Conference USA (CUSA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose member institutions are located within the Southern United States and Western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. CUSA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas.
The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I collegiate athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twelve full member schools are in Ohio and Michigan, with single members located in Illinois, Indiana, and New York. For football, the MAC participates in the NCAA's Football Bowl Subdivision.
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its sixteen members include the flagship public universities of twelve states, three additional public land-grant universities, and one private research university. The conference is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. The SEC participates in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I in sports competitions; for football it is part of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A.
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.
Paul William "Bear" Bryant was an American college football player and coach. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest college football coaches of all time, and best known as the head coach of the University of Alabama football team from 1958 to 1982. During his 25-year tenure as Alabama's head coach, he amassed six national championships and 13 conference championships. Upon his retirement in 1982, he held the record for the most wins (323) as a head coach in collegiate football history. The Paul W. Bryant Museum, Paul W. Bryant Hall, Paul W. Bryant Drive, and Bryant–Denny Stadium are all named in his honor at the University of Alabama.
William Chase Daniel is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Missouri Tigers, earning second-team All-American honors in 2007. He was signed by the Washington Redskins as an undrafted free agent in 2009. During his career, Daniel was also a member of the New Orleans Saints, Kansas City Chiefs, Philadelphia Eagles, Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, and Los Angeles Chargers. Daniel is a Super Bowl champion, having been the third-string quarterback on the Saints team that won Super Bowl XLIV.
The Missouri State Bears and Lady Bears are the athletic teams representing Missouri State University. Missouri State's athletics programs date back to 1908. Missouri State competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision, but will start a transition to the Football Bowl Subdivision on July 1, 2024. The majority of sports play in the Division I Missouri Valley Conference. Missouri State football competes in the Missouri Valley Football Conference and the women's beach volleyball team, nicknamed Beach Bears instead of "Bears" or "Lady Bears", competes in Conference USA (CUSA), having moved from the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association after the spring 2023 season. Men's swimming & diving had competed in the Mid-American Conference through the 2023–24 season, but sponsorship of that sport transferred from that conference to the MVC in July 2024. Missouri State will become a full member of CUSA on July 1, 2025.
Kellie Jolly Harper is an American basketball coach who most recently served as the head women's basketball coach of the Tennessee Lady Vols. She was fired at the end of the 2023/24 season. Prior to coaching at Tennessee, she served as head coach of Missouri State, NC State, and Western Carolina.
The Missouri State Bears football program is the college football team that represents Missouri State University located in Springfield, Missouri, United States. Missouri State competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and is a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference. The program is in the two-year transition up to the FBS subdivision; it will join Conference USA in 2025 and become a full FBS member in 2026.
William Hugh Tobin was an American professional football player and executive in the National Football League (NFL). Tobin played running back for one season with the Houston Oilers. He later became director of player personnel for the Chicago Bears in 1987 and the Detroit Lions in 2001 and the general manager of the Indianapolis Colts in 1994.
The Southeast Missouri State Redhawks football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the Southeast Missouri State University located in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and are members of the Ohio Valley Conference. The school's first football team was fielded in 1902. The team plays its home games at the 11,015-seat Houck Stadium. They are coached by Tom Matukewicz.
The 1934 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois during the 1934 college football season. In their 22nd season under head coach Robert Zuppke, the Illini compiled a 7–1 record and finished in third place in the Big Ten Conference. The lone setback was a 7–3 loss at Wisconsin. Halfback Les Lindberg was selected as the team's most valuable player.
The 1935 Missouri Tigers football team was an American football team that represented the University of Missouri in the Big Six Conference during the 1935 college football season. The team compiled a 3–3–3 record, finished in sixth place in the Big 6, and outscored all opponents by a total of 97 to 77.
Jonathan James Owens is an American football safety for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Missouri Western, and signed with the Arizona Cardinals as an undrafted free agent in 2018. He has also played for the Houston Texans and Green Bay Packers. He is married to American gymnast Simone Biles.
The 2019 Missouri State Bears football team represented Missouri State University in the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by fifth-year head coach Dave Steckel and played their home games at the Robert W. Plaster Stadium. They were a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference. They finished the season 1–10, 1–7 in MVFC play to finish in a two-way tie for ninth place.
The 1938 Washington University Bears football team was an American football team that represented Washington University in St. Louis as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) during the 1938 college football season. In its seventh season under head coach Jimmy Conzelman, the team compiled a 6–3–1 record and outscored opponents by a total of 242 to 94. The team played its home games at Francis Field in St. Louis.
The 2020 Missouri State Bears football team represented Missouri State University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by Bobby Petrino in his first season as the program's 21st head coach. The Bears play their home games at Robert W. Plaster Stadium. They competed as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference. The Bears won their 10th conference championship and returned the playoffs for the first time since 1990. They lost in the first round at North Dakota 44–10. Bobby Petrino won the conference coach of the year award in his first season. They finished the season ranked 13th in both Coaches and STATS poll.
The 1989 Maine Black Bears football team was an American football team that represented the University of Maine as a member of the Yankee Conference during the 1989 NCAA Division I-AA football season. In their first and only season under head coach Tom Lichtenberg, the Black Bears compiled a 9–3 record, tied for the Yankee Conference championship, and lost to 1989 Southwest Missouri State Bears football team in the first round of the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship playoffs. Scott Hough and John Gibson were the team captains.
The 2010 Youngstown State Penguins football team represented Youngstown State University as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2010 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by first-year head coach Eric Wolford, the Penguins compiled an overall record of 3–8 with a mark of 1–7 in conference play, placing last out of nine teams in the MVFC. Youngstown State played their home games at Stambaugh Stadium in Youngstown, Ohio.
Christian Holmes is an American football cornerback for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Missouri Tigers and Oklahoma State Cowboys and was selected by the Washington Commanders in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL draft.
