth from 1999-2003 and 2008-12, that second stint included five consecutive NCAA Division II playoff appearances highlighted by 2 National Titles. In the first stint at MN-Duluth included his first Division II playoff appearance. Nielson also coached Wisconsin-Eau Claire from 1996-98 that included one NCAA Division III playoff run that ended in the semifinals. Before that, he coached Wartburg from 1991-95, which included two Division III playoff runs as well. His first head coaching job was at Ripon from 1989-90.

[29] John Stiegelmeier has coached South Dakota State since 1997, when the school was still part of NCAA Division II. While in Division II, the school did not achieve any playoff appearances.

[30] Bo Pelini previously coached Nebraska of the FBS for 7 straight seasons between 2008-2014. He also coached the Cornhuskers for one game back in 2003. Pelini's teams at Nebraska finished with a 67-27 overall record and a 39-17 conference record between the Big 12 and the Big Ten, since the Cornhuskers moved to the Big Ten in 2011. While at Nebraska, his teams achieved bowl berths in all seven years he was a full-time head coach, including 3 bowl wins in the Gator and Holiday bowls.

[1] "Matt Entz Named Next NDSU Head Football Coach". gobison.com. North Dakota State Bison Athletics. December 13, 2018. Retrieved June 6, 2023.

[2] "Klieman Named Head Coach at Kansas State, Plans to Coach NDSU Through FCS Playoffs". gobison.com. North Dakota State Bison Athletics. December 10, 2018. Retrieved June 6, 2023.

[3] "MVFC Season Previews". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. August 23, 2019. Retrieved June 6, 2023.

[4] "2019 MVFC Preseason Team" (PDF). valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. July 30, 2019. Retrieved June 6, 2023.

[5] "Valley Football - Players of the Week". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. September 1, 2019. Retrieved June 7, 2023.

[6] "Valley Football - Players of the Week (Sept. 8)". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. September 8, 2019. Retrieved June 7, 2023.

[7] "MVFC Players of the Week (Sept. 15)". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. September 15, 2019. Retrieved June 7, 2023.

[8] "MVFC Players of the Week (Sept. 22)". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. September 22, 2019. Retrieved June 7, 2023.

[9] "MVFC Announces Weekly Honors (Sept. 29)". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. September 29, 2019. Retrieved June 7, 2019.

[10] "Valley Football Players of the Week (Oct. 6)". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. October 6, 2019. Retrieved June 7, 2023.

[11] "Valley Football - Players of the Week (Oct. 13)". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. October 13, 2019. Retrieved June 7, 2023.

[12] "Valley Football - Players of the Week (Oct. 20)". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. October 20, 2019. Retrieved June 7, 2023.

[13] "Valley Football - Players of the Week (Oct. 27)". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. October 27, 2019. Retrieved June 13, 2023.

[14] "Valley Football - Players of the Week (Nov. 3)". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. November 3, 2019. Retrieved June 13, 2023.

[15] "Valley Football - Players of the Week (Nov. 10)". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. November 10, 2019. Retrieved June 13, 2023.

[16] "Valley Football Players of the Week (Nov. 17)". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. November 17, 2019. Retrieved June 13, 2023.

[17] "Valley Football - Players of the Week (Nov. 24)". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. November 24, 2019. Retrieved June 13, 2023.

[18] "2019 MVFC All-Conference Teams". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. November 27, 2019. Retrieved June 13, 2023.

[19] "2019 All-Newcomer Team". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. December 2, 2019. Retrieved June 13, 2023.

[20] "STATS Announces FCS Finalists For Payton, Buchanan, Rice and Robinson Awards". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. November 25, 2019. Retrieved June 13, 2023.

[21] "STATS Perform Congratulates All the Winners and Nominees of the 2019 STATS Perform FCS Awards". statsperform.com. STATS Perform. January 13, 2020. Retrieved June 13, 2023.

[22] "2019 Associated Press FCS All-America teams". fcsinsider.com. FCS Insider. December 17, 2019. Retrieved June 13, 2023.

[23] "Illinois State's James Robinson & Montana's Dante Olson Highlight the 2019 AFCA FCS Coaches' All-American Teams". afca.com. AFCA. December 20, 2019. Retrieved June 13, 2023.

[24] "Six North Dakota State football players lead 2019 STATS FCS All-America Team". ncaa.com. NCAA. December 20, 2019. Retrieved June 13, 2023.

[25] "FCS ADA Announces 2019 All-America Team". nacda.com. FCS ADA. December 18, 2019. Retrieved June 13, 2023.

[26] "2019 HERO Sports All-American Team". herosports.com. HERO Sports. December 16, 2019. Retrieved June 13, 2023.

[27] "Undrafted free agent tracker 2020: Rookie signings from all 32 NFL teams in one spot following NFL Draft". cbssports.com. CBS Sports. April 30, 2020. Retrieved June 13, 2023.

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v t e Missouri Valley Football Conference
Teams	Illinois State Redbirds Indiana State Sycamores Missouri State Bears Murray State Racers North Dakota Fighting Hawks North Dakota State Bison Northern Iowa Panthers South Dakota Coyotes South Dakota State Jackrabbits Southern Illinois Salukis Youngstown State Penguins
Championships & awards	All-time standings Conference champions
Seasons	1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024