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
Teams	10
2021 NFL Draft
Top draft pick	Trey Lance, QB, North Dakota State
Picked by	San Francisco 49ers (round 1, pick 3)
Regular season
Champion Playoff Participants	Missouri State South Dakota State North Dakota North Dakota State Southern Illinois
Football seasons
←  2019 2021  →

2020 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
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.

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

Main article: 2020 NCAA Division I FCS football 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
	AFCA Coaches	Not released
Missouri State	STATS Perform							19	15	14	12	13
	AFCA Coaches	Not released						23	23	18	17	13
North Dakota	STATS Perform		14	4	3	2	6	6	6	6	7	6
	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
	AFCA Coaches	Not released				4	3	3	3	3	7	5
Northern Iowa	STATS Perform	3	5	3	4	10	22	23	24		24
	AFCA Coaches	Not released				14т	23	20	21	23	24
South Dakota	STATS Perform	20т	21
	AFCA Coaches	Not released
South Dakota State	STATS Perform	5	3	8	8	6	4	4	4	4	2	2
	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
	AFCA Coaches	Not released				5	12	19	18	17	14	9
Western Illinois	STATS Perform
	AFCA Coaches	Not released
Youngstown State	STATS Perform
	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	Ref.
September 12	6:00 p.m.	Missouri State	No. 5^  Oklahoma	Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium • Norman, OK		L 0–48	22,700
September 26	7:00 p.m.	Missouri State	No. 11  Central Arkansas	Estes Stadium • Conway, AR	ESPN3	L 20–27	2,500
October 3	2:30 p.m.	No. 11  Central Arkansas	No. 1  North Dakota State	Fargodome • Fargo, ND	ESPN+	W 39–28	471
October 17	7:00 p.m.	No. 11  Central Arkansas	Missouri State †	Robert W. Plaster Stadium • Springfield, MO	ESPN3	L 24–33	5,489
October 30	6:00 p.m.	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	Ref.
February 19	6:00 p.m.	Western Illinois	South Dakota	DakotaDome • Vermillion, SD		Cancelled	-
February 19	7:00 p.m.	No. 5  South Dakota State	No. 3  Northern Iowa	UNI-Dome • Cedar Falls, IA	ESPN+	SDSU 24–20	2,137
February 20	12:00 p.m.	No. 24  Southern Illinois	North Dakota	Alerus Center • Grand Forks, ND	ESPN+	UND 44–21	3,176
February 21	2:30 p.m.	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	Ref.
February 27	11:00 a.m.	No. 5  Northern Iowa	No. RV  Youngstown State	Stambaugh Stadium • Youngstown, OH	ESPN+	UNI 21–0	2,128
February 27	12:00 p.m.	No. 1  North Dakota State	Southern Illinois	Saluki Stadium • Carbondale, IL	ESPN+	SIU 38–14	2,400
February 27	12:00 p.m.	No. 3  South Dakota State	No. 14  North Dakota	Alerus Center • Grand Forks, ND	ESPN+	UND 28–17	3,638
February 27	12:00 p.m.	South Dakota	No. 7  Illinois State	Hancock Stadium • Normal, IL		USD 27–20	1,853
February 27	12:00 p.m.	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	Ref.
March 4	5:00 p.m.	No. 20т  South Dakota	No. 4  North Dakota	Alerus Center • Grand Forks, ND	ESPN+	UND 21–10	3,491
March 6	11:00 a.m.	No. 11  Southern Illinois	Youngstown State	Stambaugh Stadium • Youngstown, OH	ESPN+	SIU 30–22	1,901
March 6	2:00 p.m.	No. 6  North Dakota State	Missouri State	Robert W. Plaster Stadium • Carbondale, IL	ESPN+	NDSU 25–0	3,147
March 6	2:00 p.m.	Western Illinois	No. 8  South Dakota State	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD		SDSU 45–10	2,347
March 6	4:00 p.m.	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	Ref.
March 13	1:00 p.m.	Missouri State	No. 21  South Dakota	DakotaDome • Vermillion, SD	ESPN+	MOST 27–24	2,051
March 13	2:00 p.m.	Youngstown State	No. 8  South Dakota State	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD		SDSU 19–17	2,653
March 13	2:30 p.m.	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	Ref.
March 20	11:00 a.m.	South Dakota	Youngstown State	Stambaugh Stadium • Youngstown, OH		YSU 28–10	2,159
March 20	12:00 p.m.	No. 6  South Dakota State	No. 5  Southern Illinois	Saluki Stadium • Carbondale, IL	ESPN+	SDSU 44–3	2,400
March 20	2:30 p.m.	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	Ref.
March 27	11:00 a.m.	No. 22  Northern Iowa	Western Illinois	Hanson Field • Macomb, IL	ESPN+	UNI 34–20	542
March 27	1:00 p.m.	No. 2  North Dakota State	South Dakota	DakotaDome • Vermillion, SD	ESPN+	Cancelled	-
March 27	2:00 p.m.	Illinois State	No. 4  South Dakota State	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD		Canceled	-
March 27	2:00 p.m.	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	Ref.
April 2	6:00 p.m.	No. 23  Northern Iowa	South Dakota	DakotaDome • Vermillion, SD		Canceled	-
April 3	11:00 a.m.	No. 19  Missouri State	No. 6  North Dakota	Alerus Center • Grand Forks, ND		Canceled	-
April 3	12:00 p.m.	Illinois State	No. 18  Southern Illinois	Saluki Stadium • Carbondale, IL	ESPN+	Canceled	-
April 3	7:00 p.m.	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	Ref.
April 10	12:00 p.m.	Western Illinois	No. 16  Southern Illinois	Saluki Stadium • Carbondale, IL		Canceled	-
April 10	12:00 p.m.	No. 6  North Dakota	Illinois State	Hancock Stadium • Normal, IL		Canceled	-
April 10	2:00 p.m.	Youngstown State	No. 15  Missouri State	Robert W. Plaster Stadium • Springfield, MO	ESPN+	MOST 21–10	2,948
April 10	2:00 p.m.	South Dakota	No. 4  South Dakota State	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD		Canceled	-
April 10	4:00 p.m.	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	Ref.
April 17	11:00 a.m.	No. 6  North Dakota	Youngstown State	Stambaugh Stadium • Youngstown, OH		Canceled	-
April 17	12:00 p.m.	No. 15  Southeastern Louisiana	No. 18  Southern Illinois	Saluki Stadium • Carbondale, IL	ESPN+	W 55–48	2,400
April 17	1:00 p.m.	Western Illinois	South Dakota	DakotaDome • Vermillion, SD		Canceled	-
April 17	1:00 p.m.	Illinois State	No. 14  Missouri State	Robert W. Plaster Stadium • Springfield, MO		Canceled	-
April 17	2:30 p.m.	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

See also: 2020 NCAA Division I FCS football season § NCAA Division I playoff bracket

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	Ref.
April 24	2:00 p.m.	Holy Cross	No. 2 (1)  South Dakota State	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD	ESPN3	W 31–3	2,998
April 24	2:30 p.m.	No. 9  Eastern Washington	No. 6  North Dakota State	Fargodome • Fargo, ND	ESPN3	W 42–20	3,587
April 24	3:00 p.m.	No. 12  Missouri State	No. 7  North Dakota	Alerus Center • Grand Forks, ND	ESPN3	UND 44–10	3,074
April 24	3:00 p.m.	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	Ref.
May 2	2:00 p.m.	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 p.m.	No. 6  North Dakota	No. 1 (2)  James Madison	Bridgeforth Stadium • Harrisburg, VA	ESPN2	L 21–34	5,854
May 2	8:00 p.m.	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	Ref.
May 8	11:00 a.m.	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

See also: 2021 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
May 16	1:00 p.m.	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
	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 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 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 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 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

Main article: 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
Romeo McKnight	DE	Illinois State	Cleveland Browns
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 [a]	1	124–61 (.670)	5–5 (.500)	5–1 (.833)	1	1	0–1 (.000)	0
North Dakota	Bubba Schweigert [b]	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 [c]	5	208–109–1 (.656)	22–29 (.431)	15–21 (.417)	0	1	1–1 (.500)	2
South Dakota State	John Stiegelmeier [d]	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

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.

References

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.
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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.