2022 Missouri Valley Football Conference season

2022 Missouri Valley Football Conference season
2022 Missouri Valley Football Conference season
League	NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision
Sport	Football
Duration	September 1, 2022; through January 8, 2023
Number of teams	11
2023 NFL draft
Top draft pick	Cody Mauch, OT, North Dakota State
Picked by	Tampa Bay Buccaneers (round 2, pick 48)
Regular season
Champion; ; Playoff Participants	South Dakota State ; ; North Dakota State ; North Dakota
Football seasons
	← 2021 2023 →

Last updated October 02, 2024

2022 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 1 South Dakota State $^	8	–	0	14	–	1
No. 2 North Dakota State ^	7	–	1	12	–	3
No. 20 North Dakota ^	5	–	3	7	–	5
Youngstown State	5	–	3	7	–	4
Northern Iowa	5	–	3	6	–	5
Illinois State	4	–	4	6	–	5
Southern Illinois	4	–	4	5	–	6
Missouri State	3	–	5	5	–	6
South Dakota	2	–	6	3	–	8
Indiana State	1	–	7	2	–	9
Western Illinois	0	–	8	0	–	11

$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant As of October 1, 2024 Rankings from STATS Poll

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.^[1]

South Dakota State and North Dakota State met in the National Championship Game after winning all three of their home playoff games. It was only the second time in FCS history and MVFC history that the final game was played between two same-conference teams, the last one pitting North Dakota State and Illinois State against each other in 2015. The Jackrabbits would go on to win their first National Title, 45-21.^[2]

Previous season

In 2021, North Dakota State won the conference and received the automatic bid to the 2021 playoffs. They would go on to win the FCS Championship Game to win their 9th title in 11 years.^[3]

Besides NDSU; Southern Illinois, South Dakota, Northern Iowa, South Dakota State, and Missouri State made the playoffs. Southern Illinois and South Dakota faced off in the first round, SIU was victorious^[4] but lost to NDSU the next week. Northern Iowa played Eastern Washington in the first round, but they lost 19-9.^[5] SDSU beat UC Davis in the first round, beat 4th seeded Sacramento State in the second round, and 5th seeded Villanova in the quarterfinals. Their run ended in the semifinal, when the Jacks lost to 8th seeded Montana State.^[6] Missouri State lost to UT Martin in the opening round.

Coaching changes

Western Illinois

On December 17, 2021, Myers Hendrickson was named the new head coach at Western Illinois.^[7] Hendrickson played for the Leathernecks in his brief college career as a wide receiver from 2008-10. He replaces coach Jared Elliot who led the program since 2018.^[8]

Preseason

MVFC Media Day

Preseason Poll

The annual preseason poll; voted on by conference coaches, athletic directors, and media members.^[9]

Predicted finish	Team	Points (1st place votes)
1	North Dakota State	446 (39)
2	South Dakota State	407 (2)
3	Missouri State	355
4	Southern Illinois	306
5	Northern Iowa	304
6	South Dakota	235
7	North Dakota	190
8	Illinois State	178
9	Youngstown State	132
10	Indiana State	109
11	Western Illinois	44

Preseason Awards

Individual awards

Award	Player	School	Position	Year
First Team Offense	Jason Shelley	Missouri State	QB	Sr.
	Isaiah Davis	South Dakota State	RB	Jr.
	Jaleel McLaughlin	Youngstown State	RB	Sr.
	Javon Williams	Southern Illinois	RB/AP	Jr.
	Hunter Luepke	North Dakota State	FB	Sr.
	Avante Cox	Southern Illinois	WR	Sr.
	Jaxon Janke	South Dakota State	WR	Sr.
	Tyrone Scott	Missouri State	WR	Jr.
	Tucker Kraft	South Dakota State	TE	Jr.
	Landon Bebee	Missouri State	OL	Jr.
	Garret Greenfield	South Dakota State	OL	Sr.
	Cody Mauch	North Dakota State	OL	Sr.
	Mason McCormick	South Dakota State	OL	Sr.
	Alex Jensen	South Dakota	OL	Sr.
First Team Defense	Kevin Ellis	Missouri State	DL	Sr.
	Eli Mostaert	North Dakota State	DL	Sr.
	Caleb Sanders	South Dakota State	DL	Sr.
	Reece Winkelman	South Dakota State	DL	Sr.
	Adam Bock	South Dakota State	LB	Jr.
	Spencer Cuvelier	Northern Iowa	LB	RS Sr.
	Brock Mogensen	South Dakota	LB	Jr.
	Zeke Vandenburgh	Illinois State	LB	Sr.
	Montrae Braswell	Missouri State	DB	Jr.
	PJ Jules	Southern Illinois	DB	Jr.
	Kyriq McDonald	Missouri State	DB	Sr.
	Benny Sapp III	Northern Iowa	DB	Sr.
	Michael Tutsie	North Dakota State	DB	Sr.
First Team Special Teams	Dalton Godfrey	South Dakota	LS	Sr.
	Matthew Cook	Northern Iowa	PK	Jr.
	Grant Burkett	Missouri State	P	So.
	Montrae Braswell	Missouri State	RS	Jr.
	Carter Bell	South Dakota	AP	So.
Second Team Offense	Mark Gronowski	South Dakota State	QB	So.
	Kobe Johnson	North Dakota State	RB	Sr.
	Cole Mueller	Illinois State	RB	So.
	Jacob Garrett	Southern Illinois	FB	Jr.
	Carter Bell	South Dakota	WR	So.
	Bo Belquist	North Dakota	WR	Jr.
	Dante Hendrix	Indiana State	WR	RS Sr.
	Noah Gindorff	North Dakota State	TE	Sr.
	Drew Bones	Illinois State	OL	Sr.
	Nash Jensen	North Dakota State	OL	Sr.
	Erik Sorensen	Northern Iowa	OL	RS Sr.
	Donny Ventrelli	North Dakota	OL	Sr.
	Jaison Williams	Youngstown State	OL	So.
Second Team Defense	Braydon Deming	Illinois State	DL	Sr.
	Nick Gaes	South Dakota	DL	So.
	Caden Houghtelling	Northern Iowa	DL	RS Jr.
	Devin Rice	Northern Iowa	OL	RS Jr.
	Spencer Waege	North Dakota State	DL	Sr.
	Greg Benton Jr.	Youngstown State	LB	Sr.
	Bryce Flater	Northern Iowa	LB	RS Sr.
	James Kaczor	North Dakota State	LB	Sr.
	Devon Krzanowski	North Dakota	LB	Sr.
	Clayton Bush	Southern Illinois	DB	Jr.
	Korby Sander	Northern Iowa	DB	Fr.
	C.J. Siegel	North Dakota	CB	Sr.
	Destin Talbert	North Dakota State	DB	Sr.
	Dawson Weber	North Dakota State	DB	Sr.
Second Team Special Teams	Joey Malinowski	Illinois State	LS	Jr.
	Jose Pizano	Missouri State	PK	Jr.
	Cade Peterson	North Dakota	P	Sr.
	Jayden Price	North Dakota State	RS	Sr.
	Quan Hampton	Northern Iowa	AP/WR	Sr.

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	Final
Illinois State	STATS Perform							RV	RV	RV
Illinois State	AFCA Coaches		RV	RV					RV	RV
Indiana State	STATS Perform
Indiana State	AFCA Coaches
Missouri State	STATS Perform	5	5	5	6	7	20	RV	RV
Missouri State	AFCA Coaches	8	7	4т	9	19	RV	RV
North Dakota	STATS Perform		RV	22	19	RV	22	20	20	23	21	19	16	20	20
North Dakota	AFCA Coaches	RV	RV	RV	RV		RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	23	24т	RV
North Dakota State	STATS Perform	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	4	4	4	4	4	4	2
North Dakota State	AFCA Coaches	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	4	4	4	4	4	4	2
Northern Iowa	STATS Perform	21	24	RV							RV
Northern Iowa	AFCA Coaches	21	24								RV
South Dakota	STATS Perform			RV	RV		RV
South Dakota	AFCA Coaches	RV	RV
South Dakota State	STATS Perform	2	2	2	2т	2	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
South Dakota State	AFCA Coaches	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Southern Illinois	STATS Perform	9	17	RV	24	19	17	16	14	20	RV	RV
Southern Illinois	AFCA Coaches	9	19	RV	RV	RV	24	19	17	24	RV	RV
Western Illinois	STATS Perform
Western Illinois	AFCA Coaches
Youngstown State	STATS Perform			RV	RV	RV						RV		RV	RV
Youngstown State	AFCA Coaches		RV	23	25т	RV	RV					RV		RV	RV

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 1

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 1	5:00 p.m.	North Alabama	Indiana State	Memorial Stadium • Terre Haute, IN	ESPN+	W 17–14 ^OT	4,851
September 1	6:30 p.m.	Western Illinois	UT Martin	Hardy M. Graham Stadium • Martin, TN	ESPN+	L 25–42	5,127
September 1	7:00 p.m.	No. 5 Missouri State	Central Arkansas	Estes Stadium • Conway, AR	ESPN+	W 27–14	10,277
September 3	11:00 a.m.	No. 2 South Dakota State	Iowa	Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, IA	FS1	L 3–7	69,250
September 3	12:00 p.m.	No. 21 Northern Iowa	Air Force	Falcon Stadium • Colorado Springs, CO		L 17–48	31,180
September 3	1:00 p.m.	Duquesne	Youngstown State	Stambaugh Stadium • Youngstown, OH	ESPN+	W 31–14	9,835
September 3	2:30 p.m.	North Dakota	Nebraska	Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE	BTN	L 17–38	86,590
September 3	2:30 p.m.	Drake	No. 1 North Dakota State	Fargodome • Fargo, ND	ESPN+	W 56–14	15,951
September 3	6:00 p.m.	South Dakota	Kansas State	Bill Snyder Family Stadium • Manhattan, KS	Big 12 on ESPN+	L 0–34	50,469
September 3	6:00 p.m.	No. 9 Southern Illinois	Incarnate Word	Gayle and Tom Benson Stadium • San Antonio, TX	ESPN+	L 29–64	2,656
September 3	6:00 p.m.	Illinois State	No. 18^ Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, WI	FS1	L 0–38	73,727
^#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Week 2

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 8	7:00 p.m.	UT Martin	No. 5 Missouri State	Robert W. Plaster Stadium • Springfield, MO	ESPN+	W 35–30	9,872
September 10	11:00 a.m.	Western Illinois	Minnesota	Huntington Bank Stadium • Minneapolis, MN	BTN	L 10–62	43,859
September 10	1:00 p.m.	Dayton	Youngstown State	Stambaugh Stadium • Youngstown, OH	ESPN+	W 49–16	13,597
September 10	2:30 p.m.	South Dakota	No. 3 Montana	Washington-Grizzly Stadium • Missoula, MT	ESPN+	L 7–24	24,404
September 10	2:30 p.m.	North Carolina A&T	No. 1 North Dakota State	Fargodome • Fargo, ND	ESPN+	W 43–3	16,269
September 10	3:00 p.m.	Indiana State	Purdue	Ross-Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, IN	BTN	L 0–56	53,676
September 10	3:00 p.m.	No. 24 Northern Iowa	No. RV North Dakota	Alerus Center • Grand Forks, ND	ESPN+	UND 29–27	9,940
September 10	6:00 p.m.	UC Davis	No. 2 South Dakota State	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD	ESPN+	W 24–22	15,182
September 10	6:00 p.m.	Southeast Missouri State	No. 17 Southern Illinois	Saluki Stadium • Carbondale, IL	ESPN3	L 31–34	8,662
September 10	6:30 p.m.	Valparaiso	Illinois State	Hancock Stadium • Normal, IL	ESPN+	W 28–21	6,937
^#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Week 3

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 17	11:00 a.m.	No. RV Youngstown State	No. 9^ Kentucky	Kroger Field • Lexington, KY	SECN	L 0–31	59,308
September 17	6:00 p.m.	No. 5 Missouri State	No. 10^ Arkansas	Razorback Stadium • Fayetteville, AR	SEC+/ESPN+	L 17–38	74,133
September 17	11:00 a.m.	No. RV Southern Illinois	Northwestern	Ryan Field • Evanston, IL	BTN	W 31–24	23,146
September 17	12:00 p.m.	No. 2 Montana	Indiana State	Memorial Stadium • Terre Haute, IN	ESPN+	L 14–49	5,929
September 17	1:00 p.m.	Cal Poly	No. RV South Dakota †	DakotaDome • Vermillion, SD	ESPN+	W 38–21	6,812
September 17	3:00 p.m.	No. 22 North Dakota	Northern Arizona	J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome • Flagstaff, AZ	ESPN+	W 27–24	7,841
September 17	3:00 p.m.	Southern Utah	Western Illinois	Hanson Field • Macomb, IL	ESPN+	L 10–17	5,024
September 17	4:00 p.m.	No. 7 Sacramento State	No. RV Northern Iowa	UNI-Dome • Cedar Falls, IA	ESPN+	L 21–37	8,818
September 17	6:00 p.m.	Butler	No. 2 South Dakota State	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD	ESPN+	W 45–17	16,414
September 17	6:30 p.m.	Eastern Illinois	Illinois State	Hancock Stadium • Normal, IL	ESPN+	W 35–7	8,208
September 17	8:00 p.m.	No. 1 North Dakota State	Arizona	Arizona Stadium • Tucson, AZ	FS1	L 28–31	41,211
^#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Week 4

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 24	1:00 p.m.	No. 1 North Dakota State	No. RV South Dakota	DakotaDome • Vermillion, SD	ESPN+	NDSU 34–17	6,530
September 24	2:00 p.m.	No. 2 South Dakota State	No. 6 Missouri State	Robert W. Plaster Stadium • Springfield, MO	ESPN3	SDSU 28–14	13,189
September 24	2:00 p.m.	No. 19 North Dakota	No. 24 Southern Illinois	Saluki Stadium • Carbondale, IL	ESPN+	SIU 34–17	8,053
September 24	3:00 p.m.	Northern Iowa	Western Illinois	Hanson Field • Macomb, IL	ESPN+	UNI 52–17	4,500
^#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Date	Bye Week
September 24	Illinois State	Indiana State	No. RV Youngstown State

Week 5

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
October 1	12:00 p.m.	No. 7 Missouri State	No. RV North Dakota †	Alerus Center • Grand Forks, ND	ESPN+	UND 48–31	10,020
October 1	1:00 p.m.	No. RV Youngstown State	No. 1 North Dakota State †	Fargodome • Fargo, ND	ESPN+	NDSU 27–14	18,055
October 1	2:00 p.m.	Western Illinois	No. 2 South Dakota State †	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD	ESPN+	SDSU 34–10	15,237
October 1	4:00 p.m.	Indiana State	Northern Iowa	UNI-Dome • Cedar Falls, IA	ESPN+	UNI 20–14	6,830
October 1	6:30 p.m.	No. 19 Southern Illinois	Illinois State	Hancock Stadium • Normal, IL	ESPN+	SIU 19–14	11,127
^#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Date	Bye Week
October 1	South Dakota

Week 6

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
October 8	12:00 p.m.	No. 1 North Dakota State	Indiana State	Memorial Stadium • Terre Haute, IN	ESPN+	NDSU 31–26	4,185
October 8	2:00 p.m.	No. 17 Southern Illinois	No. 20 Missouri State	Robert W. Plaster Stadium • Springfield, MO	ESPN+	SIU 38–21	7,061
October 8	2:00 p.m.	No. RV South Dakota	No. 2 South Dakota State	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD (Battle for South Dakota)	ESPN+	SDSU 28–3	19,332
October 8	4:00 p.m.	Illinois State	Northern Iowa †	UNI-Dome • Cedar Falls, IA	ESPN+	ILL ST 23–21	9,306
October 8	5:00 p.m.	No. 22 North Dakota	Youngstown State	Stambaugh Stadium • Youngstown, OH	ESPN+	UND 35–30	11,009
^#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Date	Bye Week
October 8	Western Illinois

Week 7

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
October 15	1:00 p.m.	Indiana State	Youngstown State †	Stambaugh Stadium • Youngstown, OH	ESPN+	YSU 48–42	9,326
October 15	2:00 p.m.	South Dakota	No. RV Illinois State †	Hancock Stadium • Normal, IL	ESPN3	ILL ST 12–10	9,302
October 15	2:00 p.m.	Western Illinois	No. 16 Southern Illinois †	Saluki Stadium • Carbondale, IL	ESPN+	SIU 30–7	10,118
October 15	2:30 p.m.	No. 2 South Dakota State	No. 1 North Dakota State	Fargodome • Fargo, ND (Dakota Marker)	ESPN+	SDSU 23–21	18,603
October 15	4:00 p.m.	Utah Tech	Northern Iowa	UNI-Dome • Cedar Falls, IA	ESPN+	W 41–14	6,942
^#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Date	Bye Week
October 15	No. RV Missouri State	No. 20 North Dakota

Week 8

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
October 22	12:00 p.m.	No. RV Illinois State	Indiana State †	Memorial Stadium • Terre Haute, IN	ESPN3	ILL ST 27–21	5,182
October 22	2:00 p.m.	No. 14 Southern Illinois	South Dakota	DakotaDome • Vermillion, SD	ESPN+	USD 27–24	7,599
October 22	3:00 p.m.	No. 1 South Dakota State	No. 20 North Dakota	Alerus Center • Grand Forks, ND	ESPN+	SDSU 49–35	11,067
October 22	3:00 p.m.	Youngstown State	Western Illinois †	Hanson Field • Macomb, IL	ESPN+	YSU 28–27	7,217
October 22	4:00 p.m.	No. RV Missouri State	Northern Iowa	UNI-Dome • Cedar Falls, IA	ESPN+	UNI 41–20	8,809
^#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Date	Bye Week
October 22	No. 4 North Dakota State

Week 9

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
October 29	1:00 p.m.	South Dakota	Youngstown State	Stambaugh Stadium • Youngstown, OH	ESPN+	YSU 45–24	9,240
October 29	2:00 p.m.	Indiana State	No. 1 South Dakota State	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD	ESPN+	SDSU 49–7	19,041
October 29	2:00 p.m.	Western Illinois	Missouri State †	Robert W. Plaster Stadium • Springfield, MO	ESPN+	MO ST 64–14	10,712
October 29	2:00 p.m.	Northern Iowa	No. 20 Southern Illinois	Saluki Stadium • Carbondale, IL	ESPN3	UNI 37–36	6,155
October 29	2:30 p.m.	No. RV Illinois State	No. 4 North Dakota State	Fargodome • Fargo, ND	ESPN+	NDSU 24–7	16,172
October 29	3:00 p.m.	Abilene Christian	No. 23 North Dakota	Alerus Center • Grand Forks, ND	ESPN+	W 34–31	8,355
^#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Week 10

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
November 5	12:00 p.m.	No. 21 North Dakota	Indiana State	Memorial Stadium • Terre Haute, IN	ESPN+	UND 42–7	2,534
November 5	1:00 p.m.	Missouri State	South Dakota	DakotaDome • Vermillion, SD	ESPN3	USD 20–13	5,341
November 5	1:00 p.m.	No. 4 North Dakota State	Western Illinois	Hanson Field • Macomb, IL	ESPN+	NDSU 56–17	2,534
November 5	2:00 p.m.	Youngstown State	Illinois State	Hancock Stadium • Normal, IL	ESPN+	YSU 19–17	4,989
November 5	4:00 p.m.	No. 1 South Dakota State	No. RV Northern Iowa	UNI-Dome • Cedar Falls, IA	ESPN+	SDSU 31–28	9,449
^#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Date	Bye Week
November 5	No. RV Southern Illinois

Week 11

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
November 12	12:00 p.m.	South Dakota	No. 19 North Dakota	Alerus Center • Grand Forks, ND	ESPN+	UND 28–19	9,516
November 12	1:00 p.m.	Indiana State	Western Illinois	Hanson Field • Macomb, IL	ESPN+	IND ST 21–0	2,661
November 12	1:00 p.m.	No. 4 North Dakota State	No. RV Southern Illinois	Saluki Stadium • Carbondale, IL	ESPN+	NDSU 21–18	4,575
November 12	2:00 p.m.	Illinois State	No. 1 South Dakota State	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD	ESPN+	SDSU 31–7	8,160
November 12	2:00 p.m.	No. RV Youngstown State	Missouri State	Robert W. Plaster Stadium • Springfield, MO	ESPN3	MO ST 25–22	5,148
^#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Date	Bye Week
November 12	Northern Iowa

Week 12

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
November 19	11:00 a.m.	Western Illinois	Illinois State	Hancock Stadium • Normal, IL	ESPN+	ILL ST 20–13 ^OT	2,579
November 19	11:00 a.m.	Southern Illinois	Youngstown State	Stambaugh Stadium • Youngstown, OH	ESPN3	YSU 28–21	7,381
November 19	12:00 p.m.	Missouri State	Indiana State	Memorial Stadium • Terre Haute, IN	ESPN+	MO ST 24–7	2,575
November 19	1:00 p.m.	Northern Iowa	South Dakota	DakotaDome • Vermillion, SD	ESPN+	UNI 58–14	5,490
November 19	2:30 p.m.	No. 16 North Dakota	No. 4 North Dakota State	Fargodome • Fargo, ND (Nickel Trophy)	ESPN+	NDSU 42–21	18,806
^#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Date	Bye Week
November 19	No. 1 South Dakota State

Postseason

In 2022, three teams made the FCS Playoffs. South Dakota State (No. 1) and North Dakota State (No. 3) both received byes, while North Dakota was unseeded and played in the opening round. Below are the games in which they played.^[10]

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.
November 26	3:00 p.m.	No. 20 North Dakota	No. 9 Weber State (Big Sky)	Stewart Stadium • Ogden, UT	ESPN+	L 31–38	4,495
^#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Second round

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
December 3	2:00 p.m.	No. 23 Delaware (CAA)	No. 1 (1) South Dakota State	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD	ESPN+	W 42–6	6,117
December 3	2:30 p.m.	No. 19 Montana (Big Sky)	No. 4 (3) North Dakota State	Fargodome • Fargo, ND	ESPN+	W 49–26	12,929
^#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Quarterfinals

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
December 9	6:00 p.m.	No. 8 (6) Samford (SoCon)	No. 4 (3) North Dakota State	Fargodome • Fargo, ND	ESPN2	W 27–9	11,825
December 10	11:00 a.m.	No. 7 (8) Holy Cross (Patriot League)	No. 1 (1) South Dakota State	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD	ESPN	W 42–21	6,549
^#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Semifinals

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
December 16	6:00 p.m.	No. 5 (7) Incarnate Word (Southland)	No. 4 (3) North Dakota State	Fargodome • Fargo, ND	ESPN2	W 35–32	12,569
December 17	3:00 p.m.	No. 3 (4) Montana State (Big Sky)	No. 1 (1) South Dakota State	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD	ESPN2	W 39–18	7,195
^#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

National Championship

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
January 8	1:00 p.m.	No. 4 (3) North Dakota State	No. 1 (1) South Dakota State	Toyota Stadium • Frisco, TX	ABC	SDSU 45-21	18,023
^#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

MVFC records vs other conferences

2022-23 records against non-conference foes (through December 17, 2022):

FCS Power Conferences	Record
Big Sky	3-4
CAA	None
FCS Power Total	3-4

Other FCS Conferences	Record
ASUN	2-0
Big South	1-0
Ivy League	None
MEAC	None
Northeast	None
OVC	3-1
Patriot	None
PFL	4-0
SoCon	None
Southland	0-1
SWAC	None
WAC	2-0
Other FCS Total	12-2

FBS Opponents	Record
Football Bowl Subdivision	1-10
Total Non-Conference Record	16-16

Post Season

FCS Power Conferences	Record
Big Sky	2-1
CAA	1-0
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	1-0
Southland	1-0
SWAC	None
WAC	None
Other FCS Total	3-0

Total Postseason Record	6-1

Source:^[11]

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 (Sept. 4) ^[12]	Jaleel McLaughlin	RB	YSU	Adam Bock	LB	SDSU	Ryan O'Grady	PK	IN ST	Naseim Brantley	WR	WIU
Week 1 (Sept. 4) ^[12]	Jaleel McLaughlin	RB	YSU	Ryan Cole	S	IN ST	Montrae Braswell	CB/RS	MO ST	Naseim Brantley	WR	WIU

Week 2 (Sept. 11) ^[13]	Jason Shelley	QB	MO ST	Zeke Vandenburgh	LB	ILL ST	Jalen Carr	KR	ILL ST	Jacardia Wright	RB	MO ST

Week 3 (Sept. 18) ^[14]	Nic Baker	QB	SIU	Zeke Vandenburgh	LB	ILL ST	Cade Peterson	P	UND	Zack Annexstad	QB	ILL ST
Week 3 (Sept. 18) ^[14]	Jason Shelley	QB	MO ST	Zeke Vandenburgh	LB	ILL ST	Cade Peterson	P	UND	Zack Annexstad	QB	ILL ST

Week 4 (Sept. 25) ^[15]	Mark Gronowski	QB	SDSU	Woo Governor	DB	UNI	Griffin Crosa	K	NDSU	Dillon Thomas	S	MO ST

Week 5 (Oct. 2) ^[16]	Isaiah Davis	RB	SDSU	Zeke Vandenburgh	LB	ILL ST	Brady Stevens	PK	UND	D'Ante' Cox	WR	SIU

Week 6 (Oct. 9) ^[17]	Javon Williams Jr.	AP	SIU	Rylan Cole	S	IN ST	Will Mostaert	DT	NDSU	Cole Davis	DB	UND
Week 6 (Oct. 9) ^[17]	Javon Williams Jr.	AP	SIU	Rylan Cole	S	IN ST	Will Mostaert	DT	NDSU	Ian Wagner	PK	ILL ST

Week 7 (Oct. 16) ^[18]	Nic Baker	QB	SIU	Stephen Hillis	LB	USD	Hunter Dustman	K/P	SDSU	Cade Chambers	QB	IN ST

Week 8 (Oct. 23) ^[19]	Mark Gronowski	QB	SDSU	Cameron Tisdale	CB	USD	Colt McFadden	PK	YSU	Zack Annexstad	QB	ILL ST
Week 8 (Oct. 23) ^[19]	Dom Williams	RB	UNI	Cameron Tisdale	CB	USD	Colt McFadden	PK	YSU	Zack Annexstad	QB	ILL ST

Week 9 (Oct. 13) ^[20]	Nic Baker	QB	SIU	Dylan Wudke	DE	YSU	Jose Pizano	PK	MO ST	Desmond Hutson	WR	UNI

Week 10 (Nov. 7) ^[21]	TaMerik Williams	RB	NDSU	Alex Howard	LB	YSU	Hunter Dustman	K/P	SDSU	Aidan Bouman	QB	USD

Week 11 (Nov. 14) ^[22]	Jaleel McLaughlin	RB	YSU	James Kaczor	LB	NDSU	Montrae Braswell	CB/RS	MO ST	Malachi McNeal	LB	UND
Week 11 (Nov. 14) ^[22]	Tommy Schuster	QB	UND	James Kaczor	LB	NDSU	Montrae Braswell	CB/RS	MO ST	Malachi McNeal	LB	UND

Week 12 (Nov. 21) ^[23]	Cam Miller	QB	NDSU	Zeke Vandenburg	LB	ILL ST	DJ Hart	WR/RS	NDSU	Garret Ollendieck	LB	IN ST
Week 12 (Nov. 21) ^[23]	Theo Day	QB	UNI	Zeke Vandenburg	LB	ILL ST	DJ Hart	WR/RS	NDSU	Garret Ollendieck	LB	IN ST

In Week 12, an Offensive Lineman was also named to the player of the week honors, Nash Jensen of North Dakota State.

Players of the Year

On November 28, 2022, the Missouri Valley Football Conference released their Players of the Year and All-Conference Honors.^[24]

Offensive Player of the Year

Jaleel McLaughlin, RB (Sr - Youngstown State)

Defensive Player of the Year

Zeke Vandenburg, LB (Sr - Illinois State)

Newcomer of the Year

Naseim Brantley, WR (Jr - Western Illinois)

Freshman of the Year

Cade Chambers, QB (Fr - Indiana State)

Coach of the Year

John Stiegelmeier (South Dakota State)

All-Conference Teams

Award	Player	School	Position	Year
First Team Offense	Theo Day	Northern Iowa	QB	RS Jr.
	Isaiah Davis	South Dakota State	RB	Jr.
	Jaleel McLaughlin	Youngstown State	RB	Sr.
	Hunter Luepke	North Dakota State	FB	Sr.
	Naseim Brantley	Western Illinois	WR	Jr.
	Dante Hendrix	Indiana State	WR	RS Sr.
	Bryce Oliver	Youngstown State	WR	Jr.
	Tucker Kraft	South Dakota State	TE	Jr.
	Drew Bones	Illinois State	OL	Sr.
	Garret Greenfield	South Dakota State	OL	Sr.
	Nash Jensen	North Dakota State	OL	Sr.
	Cody Mauch	North Dakota State	OL	Sr.
	Mason McCormick	South Dakota State	OL	Sr.
	Hunter Luepke	North Dakota State	AP	Sr.
First Team Defense	Richie Hagarty	Southern Illinois	DL	So.
	Caleb Sanders	South Dakota State	DL	Sr.
	Spencer Waege	North Dakota State	DL	Sr.
	Reece Winkelman	South Dakota State	DL	Sr.
	Adam Bock	South Dakota State	LB	Jr.
	Stephen Hillis	South Dakota	LB	Jr.
	James Kaczor	North Dakota State	LB	Sr.
	Zeke Vandenburg	Illinois State	LB	Sr.
	Montrae Braswell	Missouri State	DB	Jr.
	Dyshawn Gales	South Dakota State	DB	Sr.
	Benny Sapp III	Northern Iowa	DB	Sr.
	Michael Tutsie	North Dakota State	DB	Sr.
	Dawson Weber	North Dakota State	DB	Sr.
First Team Special Teams	Grant Burkett	Missouri State	P	So.
	Matthew Cook	Northern Iowa	PK	Jr.
	Dalton Godfrey	South Dakota	DS	Sr.
	Montrae Braswell	Missouri State	RS	Jr.

Award	Player	School	Position	Year
Second Team Offense	Mark Gronowski	South Dakota State	QB	So.
	Justin Dinka	Indiana State	RB	RS So.
	Tyler Hoosman	North Dakota	RB	Jr.
	Jacob Garrett	Southern Illinois	FB	Jr.
	Bo Belquist	North Dakota	WR	Jr.
	Avante Cox	Southern Illinois	WR	Sr.
	Jaxon Janke	South Dakota State	WR	Sr.
	Zach Heins	South Dakota State	TE	Sr
	Landon Bebee	Missouri State	OL	Jr.
	Alex Jensen	South Dakota	OL	Sr.
	Mike McAllister	Youngstown State	OL	Sr.
	Erik Sorenson	Northern Iowa	OL	RS Sr.
	Donny Ventrelli	North Dakota	OL	Sr.
	Javon Williams Jr.	Southern Illinois	AP	Jr.
Second Team Defense	Khristian Boyd	Northern Iowa	DL	RS Jr.
	Kevin Ellis	Missouri State	DL	Sr.
	Ben McNaboe	North Dakota	DL	Jr.
	Dylan Wudke	Youngstown State	DL	So.
	Branson Combs	Southern Illinois	LB	So.
	Spencer Cuvelier	Northern Iowa	LB	RS Sr.
	Ferrin Manuleleua	Missouri State	LB	Sr.
	Brock Mogensen	South Dakota	LB	Jr.
	Korby Sander	Northern Iowa	LB	GS
	Rylan Cole	Indiana State	DB	So.
	Woo Governor	Northern Iowa	DB	Jr.
	Myles Harden	South Dakota	DB	So.
	PJ Jules	Southern Illinois	DB	Jr.
	C.J. Siegel	North Dakota	DB	Sr.
Second Team Special Teams	John Bickle	South Dakota	P	Sr.
	Colt McFadden	Youngstown State	PK	Sr.
	Hunter Brozio	North Dakota State	DS	Jr.
	Jadon Janke	South Dakota State	RS	Sr.

All-Newcomer Team

Award	Player	School	Position	Year
All-Newcomer Team Offense	Zack Annexstad	Illinois State	QB	Jr.
	Aidan Bouman	South Dakota	QB	RS Fr.
	Naseim Brantley	Western Illinois	WR	Jr.
	Brayden Bryant	North Dakota	OL	So.
	Cade Chambers	Indiana State	QB	RS Fr.
	D'Ante' Cox	Southern Illinois	WR	Sr.
	Desmond Hutson	Northern Iowa	WR	RS Fr.
	Shomari Lawrence	South Dakota	RB	RS Fr.
	John O'Brian	South Dakota State	OL	Jr.
	Max Tomczak	Youngstown State	WR	RS Fr.
	Jacardia Wright	Missouri State	RB	So.
	Wenkers Wright	Illinois State	RB	RS Fr.
All-Newcomer Defense	Cordarrius Bailey	Northern Iowa	DE	RS Sr.
	John Bickle	South Dakota	P	Sr.
	Jaxon Duttenhefer	North Dakota State	DT	RS Fr.
	Jason Freeman	South Dakota State	LB	Jr.
	Chris Harris	Southern Illinois	LB	Sr.
	Logan Kopp	North Dakota State	LB	RS Fr.
	Deandre Lamont	Illinois State	DB	Sr.
	Tucker Large	South Dakota State	S/LB	RS Fr.
	Kole Menz	North Dakota State	DE	RS Fr.
	Edmund Ocansey	North Dakota	DB	RS Fr.
	Garret Ollendieck	Indiana State	LB	So.
	Noah Pettinger	Northern Iowa	P	Fr.
	Michael Scott	South Dakota	DE	Sr.

Source:^[25]

National Awards

On December 5, 2022, STATS Perform released their list of finalists for the Walter Payton Award, Buck Buchanan Award, and the Jerry Rice Award, respectively.^[26]

Walter Payton Award

The Walter Payton Award is given to the best FCS offensive player. Here are the MVFC finalists:^[27]

Jaleel McLaughlin (RB - Youngstown State)
Cody Mauch (OL - North Dakota State)
Hunter Luepke (FB - North Dakota State)

Buck Buchanan Award

The Buck Buchanan Award is given to the best FCS defensive player. The MVFC’s own Zeke Vandenburg (LB - Illinois State) won the award,^[28] and was honored at the National Championship game in January.
Here are the other MVFC finalists:

Spencer Waege (DL - North Dakota State)
Caleb Sanders (DL - South Dakota State)

Jerry Rice Award

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

Cade Chambers (QB - Indiana State)

All-Americans

	AP 1st Team	AP 2nd Team	AP 3rd Team	AFCA^[29] 1st Team	AFCA 2nd Team	STATS^[30] 1st Team	STATS 2nd Team	STATS 3rd Team	ADA ^[31]	HERO ^[32]
Benny Sapp III, DB, Northern Iowa			Y		Y		Y
Caleb Sanders, DL, South Dakota State	Y			Y		Y				Y
Cody Mauch, OL, North Dakota State	Y			Y		Y			Y	Y
Garret Greenfield, OL, South Dakota State	Y				Y	Y
Hunter Luepke, FB, North Dakota State		Y				Y				Y
Jaleel McLaughlin, RB, Youngstown State	Y				Y	Y				Y
Matthew Cook, PK, Northern Iowa		Y			Y			Y		Y
Mason McCormick, OL, South Dakota State	Y			Y			Y			Y
Michael Tutsie, DB, North Dakota State			Y		Y
Nash Jensen, OL, North Dakota State	Y				Y		Y
Spencer Waege, DE, North Dakota State	Y				Y	Y				Y
Tucker Kraft, TE, South Dakota State			Y					Y
Zeke Vandenburgh, LB, Illinois State	Y			Y		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	6,937	8,208	11,127†	9,302	4,989	2,579				43,142	7,190	53.7%
Indiana State	Memorial Stadium	12,764	4,851	5,929†	4,185	5,182	2,534	2,575				25,256	4,209	32.9%
Missouri State	Robert W. Plaster Stadium	17,500	9,872	13,189†	7,064	10,712	5,148					45,985	9,197	52.5%
North Dakota	Alerus Center	12,283	9,940	10,020	11,067†	8,355	9,516					48,898	9,779	79.6%
North Dakota State	Fargodome	18,700	15,951	16,269	18,055	18,603	16,172	18,806†	12,929‡	11,825‡	12,569‡	141,179	15,686	83.9%
Northern Iowa	UNI-Dome	16,324	8,818	6,830	9,306	6,942	8,809	9,449†				50,154	8,359	51.2%
South Dakota	DakotaDome	9,100	6,812	6,530	7,599†	5,341	5,490					31,772	6,354	69.8%
South Dakota State	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium	19,340	15,182	16,414	15,237	19,332†	19,041	8,160	6,117‡	6,549‡	7,195‡	113,227	12,580	65.1%
Southern Illinois	Saluki Stadium	15,000	8,662	8,053	10,118†	6,155	4,575					37,563	7,512	50.0%
Western Illinois	Hanson Field	17,128	5,024†	4,500	4,973	2,534	2,661					19,692	3,938	23.0%
Youngstown State	Stambaugh Stadium	20,630	9,835	13,597†	11,009	9,326	9,240	7,381				60,388	10,064	48.8%

Bold - Exceed capacity
†Season High
‡FCS Playoff Game

2023 NFL Draft

The following list includes all MVFC players who were drafted in the 2023 NFL draft.

Player	Position	School	Draft Round	Round Pick	Overall Pick	Team	Notes
Cody Mauch	OT	North Dakota State	2	17	48	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	from Detroit via Green Bay
Tucker Kraft	TE	South Dakota State	3	15	78	Green Bay Packers

Undrafted Free Agents

Player	Position	School	Team
Hunter Luepke	FB	North Dakota State	Dallas Cowboys
Noah Gindorff	TE	North Dakota State	Seattle Seahawks
Nash Jensen	OL	North Dakota State	Carolina Panthers
Spencer Waege	DL	North Dakota State	San Francisco 49ers
Tyler Hoosman	RB	North Dakota	Los Angeles Chargers
Benny Sapp	CB	Northern Iowa	Green Bay Packers
Ty Scott	WR	Missouri State	Kansas City Chiefs
Mike McAllister	C	Youngstown State	Los Angeles Rams
Zeke Vandenburgh	LB	Illinois State	Miami Dolphins
Tanner Taula	TE	Illinois State	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Jason Lewan	DE	Illinois State	Green Bay Packers
Alex Jensen	OT	South Dakota	Miami Dolphins
Caleb Sanders	DL	South Dakota State	New York Giants

Source:^[33]^[34]

Head coaches

Through January 10, 2023

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	14	95–66 (.590)	95–66 (.590)	60–48 (.556)	2	5	7–5 (.583)	0
Indiana State	Curt Mallory	5	19–37 (.339)	19–37 (.339)	12–28 (.300)	0	0	0–0 (–)	0
Missouri State	Bobby Petrino ^{[lower-alpha 1]}	3	137–71 (.659)	18–15 (.545)	14–8 (.636)	1	2	0–2 (.000)	0
North Dakota	Bubba Schweigert ^{[lower-alpha 2]}	9	76–66 (.535)	54–45 (.545)	12–9 (.571)	0	4	1–4 (.200)	0
North Dakota State	Matt Entz	4	49–7 (.875)	49–7 (.875)	27–4 (.871)	2	4	9–2 (.818)	2
Northern Iowa	Mark Farley	22	174–98 (.640)	174–98 (.640)	111–56 (.665)	7	13	16–13 (.552)	0
South Dakota	Bob Nielson ^{[lower-alpha 3]}	7	218–122–1 (.641)	32–34 (.485)	22–30 (.423)	0	2	1–2 (.333)	2
South Dakota State	John Stiegelmeier ^{[lower-alpha 4]}	26	198–112 (.639)	198–112 (.639)	84–34 (.712)	3	12	18–11 (.621)	1
Southern Illinois	Nick Hill	7	34–39 (.466)	34–39 (.466)	20–28 (.417)	0	2	2–2 (.500)	0
Western Illinois	Myers Hendrickson ^{[lower-alpha 5]}	1	0–11 (.000)	0–11 (.000)	0–8 (.000)	0	0	0–0 (–)	0
Youngstown State	Doug Phillips	3	11–17 (.393)	11–17 (.393)	8–15 (.348)	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.
↑ Myers Hendrickson previously coached at Kansas Wesleyan of the NAIA from 2019-21, and helped the Coyotes to two NAIA playoff appearances.

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 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team represents South Dakota State University in college football. The program competes at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level as member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC). The Jackrabbits play their home games at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium on South Dakota State's campus in Brookings, South Dakota.

The Western Illinois Leathernecks football program is the intercollegiate American football team for Western Illinois University located in Macomb, Illinois. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and are members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC). The school's first football team was fielded in 1902. The team plays its home games at the 16,368 seat Hanson Field. The Leathernecks are playing one final MVFC campaign in the fall of 2023 before joining the football alliance between the Big South Conference and Western's primary home of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) in 2024.

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 2015 Illinois State Redbirds football team represented Illinois State University as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2015 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by seventh-year head coach Brock Spack, the Redbirds compiled an overall record of 10–3 with a mark of 7–1 in conference play, sharing the MVFC title with North Dakota State for the second consecutive season. Illinois State received an at-large bid to the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs. After a first-round bye, the Redbirds defeated Western Illinois in the second round, before losing to Richmond in the quarterfinals. The team played home games at Hancock Stadium in Normal, Illinois.

The 2018 Illinois State Redbirds football team represented Illinois State University as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by tenth-year head coach Brock Spack, the Redbirds compiled an overall record of 6–5 with a mark of 3–5 in conference play, placing in a three-way tie for sixth in the MVFC. Illinois State played home games at Hancock Stadium in Normal, Illinois.

The 2018 North Dakota State Bison football team represents North Dakota State University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by fifth-year head coach Chris Klieman, who also coached his final season with the Bison before heading off to take over for the retiring Bill Snyder at Kansas State. The team played their 26th season in the Fargodome in Fargo, North Dakota as members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference. They entered the season as defending National Champions and had won six of the last seven FCS titles. In 2018, the Bison finished the regular season 11–0, the first undefeated Bison season since the 2013 campaign, and won their eighth consecutive MVFC title. They received an automatic qualifying bid to the FCS playoff tournament and were seeded as the No. 1 team. The Bison then went 4–0 in the FCS playoffs to finish 15–0 and FCS champions.

The 2018 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team represented South Dakota State University as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by 22nd-year head coach John Stiegelmeier, the Jackrabbits compiled an overall record of 10–3 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, after a first round bye, the Jackrabbits defeated Duquesne in the second round and Kennesaw State in the quarterfinals before falling to fellow MVFC member and eventual national champion, North Dakota State, in the semifinals. The team played home games on campus at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium in Brookings, South Dakota.

The 2018 Youngstown State Penguins football team represented Youngstown State University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by third-year head coach Bo Pelini and played their home games at Stambaugh Stadium. They were a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference. They finished the season 4–7, 3–5 in MVFC play to finish in a three-way tie for sixth place.

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 Southern Illinois Salukis football team represented Southern Illinois University Carbondale as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by fourth-year head coach Nick Hill, the Salukis compiled an overall record of 7–5 with a mark of 5–3 in conference play, placing in a three-way tie for third in the MVFC. Southern Illinois played home games at Saluki Stadium in Carbondale, Illinois.

The 2020 Southern Illinois Salukis football team represented Southern Illinois University Carbondale as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by fifth-year head coach Nick Hill, the Salukis compiled an overall record of 6–4 with a mark of 3–3 in conference play, placing fifth in the MVFC. Southern Illinois received an at-large berth in the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs, where they beat Weber State in the first round before losing to the eventual national runner-up, South Dakota State in the quarterfinals. The team played home games at Saluki Stadium in Carbondale, Illinois.

The 2020 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team represented South Dakota State University as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by 24th-year head coach John Stiegelmeier, the Jackrabbits compiled an overall record of 8–2 with a mark of 5–1 in conference play, sharing the MVFC title with Missouri State. South Dakota State received the MVFC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs, where the Jackrabbits defeated Holy Cross in the first round, fellow MVFC member Southern Illinois in the quarterfinals, and Delaware in the semifinals before losing to Sam Houston State in the NCAA Division I Championship Game. The team played home games on campus at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium in Brookings, South Dakota.

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 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 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.

The 2024 Missouri Valley Football Conference season is 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 is the MVFC's first season returning to 11 teams, and its 4th in the last 5 seasons. It's also the conference's last for now as Missouri State announced before the season that they would be joining Conference USA starting in the 2025–26 academic year. The Bears are ineligible for the FCS playoffs during the 2024 season.

References

↑ "Missouri Valley Football Conference adds Murray State Racers". argusleader.com. Sioux Falls Argus Leader. April 4, 2022. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
↑ "North Dakota State Bison vs South Dakota State Jackrabbits". ESPN. January 8, 2023. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
↑ "NDSU wins 9th FCS title in 11 years 38-10 over Montana State". apnews.com. Associated Press. January 8, 2022. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
↑ "Cox, Southern Illinois knock off S. Dakota in FCS playoffs". cbssports.com. CBS Sports. November 27, 2021. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
↑ "EWU advances in the FCS playoffs with 19-9 win over UNI". krem.com. CBS KREM. November 27, 2021. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
↑ "South Dakota State University's football playoff run ends at Montana State". argusleader.com. Sioux Falls Argus Leader. December 18, 2021. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
↑ "Returning Home: Myers Hendrickson Named Head Football Coach at WIU". Western Illinois Athletics. December 17, 2022. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
↑ "WIU Football Program Update". Western Illinois Athletics. November 9, 2022. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
↑ "2022 Missouri Valley Football Preseason Team & Poll". Missouri Valley Football Conference. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
↑ "2022 Division I FCS Football Official Bracket". ncaa.com. Retrieved November 20, 2022.
↑ "2022 Valley Football Schedule". Missouri Valley Football Conference. Retrieved November 20, 2022.
↑ "Valley Football - Players of the Week (Sept. 4)". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
↑ "Missouri Valley Football - Players of the Week". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. September 11, 2022. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
↑ "Missouri Valley Football - Players of the Week". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. September 18, 2022. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
↑ "Missouri Valley Football - Players of the Week (S25)". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Confernece. September 25, 2022. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
↑ "Valley Football - Players of the Week (Oct. 2)". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. October 2, 2022. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
↑ "Missouri Valley Football - Players of the Week (O9)". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. October 9, 2022. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
↑ "Valley Football - Players of the Week (Oct. 16)". valley-football.org. The Summit League. October 16, 2022. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
↑ "Valley Football - Players of the Week (Oct. 23)". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. October 23, 2022. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
↑ "Valley Football - Players of the Week (Oct. 30)". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. October 30, 2022. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
↑ "Valley Football - Players of the Week (Nov. 7)". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. November 7, 2022. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
↑ "Valley Football - Players of the Week (Nov. 14)". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. November 14, 2022. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
↑ "Valley Football - Players of the Week (Nov. 21)". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. November 21, 2022. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
↑ "2022 Missouri Valley Football All-Conference Teams". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. November 28, 2022. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
↑ "2022 Missouri Valley Football All-Newcomer Team". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. November 29, 2022. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
↑ "Every Finalist for the Walter Payton, Buck Buchanan, and Jerry Rice Awards". NCAA. December 5, 2022. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
↑ "Standout Trio Invited to Walter Payton Announcement". theanalyst.com. STATS Perform. December 5, 2022. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
↑ "The top moments from Buck Buchanan Award winner Zeke Vandenburg's 2022 season at Illinois State". NCAA. January 8, 2023. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
↑ "AFCA announces 2022 FCS Coaches' All-America Teams". ncaa.com. NCAA. December 22, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
↑ "Talent Runs Deep Across 2022 Stats Perform FCS All-America, Freshman Teams". theanalyst.com. STATS Perform. December 20, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
↑ "FCS ADA Announces 2022 All-American Team". nacda.com. FCS ADA. December 19, 2022.
↑ "2022 HERO Sports All-FCS All-American Team". December 8, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
↑ "NFL UDFA Tracker 2023: Undrafted Free Agent Signings Following the 2023 NFL Draft". profootballnetwork.com. Pro Football Network. April 29, 2023. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
↑ "2023 UDFA Tracker". pff.com. Pro Football Focus. May 3, 2023. Retrieved May 6, 2023.

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[35] 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.

[36] 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.

[37] 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.

[38] 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.

[39] Myers Hendrickson previously coached at Kansas Wesleyan of the NAIA from 2019-21, and helped the Coyotes to two NAIA playoff appearances.

[1] "Missouri Valley Football Conference adds Murray State Racers". argusleader.com. Sioux Falls Argus Leader. April 4, 2022. Retrieved February 20, 2023.

[2] "North Dakota State Bison vs South Dakota State Jackrabbits". ESPN. January 8, 2023. Retrieved January 10, 2023.

[3] "NDSU wins 9th FCS title in 11 years 38-10 over Montana State". apnews.com. Associated Press. January 8, 2022. Retrieved February 20, 2023.

[4] "Cox, Southern Illinois knock off S. Dakota in FCS playoffs". cbssports.com. CBS Sports. November 27, 2021. Retrieved February 20, 2023.

[5] "EWU advances in the FCS playoffs with 19-9 win over UNI". krem.com. CBS KREM. November 27, 2021. Retrieved February 20, 2023.

[6] "South Dakota State University's football playoff run ends at Montana State". argusleader.com. Sioux Falls Argus Leader. December 18, 2021. Retrieved February 20, 2023.

[7] "Returning Home: Myers Hendrickson Named Head Football Coach at WIU". Western Illinois Athletics. December 17, 2022. Retrieved November 21, 2022.

[8] "WIU Football Program Update". Western Illinois Athletics. November 9, 2022. Retrieved November 21, 2022.

[9] "2022 Missouri Valley Football Preseason Team & Poll". Missouri Valley Football Conference. Retrieved November 18, 2022.

[10] "2022 Division I FCS Football Official Bracket". ncaa.com. Retrieved November 20, 2022.

[11] "2022 Valley Football Schedule". Missouri Valley Football Conference. Retrieved November 20, 2022.

[12] "Valley Football - Players of the Week (Sept. 4)". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. Retrieved November 21, 2022.

[13] "Missouri Valley Football - Players of the Week". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. September 11, 2022. Retrieved November 21, 2022.

[14] "Missouri Valley Football - Players of the Week". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. September 18, 2022. Retrieved November 21, 2022.

[15] "Missouri Valley Football - Players of the Week (S25)". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Confernece. September 25, 2022. Retrieved November 21, 2022.

[16] "Valley Football - Players of the Week (Oct. 2)". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. October 2, 2022. Retrieved November 21, 2022.

[17] "Missouri Valley Football - Players of the Week (O9)". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. October 9, 2022. Retrieved November 21, 2022.

[18] "Valley Football - Players of the Week (Oct. 16)". valley-football.org. The Summit League. October 16, 2022. Retrieved November 21, 2022.

[19] "Valley Football - Players of the Week (Oct. 23)". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. October 23, 2022. Retrieved November 21, 2022.

[20] "Valley Football - Players of the Week (Oct. 30)". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. October 30, 2022. Retrieved November 21, 2022.

[21] "Valley Football - Players of the Week (Nov. 7)". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. November 7, 2022. Retrieved November 21, 2022.

[22] "Valley Football - Players of the Week (Nov. 14)". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. November 14, 2022. Retrieved November 21, 2022.

[23] "Valley Football - Players of the Week (Nov. 21)". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. November 21, 2022. Retrieved November 21, 2022.

[24] "2022 Missouri Valley Football All-Conference Teams". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. November 28, 2022. Retrieved November 28, 2022.

[25] "2022 Missouri Valley Football All-Newcomer Team". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. November 29, 2022. Retrieved November 29, 2022.

[26] "Every Finalist for the Walter Payton, Buck Buchanan, and Jerry Rice Awards". NCAA. December 5, 2022. Retrieved December 5, 2022.

[27] "Standout Trio Invited to Walter Payton Announcement". theanalyst.com. STATS Perform. December 5, 2022. Retrieved December 5, 2022.

[28] "The top moments from Buck Buchanan Award winner Zeke Vandenburg's 2022 season at Illinois State". NCAA. January 8, 2023. Retrieved January 25, 2023.

[29] "AFCA announces 2022 FCS Coaches' All-America Teams". ncaa.com. NCAA. December 22, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2023.

[30] "Talent Runs Deep Across 2022 Stats Perform FCS All-America, Freshman Teams". theanalyst.com. STATS Perform. December 20, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2023.

[31] "FCS ADA Announces 2022 All-American Team". nacda.com. FCS ADA. December 19, 2022.

[32] "2022 HERO Sports All-FCS All-American Team". December 8, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2023.

[33] "NFL UDFA Tracker 2023: Undrafted Free Agent Signings Following the 2023 NFL Draft". profootballnetwork.com. Pro Football Network. April 29, 2023. Retrieved April 29, 2023.

[34] "2023 UDFA Tracker". pff.com. Pro Football Focus. May 3, 2023. Retrieved May 6, 2023.

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v t e Missouri Valley Football Conference
Teams	Illinois State Redbirds Indiana State Sycamores Missouri State Bears (leaving in 2025) 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