2020 Missouri Valley Football Conference season

2020 Missouri Valley Football Conference season
2020 Missouri Valley Football Conference season
League	NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision
Sport	Football
Duration	September 12, 2020; through May 16, 2021
Number of teams	10
2021 NFL Draft
Regular season
Champion; ; ; ; Playoff Participants	Missouri State ; South Dakota State ; North Dakota ; ; North Dakota State ; Southern Illinois
Football seasons
	← 2019 2021 →

Last updated April 26, 2024

2020 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 2 South Dakota State +^	5	–	1	8	–	2
No. 12 Missouri State +^	5	–	1	5	–	5
No. 7 North Dakota ^	4	–	1	5	–	2
No. 6 North Dakota State ^	5	–	2	7	–	3
No. 14 Southern Illinois ^	3	–	3	6	–	4
Northern Iowa	3	–	4	3	–	4
South Dakota	1	–	3	1	–	3
Illinois State†	1	–	3	1	–	3
Western Illinois†	1	–	5	1	–	5
Youngstown State	1	–	6	1	–	6

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – FCS playoff participant Note: Indiana State opted out of the spring season. † – Illinois State and Western Illinois opted out of the remainder of the spring season on March 21 and April 5, 2021, respectively. Rankings from STATS Poll

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.

South Dakota State made it to their first ever National Championship as the number 1 seed, but lost to Sam Houston State. SDSU was one of three teams to be a conference co-champion, including Missouri State and North Dakota. North Dakota beat Missouri State in the first round of the playoffs, but lost to James Madison in the quarterfinals. North Dakota State and Southern Illinois also made the playoffs. North Dakota State beat Eastern Washington in the first round, but lost to eventual champion Sam Houston State in the quarterfinals to be eliminated before the semifinals for the first time since 2010. Southern Illinois beat Weber State in the first round, but lost to South Dakota State in the quarterfinals.

Previous season

In 2019, North Dakota State won the conference and received the automatic bid to the 2019 playoffs. They would go on to win the National Championship for their 8th in 9 years.

Besides NDSU; South Dakota State, Illinois State, and Northern Iowa made the playoffs as well. South Dakota State was the 7 seed, and lost to Northern Iowa in the second round. Illinois State was unseeded and beat Southeast Missouri State in the first round, beat Central Arkansas in the second round, before losing to North Dakota State in the quarterfinals. Northern Iowa was unseeded as well, and beat San Diego in the first round, beat South Dakota State in the second round, but lost to James Madison in the quarterfinals.

Offseason

Over the offseason, the conference welcomed in their 11th league member, North Dakota. The Fighting Hawks arrive to the Valley from being a FCS Independent. Before that, they were a part of the Big Sky Conference.

Coaching changes

Missouri State

On January 16, 2020, Bobby Petrino was named the new head coach at Missouri State.^[1] Petrino replaces former coach Dave Steckel after he was bought out on January 9, 2020.^[2]

Youngstown State

On February 7, 2020, Doug Phillips was named the new head coach at Youngstown State.^[3] Phillips replaces former coach Bo Pelini who stepped down to take a defensive coordinator position at LSU.^[4]

Preseason

MVFC Media Day

Preseason Poll

The annual preseason poll; voted on by conference coaches, athletic directors, and media members.^[5]

Predicted finish	Team	Points
1	North Dakota State	101
2	Northern Iowa	92
3	South Dakota State	91
4	Illinois State	80
5	Southern Illinois	68
6	South Dakota	52
7	North Dakota	39
8	Youngstown State	36
T9	Missouri State	23
T9	Western Illinois	23

Preseason Awards

Individual awards

Award	Player	School	Position	Year
Preseason Team Offense	Will McElvain	Northern Iowa	QB	So.
	Kai Henry	South Dakota	RB	Sr.
	Pierre Strong Jr.	South Dakota State	RB	Jr.
	Javon Williams Jr.	Southern Illinois	RB	So.
	Hunter Luepke	North Dakota State	FB	So.
	Avante Cox	Southern Illinois	WR	Jr.
	Christian Watson	North Dakota State	WR	Jr.
	Isaiah Weston	Northern Iowa	WR	Jr.
	Brett Samson	South Dakota	TE	Sr.
	Dan Becker	Youngstown State	OL	Jr.
	ZeVeyon Furcron	Southern Illinois	OL	Sr.
	Drew Himmelman	Illinois State	OL	Sr.
	Mason Scheidegger	South Dakota	OL	Sr.
	Cordell Volson	North Dakota State	OL	Sr.
Preseason Team Defense	Jared Brinkman	Northern Iowa	DL	Sr.
	Anthony Knighton	Southern Illinois	DL	Sr.
	Spencer Waege	North Dakota State	DL	Jr.
	Reece Winkelman	South Dakota State	DL	Jr.
	Logan Backhaus	South Dakota State	LB	Sr.
	Jack Cochrane	South Dakota	LB	Sr.
	Bryce Flater	Northern Iowa	LB	Jr.
	Jackson Hankey	North Dakota State	LB	Jr.
	Omar Brown	Northern Iowa	DB	So.
	Qua Brown	Southern Illinois	DB	Sr.
	Don Gardner	South Dakota State	DB	Sr.
	Josh Hayes	North Dakota State	DB	Sr.
	Michael Tutsie	North Dakota State	DB	Jr.
Preseason Team Special Teams	Ross Kennelly	North Dakota State	LS	Sr.
	Matthew Cook	Northern Iowa	PK	So.
	Brady Schutt	South Dakota	P	Sr.
	Jake Coates	Youngstown State	RS	Sr.

Award	Player	School	Position	Year
Honorable Mention Offense	J'Bore Gibbs	South Dakota State	QB	So.
	Tim McCloyn	Illinois State	FB	Sr.
	Caleb Vander Esch	South Dakota	WR	Sr.
	Damoriea Vick	Missouri State	WR	Jr.
	Josh Babicz	North Dakota State	TE	Jr.
	Wes Genant	South Dakota State	OL	Sr.
	Ryan Tobin	North Dakota	OL	Sr.
	Nick Ellis	Northern Iowa	OL	RS Sr.
Honorable Mention Defense	John Ridgeway	Illinois State	DL	Jr.
	Xavier Ward	South Dakota State	DL	Sr.
	DeMarko Craig	Youngstown State	DL	So.
	Jaxson Turner	North Dakota	LB	Sr.
	Makel Calhoun	Southern Illinois	LB	Jr.
	Zeke Vandenburg	Illinois State	LB	Jr.
	Jordan Canady	North Dakota	DB	Sr.
	Michael Griffin II	South Dakota State	DB	Sr.
	Charles Woods	Illinois State	DB	Jr.
	Zack Sanders	Missouri State	DB	Sr.
Honorable Mention Special Teams	Dalton Godfrey	South Dakota	LS	Jr.
	Mason Lorber	South Dakota	PK	Sr.
	Adam Fellner	Western Illinois	P	So.
	Jaxon Janke	South Dakota State	RS	So.

^[6]

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	Final
Illinois State	STATS Perform	9	7	15	22
Illinois State	AFCA Coaches	Not released
Missouri State	STATS Perform							19	15	14	12	13
Missouri State	AFCA Coaches	Not released						23	23	18	17	13
North Dakota	STATS Perform		14	4	3	2	6	6	6	6	7	6
North Dakota	AFCA Coaches	Not released				2	5т	6	6	6	6	6
North Dakota State	STATS Perform	1	1	6	5	4	2	2	2	2	6	5
North Dakota State	AFCA Coaches	Not released				4	3	3	3	3	7	5
Northern Iowa	STATS Perform	3	5	3	4	10	22	23	24		24
Northern Iowa	AFCA Coaches	Not released				14т	23	20	21	23	24
South Dakota	STATS Perform	20т	21
South Dakota	AFCA Coaches	Not released
South Dakota State	STATS Perform	5	3	8	8	6	4	4	4	4	2	2
South Dakota State	AFCA Coaches	Not released				7	5т	4	4	4	2	2
Southern Illinois	STATS Perform	24		11	10	5	10	18	16	18	14	8
Southern Illinois	AFCA Coaches	Not released				5	12	19	18	17	14	9
Western Illinois	STATS Perform
Western Illinois	AFCA Coaches	Not released
Youngstown State	STATS Perform
Youngstown State	AFCA Coaches	Not released

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

Fall 2020 Games

Some teams played a couple games in the Fall, even though the MVFC schedule was moved to the Spring.

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 12	6:00 PM	Missouri State	No. 5^ Oklahoma	Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium • Norman, OK		L 0–48	22,700
September 26	7:00 PM	Missouri State	No. 11 Central Arkansas	Estes Stadium • Conway, AR	ESPN3	L 20–27	2,500
October 3	2:30 PM	No. 11 Central Arkansas	No. 1 North Dakota State	Fargodome • Fargo, ND	ESPN+	W 39–28	471
October 17	7:00 PM	No. 11 Central Arkansas	Missouri State †	Robert W. Plaster Stadium • Springfield, MO	ESPN3	L 24–33	5,489
October 30	6:00 PM	No. 25 Southeast Missouri State	No. 24 Southern Illinois	Saluki Stadium • Carbondale, IL	ESPN3	W 20–17	N/A
^#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Week 1

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
February 19	6:00 PM	Western Illinois	South Dakota	DakotaDome • Vermillion, SD		Cancelled
February 19	7:00 PM	No. 5 South Dakota State	No. 3 Northern Iowa	UNI-Dome • Cedar Falls, IA	ESPN+	SDSU 24–20	2,137
February 20	12:00 PM	No. 24 Southern Illinois	North Dakota	Alerus Center • Grand Forks, ND	ESPN+	UND 44–21	3,176
February 21	2:30 PM	Youngstown State	No. 1 North Dakota State	Fargodome • Fargo, ND	ESPN+	NDSU 39–28	6,578
^#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Date	Bye Week
February 21	No. 9 Illinois State	Missouri State

Week 2

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
February 27	11:00 AM	No. 5 Northern Iowa	No. RV Youngstown State	Stambaugh Stadium • Youngstown, OH	ESPN+	UNI 21–0	2,128
February 27	12:00 PM	No. 1 North Dakota State	Southern Illinois	Saluki Stadium • Carbondale, IL	ESPN+	SIU 38–14	2,400
February 27	12:00 PM	No. 3 South Dakota State	No. 14 North Dakota	Alerus Center • Grand Forks, ND	ESPN+	UND 28–17	3,638
February 27	12:00 PM	South Dakota	No. 7 Illinois State	Hancock Stadium • Normal, IL		USD 27–20	1,853
February 27	12:00 PM	Missouri State	Western Illinois	Hanson Field • Macomb, IL	ESPN+	MOST 30–24	421
^#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Week 3

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
March 4	5:00 PM	No. 20т South Dakota	No. 4 North Dakota	Alerus Center • Grand Forks, ND	ESPN+	UND 21–10	3,491
March 6	11:00 AM	No. 11 Southern Illinois	Youngstown State	Stambaugh Stadium • Youngstown, OH	ESPN+	SIU 30–22	1,901
March 6	2:00 PM	No. 6 North Dakota State	Missouri State	Robert W. Plaster Stadium • Carbondale, IL	ESPN+	NDSU 25–0	3,147
March 6	2:00 PM	Western Illinois	No. 8 South Dakota State	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD		SDSU 45–10	2,347
March 6	4:00 PM	No. 15 Illinois State	No. 3 Northern Iowa	UNI-Dome • Cedar Falls, IA	ESPN+	UNI 20–10	1,920
^#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Week 4

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
March 13	1:00 PM	Missouri State	No. 21 South Dakota	DakotaDome • Vermillion, SD	ESPN+	MOST 27–24	2,051
March 13	2:00 PM	Youngstown State	No. 8 South Dakota State	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD		SDSU 19–17	2,653
March 13	2:30 PM	No. 22 Illinois State	No. 5 North Dakota State	Fargodome • Fargo, ND	ESPN+	NDSU 21–13	6,145
^#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Week 5

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
March 20	11:00 AM	South Dakota	Youngstown State	Stambaugh Stadium • Youngstown, OH		YSU 28–10	2,159
March 20	12:00 PM	No. 6 South Dakota State	No. 5 Southern Illinois	Saluki Stadium • Carbondale, IL	ESPN+	SDSU 44–3	2,400
March 20	2:30 PM	No. 2 North Dakota	No. 4 North Dakota State	Fargodome • Fargo, ND	ESPN+	NDSU 21–13	9,121
^#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Week 6

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
March 27	11:00 AM	No. 22 Northern Iowa	Western Illinois	Hanson Field • Macomb, IL	ESPN+	UNI 34–20	542
March 27	1:00 PM	No. 2 North Dakota State	South Dakota	DakotaDome • Vermillion, SD	ESPN+	Cancelled
March 27	2:00 PM	Illinois State	No. 4 South Dakota State	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD		Canceled
March 27	2:00 PM	No. 10 Southern Illinois	Missouri State	Robert W. Plaster Stadium • Springfield, MO	ESPN+	MOST 30–27	3,581
^#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Date	Bye Week
March 27	Youngstown State

Week 7

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
April 2	6:00 PM	No. 23 Northern Iowa	South Dakota	DakotaDome • Vermillion, SD		Canceled
April 3	11:00 AM	No. 19 Missouri State	No. 6 North Dakota	Alerus Center • Grand Forks, ND		Canceled
April 3	12:00 PM	Illinois State	No. 18 Southern Illinois	Saluki Stadium • Carbondale, IL	ESPN+	Canceled
April 3	7:00 PM	Youngstown State	Western Illinois	Hanson Field • Macomb, IL	ESPN+	WIU 27–24	679
^#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Date	Bye Week
April 3	No. 2 North Dakota State

Week 8

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
April 10	12:00 PM	Western Illinois	No. 16 Southern Illinois	Saluki Stadium • Carbondale, IL		Canceled
April 10	12:00 PM	No. 6 North Dakota	Illinois State	Hancock Stadium • Normal, IL		Canceled
April 10	2:00 PM	Youngstown State	No. 15 Missouri State	Robert W. Plaster Stadium • Springfield, MO	ESPN+	MOST 21–10	2,948
April 10	2:00 PM	South Dakota	No. 4 South Dakota State	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD		Canceled
April 10	4:00 PM	No. 2 North Dakota State	No. 24 Northern Iowa	UNI-Dome • Cedar Falls, IA	ESPN+	NDSU 23–20	2,037
^#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Week 9

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
April 17	11:00 AM	No. 6 North Dakota	Youngstown State	Stambaugh Stadium • Youngstown, OH		Canceled
April 17	12:00 PM	No. 15 Southeastern Louisiana	No. 18 Southern Illinois	Saluki Stadium • Carbondale, IL	ESPN+	W 55–48	2,400
April 17	1:00 PM	Western Illinois	South Dakota	DakotaDome • Vermillion, SD		Canceled
April 17	1:00 PM	Illinois State	No. 14 Missouri State	Robert W. Plaster Stadium • Springfield, MO		Canceled
April 17	2:30 PM	No. 4 South Dakota State	No. 2 North Dakota State	Fargodome • Fargo, ND	ESPN+	SDSU 27–17	8,762
^#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Date	Bye Week
April 17	Northern Iowa

Postseason

In 2020, five teams made the FCS playoffs. South Dakota State (No. 1) was the only seeded team. Missouri State, North Dakota, North Dakota State, and Southern Illinois were all unseeded. Below are the games in which they played.

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
April 24	2:00 PM	Holy Cross	No. 2 (1) South Dakota State	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD	ESPN3	W 31–3	2,998
April 24	2:30 PM	No. 9 Eastern Washington	No. 6 North Dakota State	Fargodome • Fargo, ND	ESPN3	W 42–20	3,587
April 24	3:00 PM	No. 12 Missouri State	No. 7 North Dakota	Alerus Center • Grand Forks, ND	ESPN3	UND 44–10	3,074
April 24	3:00 PM	No. 14 Southern Illinois	No. 3 Weber State	Stewart Stadium • Ogden, UT	ESPN3	W 34–31	4,033
^#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Quarterfinals

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
May 2	2:00 PM	No. 6 North Dakota State	No. 4 (2) Sam Houston State	Bowers Stadium • Huntsville, TX	ESPN	L 20–24	4,984
May 2	5:00 PM	No. 6 North Dakota	No. 1 (2) James Madison	Bridgeforth Stadium • Harrisburg, VA	ESPN2	L 21–34	5,854
May 2	8:00 PM	No. 14 Southern Illinois	No. 2 (1) South Dakota State	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD	ESPN2	SDSU 31–26	3,547
^#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Semifinals

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
May 8	11:00 AM	No. 5 Delaware	No. 2 (1) South Dakota State	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD	ESPN	W 33–3	4,527
^#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

National Championship

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
May 16	1:00 PM	No. 4 (2) Sam Houston State	No. 2 (1) South Dakota State	Toyota Stadium • Frisco, TX	ABC	L 21–23	7,840
^#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

MVFC records vs other conferences

2020-21 records against non-conference foes:

FCS Power Conferences	Record
Big Sky	None
CAA	None
FCS Power Total	0–0

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

FBS Opponents	Record
Football Bowl Subdivision	0–1
Total Non-Conference Record	4–2

Post Season

FCS Power Conferences	Record
Big Sky	2–0
CAA	1–1
FCS Power Total	3–1

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

Total Postseason Record	4–3

Awards and honors

Player of the week honors

Week	Offensive			Defensive			Special Teams			Freshman
Week	Player	Position	Team	Player	Position	Team	Player	Position	Team	Player	Position	Team
Week 1 (Feb. 22) ^[7]	Pierre Strong Jr.	RB	SDSU	Devon Krzanowski	LB	UND	Jake Reinholz	PK	NDSU	Mark Gronowski	QB	SDSU
Week 1 (Feb. 22) ^[7]	Pierre Strong Jr.	RB	SDSU	Devon Krzanowski	LB	UND	Jake Reinholz	PK	NDSU	Mark Gronowski	QB	SDSU
Week 2 (Feb. 28) ^[8]	Nic Baker	QB	SIU	Kevin Ellis	DE	MOST	Brady Schutt	P	USD	Josh Navratil	LB	UND
Week 2 (Feb. 28) ^[8]	Nic Baker	QB	SIU	Kevin Ellis	DE	MOST	Brady Schutt	P	USD	Josh Navratil	LB	UND
Week 3 (Mar. 7) ^[9]	Mark Gronowski	QB	SDSU	Spencer Cuvelier	LB	UNI	Garret Wegner	P	NDSU	Jaleel McLaughlin	RB	YSU
Week 3 (Mar. 7) ^[9]	Mark Gronowski	QB	SDSU	Spencer Cuvelier	LB	UNI	Garret Wegner	P	NDSU	Jaleel McLaughlin	RB	YSU
Week 4 (Mar. 14) ^[10]	Tommy Schuster	QB	UND	Montrae Braswell	CB	MOST	Cole Frahm	PK	SDSU	Cam Miller	QB	NDSU
Week 4 (Mar. 14) ^[10]	Tommy Schuster	QB	UND	Montrae Braswell	CB	MOST	Cole Frahm	PK	SDSU	Cam Miller	QB	NDSU
Week 5 (Mar. 21) ^[11]	Hunter Luepke	FB	NDSU	Grant Dixon	LB	YSU	Jose Pizano	K	MOST	Isaiah Davis	RB	SDSU
Week 5 (Mar. 21) ^[11]	Hunter Luepke	FB	NDSU	Grant Dixon	LB	YSU	Jose Pizano	K	MOST	Isaiah Davis	RB	SDSU
Week 6 (Mar. 28) ^[12]	Celdon Manning	RB	MOST	Riley Van Wyhe	LB	UNI	Omar Brown	DB	UNI	Matt Struck	QB	MOST
Week 6 (Mar. 28) ^[12]	Celdon Manning	RB	MOST	Riley Van Wyhe	LB	UNI	Omar Brown	DB	UNI	Matt Struck	QB	MOST
Week 7 (Apr. 4) ^[13]	Tony Tate	WR	WIU	Michael Lawson	DB	WIU				Jaleel McLaughlin	RB	YSU
Week 7 (Apr. 4) ^[13]	Tony Tate	WR	WIU	Michael Lawson	DB	WIU				Jaleel McLaughlin	RB	YSU
Week 8 (Apr. 11) ^[14]	Christian Watson	WR	NDSU	Tylar Wiltz	LB	MOST	Garret Wegner	P	NDSU	Grant Dixon	LB	YSU
Week 8 (Apr. 11) ^[14]	Christian Watson	WR	NDSU	Tylar Wiltz	LB	MOST	Garret Wegner	P	NDSU	Grant Dixon	LB	YSU
Week 9 (Apr. 18) ^[15]	Javon Williams Jr.	RB	SIU	Adam Bock	LB	SDSU	Cole Frahm	PK	SDSU	Mark Gronowski	QB	SDSU

Players of the Year

On April 22, 2021, the Missouri Valley Football Conference released their Players of the Year and All-Conference Honors.^[16]

Offensive Player of the Year

Mark Gronowski, QB (Fr, South Dakota State)

Defensive Player of the Year

Jared Brinkman, DL (Sr, Northern Iowa)

Newcomer of the Year

Mark Gronowski, QB (Fr, South Dakota State)

Freshman of the Year

Mark Gronowski, QB (South Dakota State)

Coach of the Year

Bobby Petrino, (Missouri State)

All-Conference Teams

Award	Player	School	Position	Year
First Team Offense	Mark Gronowski	South Dakota State	QB	Fr.
	Pierre Strong Jr.	South Dakota State	RB	Jr.
	Otis Weah	North Dakota	RB	So.
	Hunter Luepke	North Dakota State	FB	So.
	Avante Cox	Southern Illinois	WR	Jr.
	Dennis Houston	Western Illinois	WR	Sr.
	Christian Watson	North Dakota State	WR	Jr.
	Zach Heins	South Dakota State	TE	So.
	Zeveyon Furcron	Southern Illinois	OL	Sr.
	Garret Greenfield	South Dakota State	OL	So.
	Drew Himmelman	Illinois State	OL	Sr.
	Nathan Nguon	North Dakota	OL	Sr.
	Cordell Volson	North Dakota State	OL	Sr.
First Team Defense	Jared Brinkman	Northern Iowa	DL	Sr.
	John Ridgeway	Illinois State	DL	Jr.
	Caleb Sanders	South Dakota State	DL	Jr.
	Spencer Waege	North Dakota State	DL	Jr.
	Logan Backhaus	South Dakota State	LB	Sr.
	Spencer Cuvelier	Northern Iowa	LB	Jr.
	Grant Dixon	Youngstown State	LB	Sr.
	James Kaczor	North Dakota State	LB	Jr.
	Montrae Braswell	Missouri State	DB	So.
	Qua Brown	Southern Illinois	DB	Sr.
	James Caesar	Southern Illinois	DB	Sr.
	Don Gardner	South Dakota State	DB	Sr.
	Josh Hayes	North Dakota State	DB	Sr.
First Team Special Teams	Matthew Cook	Northern Iowa	PK	So.
	Ross Kennelly	North Dakota State	LS	Sr.
	Garret Wegner	North Dakota State	P	Sr.
	Tony Tate	Western Illinois	RS	Sr.

Award	Player	School	Position	Year
Second Team Offense	Connor Sampson	Western Illinois	QB	Sr.
	Tommy Schuster	North Dakota	QB	Fr.
	Jaleel McLaughlin	Youngstown State	RB	Jr.
	Javon Williams Jr.	Southern Illinois	RB	So.
	Jacob Garrett	Southern Illinois	FB	Jr.
	Jaxon Janke	South Dakota State	WR	So.
	Tony Tate	Western Illinois	WR	Sr.
	Caleb Vander Esch	South Dakota	WR	Sr.
	Noah Gindorff	North Dakota State	TE	Jr.
	Landon Bebee	Missouri State	OL	So.
	Dan Becker	Youngstown State	OL	Jr.
	Cody Mauch	North Dakota State	OL	Jr.
	Mason McCormick	South Dakota State	OL	So.
	Matt Waletzko	North Dakota	OL	Jr.
Second Team Defense	Jordan Berner	Southern Illinois	DL	Sr.
	Kevin Ellis	Missouri State	DL	Jr.
	Eric Johnson	Missouri State	DL	Sr.
	Brantae Wells	Northern Iowa	DL	Sr.
	Devon Krzanowski	North Dakota	LB	Jr.
	Brock Mogensen	South Dakota	LB	So.
	Bryson Strong	Southern Illinois	LB	Jr.
	Tylar Wiltz	Missouri State	LB	Jr.
	Austin Evans	Northern Iowa	DB	Sr.
	Evan Holm	North Dakota	DB	Sr.
	Zaire Jones	Youngstown State	DB	Sr.
	Kyriq McDonald	Missouri State	DB	Jr.
	Michael Tutsie	North Dakota State	DB	Jr.
Second Team Special Teams	Jose Pizano	Missouri State	PK	So.
	Dalton Godfrey	South Dakota	LS	Jr.
	Brady Schutt	South Dakota	P	Sr.
	Christian Watson	North Dakota State	RS	Jr.

All-Newcomer Team

Award	Player	School	Position	Year
All-Newcomer Team Offense	Carson Camp	South Dakota	QB	Fr.
	Mark Gronowski	South Dakota State	QB	Fr.
	Tommy Schuster	North Dakota	QB	Fr.
	Pha'Leak Brown	Illinois State	RB	Fr.
	Isaiah Davis	South Dakota State	RB	Fr.
	Celdon Manning	Missouri State	RB	Fr.
	Jaleel McLaughlin	Youngstown State	RB	Jr.
	Bo Belquist	North Dakota	WR	Fr.
	Dallas Daniels	Western Illinois	WR	Jr.
	Quan Hampton	Northern Iowa	WR	Jr.
	Kyle Fourtenbary	Northern Iowa	TE	GS
Second Team Defense	Eli Mostaert	North Dakota State	DT	Fr.
	Brayden Thomas	North Dakota State	DE	Sr.
	Adam Bock	South Dakota State	LB	Fr.
	Grant Dixon	Youngstown State	LB	Sr.
	Devon Krzanowski	North Dakota	LB	Jr.
	Montrae Braswell	Missouri State	DB	So.
	Michael Lawson	Western Illinois	DB	Sr.
	Kyriq McDonald	Missouri State	DB	Jr.
	Benny Sapp III	Northern Iowa	DB	Jr.
	Myles Harden	South Dakota	CB	Fr.
	Keyon Martin	Youngstown State	CB	Fr.

Source:^[17]

National Awards

On April 28, 2021, 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. Here are the MVFC finalists:^[18]

Pierre Strong Jr. (RB - South Dakota State)
Otis Weah (RB - North Dakota)

There were no MVFC finalists for the Buck Buchanan Award.

Jerry Rice Award
The Jerry Rice Award is given to the best FCS freshman player. Here are the MVFC finalists:^[19]

Mark Gronowski (QB - South Dakota State)
Tommy Schuster (QB - North Dakota)

All-Americans

	AP^[20] 1st Team	AP 2nd Team	AFCA^[21] 1st Team	AFCA 2nd Team	STATS^[22] 1st Team	STATS 2nd Team	ADA ^[23]	HERO ^[24]
Avante Cox, WR, Southern Illinois		Y	Y		Y
Christian Watson, WR, North Dakota State	Y				Y			Y
Cordell Volson, OL, North Dakota State	Y				Y		Y	Y
Don Gardner, DB, South Dakota State		Y				Y
Drew Himmelman, OL, Illinois State					Y			Y
Garret Greenfield, OL, South Dakota State	Y		Y		Y
Garrett Wegner, P, North Dakota State	Y				Y		Y	Y
Hunter Luepke, FB, North Dakota State					Y
James Caesar, DB, Southern Illinois			Y
James Kaczor, LB, North Dakota State				Y		Y
Jared Brinkman, DL, Northern Iowa	Y		Y		Y			Y
Javon Williams Jr, WR, Southern Illinois					Y
Logan Backhaus, LB, South Dakota State						Y		Y
Mason McCormick, OL, South Dakota State								Y
Nathan Nguon, OL, North Dakota		Y
Otis Weah, RB, North Dakota	Y				Y			Y
Pierre Strong Jr., RB, South Dakota State			Y			Y		Y
Qua Brown, DB, Southern Illinois		Y				Y		Y
Ross Kennelly, LS, North Dakota State						Y
Spencer Waege, DL, North Dakota State				Y

Home attendance

Team	Stadium	Capacity	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3	Game 4	Game 5	Game 6	Total	Average	% of Capacity
Illinois State	Hancock Stadium	13,391	1,853	1,853					3,706	1,853	13.8%
Missouri State	Robert W. Plaster Stadium	17,500	5,489†	3,147	3,581	2,948			15,165	3,791	21.7%
North Dakota	Alerus Center	12,283	3,176	3,638†	3,491	3,074‡			13,379	3,344	27.2%
North Dakota State	Fargodome	18,700	471	6,578	6,145	9,121†	8,762	3,587‡	34,664	5,777	30.9%
Northern Iowa	UNI-Dome	16,324	2,137†	1,920	1,608	2,037			7,702	1,925	11.8%
South Dakota	DakotaDome	9,100	2,051†						2,051	2,051	22.5%
South Dakota State	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium	19,340	2,347	2,653	2,998‡	3,547‡	4,527†‡		16,072	3,214	16.6%
Southern Illinois	Saluki Stadium	15,000	0	2,400	2,400	2,400	2,400		9,600	1,920	12.8%
Western Illinois	Hanson Field	17,128	421	658	542	679			2,300	575	3.4%
Youngstown State	Stambaugh Stadium	20,630	2,128	1,901	2,159				6,188	2,062	9.9%

Bold - Exceed capacity
†Season High
‡FCS Playoff Game
Given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, attendance in all venues were severely limited. FCS Playoffs games were limited to 25% capacity as determined by the NCAA.^[25]

2021 NFL Draft

The following list includes all MVFC players who were drafted in the 2021 NFL Draft.

Player	Position	School	Draft Round	Round Pick	Overall Pick	Team	Notes
Trey Lance	QB	North Dakota State	1	3	3	San Francisco 49ers	from Houston via Miami
Dillon Radunz	OT	North Dakota State	2	21	53	Tennessee Titans
Spencer Brown	OT	Northern Iowa	3	29	93	Buffalo Bills
Elerson Smith	DE	Northern Iowa	4	11	116	New York Giants

Undrafted Free Agents

Player	Position	School	Team
Cade Johnson	WR	South Dakota State	Seattle Seahawks
Travis Toivonen	WR	North Dakota	Seattle Seahawks
Christian Uphoff	DB	Illinois State	Green Bay Packers

Source:^[26]

Head coaches

Through May 16, 2021

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	12	85–53 (.616)	85–53 (.616)	54–38 (.587)	2	5	7–5 (.583)	0
Missouri State	Bobby Petrino ^{[lower-alpha 1]}	1	124–61 (.670)	5–5 (.500)	5–1 (.833)	1	1	0–1 (.000)	0
North Dakota	Bubba Schweigert ^{[lower-alpha 2]}	7	64–55 (.538)	42–34 (.553)	4–1 (.800)	0	3	1–3 (.250)	0
North Dakota State	Matt Entz	2	21–3 (.875)	21–3 (.875)	13–2 (.867)	1	2	2–1 (.667)	1
Northern Iowa	Mark Farley	20	162–87 (.651)	162–87 (.651)	102–49 (.675)	7	12	16–12 (.571)	0
South Dakota	Bob Nielson ^{[lower-alpha 3]}	5	208–109–1 (.656)	22–29 (.431)	15–21 (.417)	0	1	1–1 (.500)	2
South Dakota State	John Stiegelmeier ^{[lower-alpha 4]}	24	174–104 (.626)	174–104 (.626)	71–31 (.696)	2	10	11–10 (.524)	0
Southern Illinois	Nick Hill	5	23–32 (.418)	23–32 (.418)	13–25 (.342)	0	1	1–1 (.500)	0
Western Illinois	Jared Elliott	3	7–2 (.778)	7–22 (.241)	6–18 (.250)	0	0	0–0 (–)	0
Youngstown State	Doug Phillips	1	1–6 (.143)	1–6 (.143)	1–6 (.143)	0	0	0–0 (–)	0

↑ Bobby Petrino coached in the FBS from 2003-06 and 2015-18 for Louisville, 2008-11 for Arkansas, as well as in 2013 for Western Kentucky.
↑ Bubba Schweigert coached Minnesota Duluth of NCAA Division II from 2004-07. He also coached North Dakota while they were a part of the Big Sky Conference from 2014-17 and were independents in 2018 and 2019.
↑ 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.

Related Research Articles

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The 2014 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team represented South Dakota State University as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2014 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by 18th-year head coach John Stiegelmeier, the Jackrabbits compiled an overall record of 9–5 with a mark of 5–3 in conference play, placing fourth in the MVFC. South Dakota State received an at–large bid to the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs, where the Jackrabbits defeated Montana State 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.

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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.

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References

↑ "Petrino Named Missouri State Head Football Coach". missouristatebears.com. Missouri State Bears Athletics. January 16, 2020. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
↑ "Steckel, Missouri State Reach Separation Agreement". missouristatebears.com. Missouri State Bears Athletics. January 9, 2020. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
↑ "Doug Phillips Named Youngstown State Head Football Coach". ysusports.com. Youngstown State Penguins Athletics. February 7, 2020. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
↑ "YSU's Bo Pelini Steps Down to Take LSU Defensive Coordinator Position". ysusports.com. Youngstown State Penguins Athletics. January 27, 2020. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
↑ "North Dakota State Picked to Repeat as MVFC Champion". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. February 3, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
↑ "2021 MVFC Spring Preseason Poll and Team" (PDF). valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. February 3, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
↑ "Valley Football -- Players of the Week (Feb. 22)". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. February 22, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
↑ "Valley Football - Players of the Week (Feb. 28)". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. February 28, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
↑ "Valley Football - Players of the Week (March 7)". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. March 7, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
↑ "Valley Football Players of the Week (March 14)". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. March 14, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
↑ "Valley Football - Players of the Week (March 21)". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. March 21, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
↑ "Valley Football - Players of the Week (March 28)". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. March 28, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
↑ "Valley Football - Players of the Week (April 4)". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. April 4, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
↑ "Valley Football - Players of the Week (April 11)". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. April 11, 2021. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
↑ "Valley Football - Players of the Week (April 18)". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. April 18, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
↑ "2020-21 MVFC All-Conference Teams". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. April 22, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
↑ "All-Newcomer Team" (PDF). valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. April 23, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
↑ "FCS finalists announced for 2020-21 Walter Payton Award, other top honors". ncaa.com. NCAA. April 20, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
↑ "UIW's Cameron Ward Wins 10th Jerry Rice Award as FCS Freshman of the Year". theanalyst.com. STATS Perform. May 3, 2021. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
↑ "2020-21 Associated Press FCS All-America Team". fcsinsider.com. FCS Insider. May 13, 2021. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
↑ "AFCA 2020-21 FCS All-America Team". fcsinsider.com. FCS Insider. May 14, 2021. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
↑ "2020-21 Stats Perform FCS All-America Team announced". ncaa.com. NCAA. May 10, 2021. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
↑ "FCS ADA Names 2020-21 Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year; All-America Team". nacda.com. FCS ADA. May 13, 2021. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
↑ "FCS: 2020-21 HERO Sports All-American Team". herosports.com. HERO Sports. May 19, 2021. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
↑ "Spring FCS Playoff Games will have 25% Max Capacity". herosports.com. Hero Sports. February 24, 2021. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
↑ "Top undrafted rookie free agents following the 2021 NFL Draft". nfl.com. NFL. May 1, 2021. Retrieved May 18, 2023.

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[27] Bobby Petrino coached in the FBS from 2003-06 and 2015-18 for Louisville, 2008-11 for Arkansas, as well as in 2013 for Western Kentucky.

[28] Bubba Schweigert coached Minnesota Duluth of NCAA Division II from 2004-07. He also coached North Dakota while they were a part of the Big Sky Conference from 2014-17 and were independents in 2018 and 2019.

[29] 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.

[30] 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.

[1] "Petrino Named Missouri State Head Football Coach". missouristatebears.com. Missouri State Bears Athletics. January 16, 2020. Retrieved June 2, 2023.

[2] "Steckel, Missouri State Reach Separation Agreement". missouristatebears.com. Missouri State Bears Athletics. January 9, 2020. Retrieved June 2, 2023.

[3] "Doug Phillips Named Youngstown State Head Football Coach". ysusports.com. Youngstown State Penguins Athletics. February 7, 2020. Retrieved June 2, 2023.

[4] "YSU's Bo Pelini Steps Down to Take LSU Defensive Coordinator Position". ysusports.com. Youngstown State Penguins Athletics. January 27, 2020. Retrieved June 2, 2023.

[5] "North Dakota State Picked to Repeat as MVFC Champion". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. February 3, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2023.

[6] "2021 MVFC Spring Preseason Poll and Team" (PDF). valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. February 3, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2023.

[7] "Valley Football -- Players of the Week (Feb. 22)". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. February 22, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2023.

[8] "Valley Football - Players of the Week (Feb. 28)". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. February 28, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2023.

[9] "Valley Football - Players of the Week (March 7)". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. March 7, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2023.

[10] "Valley Football Players of the Week (March 14)". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. March 14, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2023.

[11] "Valley Football - Players of the Week (March 21)". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. March 21, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2023.

[12] "Valley Football - Players of the Week (March 28)". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. March 28, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2023.

[13] "Valley Football - Players of the Week (April 4)". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. April 4, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2023.

[14] "Valley Football - Players of the Week (April 11)". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. April 11, 2021. Retrieved April 1, 2023.

[15] "Valley Football - Players of the Week (April 18)". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. April 18, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2023.

[16] "2020-21 MVFC All-Conference Teams". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. April 22, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2023.

[17] "All-Newcomer Team" (PDF). valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. April 23, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2023.

[18] "FCS finalists announced for 2020-21 Walter Payton Award, other top honors". ncaa.com. NCAA. April 20, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2023.

[19] "UIW's Cameron Ward Wins 10th Jerry Rice Award as FCS Freshman of the Year". theanalyst.com. STATS Perform. May 3, 2021. Retrieved June 4, 2023.

[20] "2020-21 Associated Press FCS All-America Team". fcsinsider.com. FCS Insider. May 13, 2021. Retrieved June 4, 2023.

[21] "AFCA 2020-21 FCS All-America Team". fcsinsider.com. FCS Insider. May 14, 2021. Retrieved June 4, 2023.

[22] "2020-21 Stats Perform FCS All-America Team announced". ncaa.com. NCAA. May 10, 2021. Retrieved June 4, 2023.

[23] "FCS ADA Names 2020-21 Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year; All-America Team". nacda.com. FCS ADA. May 13, 2021. Retrieved June 4, 2023.

[24] "FCS: 2020-21 HERO Sports All-American Team". herosports.com. HERO Sports. May 19, 2021. Retrieved June 4, 2023.

[25] "Spring FCS Playoff Games will have 25% Max Capacity". herosports.com. Hero Sports. February 24, 2021. Retrieved June 2, 2023.

[26] "Top undrafted rookie free agents following the 2021 NFL Draft". nfl.com. NFL. May 1, 2021. Retrieved May 18, 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