2025 Missouri Valley Football Conference season

2025 Missouri Valley Football Conference season
League	NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision
Sport	Football
Duration	August 28, 2025 through January 5, 2026
Teams	10
TV partner(s)	ESPN College Football, ESPN+, Local TV partners
2026 NFL draft
Regular season
Champion	North Dakota State
Football seasons
←  2024 2026 →

2025 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 1 North Dakota State $^		7	–	0					10	–	0
No. 17 South Dakota		5	–	2					7	–	4
No. 14 Illinois State		4	–	2					7	–	3
No. 13 North Dakota		4	–	2					6	–	4
No. 16 South Dakota State		3	–	3					7	–	3
No. 20 Youngstown State		3	–	3					6	–	4
No. 21 Southern Illinois		3	–	3					6	–	4
Indiana State		1	–	5					3	–	7
Northern Iowa		1	–	5					3	–	7
Murray State		0	–	6					0	–	10
$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant As of November 11, 2025 Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2025 Missouri Valley Football Conference season is the 40th season of college football play for the Missouri Valley Football Conference and part of the 2025 NCAA Division I FCS football season. This is the MVFC's first season dropping to 10 teams since the 2019 season.

Conference changes

After the conclusion of the 2024 college football season, Missouri State left the conference to reclassify to the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and move to Conference USA after 39 years in the league as a charter member. This move matches the Bears' departure from MVFC's sister conference, the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC), which they also left after the 2024–25 collegiate season. ^[1]

Later, on May 5, 2025, the conference announced a new governance structure to begin on July 1, 2025 that placed MVC commissioner Jeff Jackson as the next MVFC commissioner following Patty Viverito's retirement on June 30. It also placed Summit League commissioner Josh Fenton as an executive advisor to the conference. The new structure formalized the decades-long unofficial ties between the MVC and MVFC, and also established a formal relationship between the MVFC and Summit. ^[2]

Coaching changes

North Dakota

On December 8, 2024, Eric Schmidt was named the next head coach at North Dakota. ^[3] Schmidt takes over for Bubba Schweigert, who stepped down after the 2024 season. ^[4]

Northern Iowa

On December 3, 2024, Todd Stepsis was named the new head coach at Northern Iowa. ^[5] Stepsis takes over for longtime coach Mark Farley, who retired after the 2024 season. ^[6]

South Dakota

On January 16, 2025, Travis Johansen was named the next head coach at South Dakota. ^[7] Johansen steps in for Bob Nielson, who retired after the 2024 season. ^[8]

South Dakota State

On December 31, 2024, Dan Jackson was named the next head coach at South Dakota State. ^[9] Jackson was hired after Jimmy Rogers left the program to become the next head coach at Washington State. ^[10]

Preseason

League poll

The annual preseason poll; voted on by conference coaches, athletic directors, and media members. ^[11]

Predicted finish	Team	Points (1st place votes)
1	North Dakota State	417 (39)
2	South Dakota State	355
3	South Dakota	349 (3)
4	Illinois State	292
5	Youngstown State	211
6	Southern Illinois	208
7	North Dakota	196
8	Northern Iowa	130
9	Indiana State	105
10	Murray State	47

Individual awards

In a departure from seasons past, the MVFC released a player "watch-list" that was voted on by the league's athletic directors, coaches, and media members.

Category Player School Position Offense Aidan Bouman South Dakota QB Beau Brungard Youngstown State QB Chase Mason South Dakota State QB Jim Ogle Murray State QB Elijah Owens Indiana State QB Cole Payton North Dakota State QB Tommy Rittenhouse Illinois State QB DJ Williams Southern Illinois QB Barika Kpeenu North Dakota State RB Plez Lawrence Indiana State RB Julius Loughridge South Dakota State RB Jawaun Northington Murray State RB Charles Pierre Jr. South Dakota RB Sawyer Seidl North Dakota RB Wenkers Wright Illinois State RB Ethan Wright Youngstown State RB Gaven Ziebarth North Dakota RB Truman Werremeyer North Dakota State RB (FB) Scotty Presson Jr. Illinois State TE (FB) Derek Anderson Northern Iowa TE Austin Bray Youngstown State TE Javon Charles Illinois State TE Dallas Holmes South Dakota TE Aidan Quinn Southern Illinois TE Lance Rees Indiana State TE Ryan Schwendeman Southern Illinois TE Seth Anderson North Dakota OL Blake Anderson Northern Iowa OL Liam Becher North Dakota OL Ben Buxa OL Quinten Christensen South Dakota State OL Cam Dye Southern Illinois OL Griffin Empey North Dakota State OL Noah Fenske Southern Illinois OL Trent Fraley North Dakota State OL Sam Hagen South Dakota State OL Adrian Hawkins South Dakota OL Keean Kamerling Northern Iowa OL Van Keen Youngstown State OL Desmeal Leigh OL Jake Pope Illinois State OL Landon Woodard OL JK Carter Murray State WR Vinson Davis III Southern Illinois WR Jaiden Ellis-Lahey Northern Iowa WR Isaiah Garcia-Castaneda South Dakota State WR Eddie Kasper Illinois State WR Tysen Kershaw Northern Iowa WR Bryce Lance North Dakota State WR Lofton O'Groske South Dakota State WR Rashad Rochelle Indiana State WR JC Roque Jr. Northern Iowa WR Daniel Sobkowicz Indiana State WR Mike Solomon Youngstown State WR Max Tomczak WR Ky Wilson WR Defense Jake Anderson Illinois State DL Toby Anene North Dakota State DL Kobe Clayborne South Dakota State DL Caden Crawford South Dakota DL Jaxon Duttenhefer North Dakota State DL Nick Kessler Illinois State DL Reis Kirschenman South Dakota State DL Jack Kriebs Northern Iowa DL Owen Ostroski DL Franz Reisz DL Jackson Stort DL Michael Voitus Youngstown State DL Donnie Wingate Southern Illinois DL Colin Bohanek LB Nate Ewell South Dakota LB Logan Kopp North Dakota State LB Tucker Langenberg Northern Iowa LB Lucas McAllister Indiana State LB Malachi McNeal North Dakota LB Tye Niekamp Illinois State LB Joe Ollman South Dakota State LB Chris Presto Southern Illinois LB Lance Rucker North Dakota LB Braxton Sampson Indiana State LB Chase Van Tol South Dakota State LB Mike Wells Youngstown State LB Dallas Westhoff Indiana State LB Preston Zandier Youngstown State LB Koby Bretz South Dakota State DB Jonathan Cabral-Martin Northern Iowa DB Anthony Chideme-Alfaro North Dakota State DB Kimal Clark Indiana State DB Jailen Duffie North Dakota State DB Darius Givance DB DJ Harris Youngstown State DB Ryan Jones North Dakota State DB Zach Lewis North Dakota DB Jeremiah McClendon Southern Illinois DB Shadwell Nkuba Illinois State DB Jayden Oliver South Dakota State DB Michael Olowo Northern Iowa DB Makahi Shahid Youngstown State DB Jorge Valdes Indiana State DB Tim White South Dakota DB Special Teams Ryan Algrim Southern Illinois LS Caleb Bowers South Dakota LS Dylan Calabrese Illinois State LS Byron Floyd Youngstown State LS Kaydon Olivia South Dakota State LS Hayden Futch Illinois State P Paul Geelen Southern Illinois P Brendon Kilpatrick Youngstown State P Tom O'Hara Murray State P Harry Traum Indiana State P Paul Geelen Southern Illinois PK Andrew Lastovka Youngstown State PK Will Leyland South Dakota PK Jackson Williams North Dakota State RS RaJa Nelson RS

Rankings

Main article: 2025 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	Wk 10	Wk 11	Wk 12	Wk 13	Final
Illinois State	STATS	6	7	7	6	7	6	9	10	18	17	16	14
	Coaches	6	7	4	4	5	6	10	9	20	18	17	13
Indiana State	STATS
	Coaches			RV
Murray State	STATS
	Coaches
North Dakota	STATS	RV	20	16	16	14	15	13	9	8	8	13	13
	Coaches	RV	22	17	17	15т	14	12	11	10	10	15	18
North Dakota State	STATS	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
	Coaches	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Northern Iowa	STATS
	Coaches	RV	RV	RV	RV
South Dakota	STATS	4	4	12	15	17	21	23	22	21	RV	22	17
	Coaches	5	6	20	21	18	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	25	22
South Dakota State	STATS	3	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	4т	8	16
	Coaches	3	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	5	9	15
Southern Illinois	STATS	20	14	17	13	11	10	8	12	16	16	15	21
	Coaches	20	15	14	11	12	11	9	12	18	17	16	23
Youngstown State	STATS	RV	RV	RV	RV	24	24	RV	RV	22	18	21	20
	Coaches	RV	RV	25	24	19	18	20	25	21	19	22	19

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	Ref.
August 28	5:00 PM	McKendree	Indiana State	Memorial Stadium • Terre Haute, IN	ESPN+	W 41–24	3,206	[12]
August 28	5:00 PM	Mercyhurst	No. RV  Youngstown State	Stambaugh Stadium • Youngstown, OH	ESPN+	W 24–15	7,040	[13]
August 30	11:00 AM	No. 1  North Dakota State	The Citadel	Johnson Hagood Stadium • Charleston, SC	ESPN+	W 38–0	10,691	[14]
August 30	1:00 PM	Butler	Northern Iowa	UNI-Dome • Cedar Falls, IA	ESPN+	W 38–14	9,079	[15]
August 30	2:30 PM	No. 4  South Dakota	No. 22^  Iowa State	Jack Trice Stadium • Ames, IA	FOX	L 7–55	61,500	[16]
August 30	4:30 PM	Murray State	East Tennessee State	William B. Greene Jr. Stadium • Johnson City, TN	ESPN+	L 17–45	9,122	[17]
August 30	5:00 PM	No. 6  Illinois State	No. 18^  Oklahoma	Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium • Norman, OK	ESPN+	L 35–3	83,218	[18]
August 30	6:00 PM	No. RV  North Dakota	No. 17^  Kansas State	Bill Snyder Family Stadium • Manhattan, KS	ESPN+	L 38–35	51,927	[19]
August 30	6:00 PM	No. 15  Sacramento State	No. 3  South Dakota State	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD	ESPN+	W 20–3	19,163	[20]
August 30	6:00 PM	Thomas More	No. 20  Southern Illinois	Saluki Stadium • Carbondale, IL	ESPN+	W 49–3	6,585	[21]
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Week 2

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
September 6	12:00 PM	Eastern Illinois	Indiana State	Memorial Stadium • Terre Haute, IN	ESPN+	W 38–14	5,281	[22]
September 6	1:00 PM	Robert Morris	No. RV  Youngstown State	Stambaugh Stadium • Youngstown, OH	ESPN+	W 56–17	12,042	[23]
September 6	1:30 PM	No. 1  North Dakota State	No. RV  Tennessee State	Nissan Stadium • Nashville, TN	ESPN+	W 59–3	8,569	[24]
September 6	3:00 PM	Northern Iowa	Wyoming	War Memorial Stadium • Laramie, WY		L 7–31	25,009	[25]
September 6	6:00 PM	Morehead State	No. 7  Illinois State	Hancock Stadium • Normal, IL	ESPN+	W 41–13	N/A	[26]
September 6	6:00 PM	Southeastern Louisiana	Murray State	Roy Stewart Stadium • Murray, KY	ESPN+	L 24–45	15,027	[27]
September 6	6:00 PM	Portland State	No. 20  North Dakota	Alerus Center • Grand Forks, ND	ESPN+	W 50–20	11,469	[28]
September 6	6:00 PM	No. 4  South Dakota	Lamar	Provost Umphrey Stadium • Beaumont, TX	ESPN+	L 13–20	6,043	[29]
September 6	6:30 PM	No. 14  Southern Illinois	Purdue	Ross-Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, IN	BTN	L 17–34	54,663	[30]
September 6	7:00 PM	No. 2  South Dakota State	No. 3  Montana State	Bobcat Stadium • Bozeman, MT	ESPN+	W 30–242OT	22,117	[31]
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Week 3

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
September 12	6:30 PM	Indiana State	No. 22^  Indiana	Memorial Stadium • Bloomington, IN	BTN	L 0–73	46,219	[32]
September 13	1:00 PM	Northern Colorado	No. 12  South Dakota	DakotaDome • Vermillion, SD	ESPN+	W 24–17OT	6,445	[33]
September 13	2:00 PM	No. 7  Illinois State	Eastern Illinois	O'Brien Field • Charleston, IL (Mid-America Classic)	ESPN+	W 42–30	6,720	[34]
September 13	2:00 PM	No. 16  North Dakota	No. 5  Montana	Washington–Grizzly Stadium • Missoula, MT	ESPN+	L 23–24	26,492	[35]
September 13	2:30 PM	No. RV  Southeast Missouri State	No. 1  North Dakota State	Fargodome • Fargo, ND	ESPN+	W 41–14	17,354	[36]
September 13	2:30 PM	No. RV  Youngstown State	Michigan State	Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI	BTN	L 24–41	71,301	[37]
September 13	4:00 PM	Eastern Washington	Northern Iowa	UNI-Dome • Cedar Falls, IA	ESPN+	W 17–14	10,774	[38]
September 13	6:00 PM	Murray State	Georgia State	Center Parc Stadium • Atlanta, GA	ESPN+	L 21–37	13,988	[39]
September 13	6:00 PM	Drake	No. 2  South Dakota State	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD	ESPN+	W 37–21	19,213	[40]
September 13	6:00 PM	No. 17  Southern Illinois	No. RV  UT Martin	Graham Stadium • Martin, TN	ESPN+	W 37–10	5,402	[41]
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Week 4

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
September 20	12:00 PM	North Alabama	No. 6  Illinois State	Hancock Stadium • Normal, IL	ESPN+	W 38–362OT	11,287	[42]
September 20	1:00 PM	Drake	No. 15  South Dakota	DakotaDome • Vermillion, SD	ESPN+	W 42–21	7,441	[43]
September 20	2:00 PM	Indiana State	No. 5  Montana	Washington–Grizzly Stadium • Missoula, MT	ESPN+	L 20–63	26,193	[44]
September 20	3:00 PM	Valparaiso	No. 16  North Dakota †	Alerus Center • Grand Forks, ND	ESPN+	W 58–7	11,424	[45]
September 20	5:00 PM	No. RV  Youngstown State	Towson	Johnny Unitas Stadium • Towson, MD	FloSports	W 31–28	6,042	[46]
September 20	6:00 PM	Murray State	Jacksonville State	AmFirst Stadium • Jacksonville, AL	ESPN+	L 10–45	21,426	[47]
September 20	6:00 PM	No. 13  Southern Illinois	No. RV  Southeast Missouri State	Houck Stadium • Cape Girardeau, MO (War for the Wheel)	ESPN+	W 59–31	8,050	[48]
September 20	7:00 PM	Northern Iowa	Utah Tech	Greater Zion Stadium • St. George, UT	ESPN+	L 9–20	4,784	[49]
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Date	Bye Week
September 20	No. 1 North Dakota State	No. 2 South Dakota State

Week 5

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
September 27	1:00 PM	No. 17  South Dakota	No. 1  North Dakota State †	Fargodome • Fargo, ND	ESPN+	NDSU 51–13	18,498	[50]
September 27	2:00 PM	Mercyhurst	No. 2  South Dakota State	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD	ESPN+	W 51–7	19,034	[51]
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Date	Bye Week
September 27	No. 7 Illinois State	Indiana State	Murray State	No. 14 North Dakota	Northern Iowa	No. 11 Southern Illinois	No. 24 Youngstown State

Week 6

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
October 4	2:00 PM	Murray State	No. 21  South Dakota	DakotaDome • Vermillion, SD	ESPN+	USD 49–24	7,953	[52]
October 4	4:00 PM	No. 15  North Dakota	Northern Iowa	UNI-Dome • Cedar Falls, IA	ESPN+	UND 35–7	12,048	[53]
October 4	5:00 PM	No. 2  South Dakota State	No. 24  Youngstown State	Stambaugh Stadium • Youngstown, OH	ESPN+	SDSU 35–30	11,068	[54]
October 4	6:00 PM	No. 1  North Dakota State	No. 6  Illinois State	Hancock Stadium • Normal, IL	ESPN+	NDSU 33–16	9,829	[55]
October 4	6:00 PM	Indiana State	No. 10  Southern Illinois	Saluki Stadium • Carbondale, IL	ESPN+	SIU 55–27	10,132	[56]
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Week 7

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
October 11	12:00 PM	No. 23  South Dakota	Indiana State	Memorial Stadium • Terre Haute, IN	ESPN+	USD 19–14	5,373	[57]
October 11	2:00 PM	Northern Iowa	No. 2  South Dakota State	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD	ESPN+	SDSU 31–3	19,342	[58]
October 11	2:30 PM	No. 8  Southern Illinois	No. 1  North Dakota State	Fargodome • Fargo, ND	ESPN+	NDSU 45–17	15,812	[59]
October 11	3:00 PM	No. RV  Youngstown State	No. 13  North Dakota	Alerus Center • Grand Forks, ND	ESPN+	UND 35–17	11,960	[60]
October 11	6:00 PM	No. 9  Illinois State	Murray State	Roy Stewart Stadium • Murray, KY	ESPN+	ILST 46–32	5,647	[61]
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Week 8

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
October 18	12:00 PM	No. 1  North Dakota State	Indiana State	Memorial Stadium • Terre Haute, IN	ESPN+	NDSU 38–7	3,252	[62]
October 18	1:00 PM	No. 22  South Dakota	Northern Iowa	UNI-Dome • Cedar Falls, IA	ESPN+	USD 17–14	8,434	[63]
October 18	1:00 PM	No. 2  South Dakota State	Murray State	Roy Stewart Stadium • Murray, KY	ESPN+	SDSU 35–14	6,746	[64]
October 18	2:00 PM	No. RV  Youngstown State	No. 10  Illinois State †	Hancock Stadium • Normal, IL	ESPN+	YSU 40–35	9,834	[65]
October 18	2:00 PM	No. 9  North Dakota	No. 12  Southern Illinois	Saluki Stadium • Carbondale, IL	ESPN+	UND 38–19	5,132	[66]
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Week 9

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
October 25	1:00 PM	No. 18  Illinois State	No. 21  South Dakota	DakotaDome • Vermillion, SD	ESPN+	ILST 21–13	6,333	[67]
October 25	1:00 PM	Murray State	No. 22  Youngstown State	Stambaugh Stadium • Youngstown, OH	ESPN+	YSU 51–17	9,664	[68]
October 25	2:00 PM	Northern Iowa	No. 16  Southern Illinois †	Saluki Stadium • Carbondale, IL	ESPN+	SIU 31–17	8,115	[69]
October 25	3:00 PM	Indiana State	No. 8  North Dakota	Alerus Center • Grand Forks, ND	ESPN+	UND 46–17	10,618	[70]
October 25	7:00 PM	No. 1  North Dakota State	No. 2  South Dakota State	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD (Dakota Marker)	ESPNU	NDSU 38–7	19,477	[71]
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Week 10

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
November 1	1:00 PM	No. 8  North Dakota	No. RV  South Dakota	DakotaDome • Vermillion, SD (Sitting Bull Trophy)	ESPN+	USD 26–21	6,809	[72]
November 1	2:00 PM	Northern Iowa	No. 17  Illinois State	Hancock Stadium • Normal, IL	ESPN+	ILST 31–16	7,756	[73]
November 1	2:00 PM	Indiana State	No. 4т  South Dakota State	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD	ESPN+	INST 24–12	15,842	[74]
November 1	2:30 PM	No. 18  Youngstown State	No. 1  North Dakota State	Fargodome • Fargo, ND	ESPN+	NDSU 38–30	14,607	[75]
November 1	4:00 PM	No. 16  Southern Illinois	Murray State †	Roy Stewart Stadium • Murray, KY	ESPN+	SIU 27–7	8,506	[76]
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Week 11

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
November 8	12:00 PM	No. 16  Illinois State	Indiana State	Memorial Stadium • Terre Haute, IN	ESPN+	ILST 52–20	3,202	[77]
November 8	1:00 PM	No. 1  North Dakota State	No. 13  North Dakota	Alerus Center • Grand Forks, ND (Nickel Trophy)	ESPN+	NDSU 15–10	12,749	[78]
November 8	1:00 PM	Murray State	Northern Iowa	UNI-Dome • Cedar Falls, IA	ESPN+	UNI 31–14	8,529	[79]
November 8	1:00 PM	No. 15  Southern Illinois	No. 21  Youngstown State	Stambaugh Stadium • Youngstown, OH	ESPN+	YSU 48–38	8,448	[80]
November 8	3:00 PM	No. 8  South Dakota State	No. 22  South Dakota	DakotaDome • Vermillion, SD (rivalry)	ESPNU	USD 24–17	9,159	[81]
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Week 12

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
November 15	11:00 AM	Indiana State	No. 20  Youngstown State	Stambaugh Stadium • Youngstown, OH	ESPN+
November 15	11:00 AM	No. 13  North Dakota	Murray State	Roy Stewart Stadium • Murray, KY	ESPN+
November 15	12:00 PM	No. 17  South Dakota	No. 21  Southern Illinois	Saluki Stadium • Carbondale, IL	ESPN+
November 15	2:00 PM	No. 14  Illinois State	No. 16  South Dakota State	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD	ESPN+
November 15	2:30 PM	Northern Iowa	No. 1  North Dakota State	Fargodome • Fargo, ND	ESPN+
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Week 13

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
November 22	12:00 PM	Southern Illinois	Illinois State	Hancock Stadium • Normal, IL	ESPN+
November 22	12:00 PM	Murray State	Indiana State	Memorial Stadium • Terre Haute, IN	ESPN+
November 22	1:00 PM	South Dakota State	North Dakota	Alerus Center • Grand Forks, ND	ESPN+
November 22	1:00 PM	Youngstown State	Northern Iowa	UNI-Dome • Cedar Falls, IA	ESPN+
November 22	2:30 PM	St. Thomas	North Dakota State	Fargodome • Fargo, ND	ESPN+
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Date	Bye Week
November 22	South Dakota

MVFC records vs other conferences

2025–26 records against non-conference foes:

FCS power conferences Record Big Sky 5–2 CAA 1–0 FCS power total 6–2 Other FCS conferences Record Ivy League None MEAC None Northeast 3–0 OVC–Big South 6–0 Patriot None PFL 5–0 SoCon 1–1 Southland 0–2 SWAC None UAC 1–1 Other FCS total 16–4 Other Division I opponents Record Football Bowl Subdivision 0–9 Total Division I 22–15 Other NCAA opponents Record Division II 2–0 Total non-conference record 24–15

Postseason FCS power conferences Record Big Sky None CAA None FCS power total 0–0 Other FCS conferences Record Ivy League None MEAC None Northeast None OVC–Big South None Patriot None PFL None SoCon None Southland None SWAC None UAC None Other FCS total 0–0 Total postseason record 0–0

Awards and honors

Players of the week honors

Week	Offensive			Defensive			Special teams			Newcomer			Offensive line
	Player	Position	Team	Player	Position	Team	Player	Position	Team	Player	Position	Team	Player	Position	Team
Week 1 (Sept. 1) [82]	Plez Lawrence	RB	INST	Dathan Hickey	DB	YSU	Sebastian Lopez	PK	INST	Julius Loughridge	RB	SDSU	Seth Anderson	OL	UND
Week 2 (Sept. 8) [83]	Beau Brungard	QB	YSU	Logan Wilson	DL	INST	Matt Maldonado	PK	ILST	Larry Stephens III	WR	INST	Jake Pope	OT	ILST
Week 3 (Sept. 15) [84]	L.J. Phillips Jr.	RB	USD	Tye Niekamp	LB	ILST	Paul Geelen	K/P	SIU	Ayden Price	WR	UNI	Brock Woolf	RT	USD
Week 4 (Sept. 22) [85]	DJ Williams	QB	SIU	Chris Presto	LB	SIU	Shadwel Nkuba II	DB	ILST	Andrew Lastovka	PK	YSU	Derek Harden	OG	SIU
Week 5 (Sept. 29) [86]	Cole Payton	QB	NDSU	Nathaniel Staehling	LB	NDSU	Jackson Williams	RS	NDSU	James Basinger	RB	SDSU	Griffin Empey	RG	NDSU
Week 6 (Oct. 6) [87]	Jerry Kaminski	QB	UND	Shug Walker	LB	SIU	Alex Bullock	WR	SDSU	Max Pelham	P	SDSU	Shane Willenbring	OC	SDSU
Week 7 (Oct. 13) [88]	Cole Payton	QB	NDSU	Malachi McNeal	LB	UND	B.J. Fleming	WR	UND	Will Leyland	PK	USD	Jake Pope	RT	ILST
Week 8 (Oct. 20) [89]	Beau Brungard	QB	YSU	Jalen Lee	S	SDSU	Zeke Mata	PK	USD	Kimal Clark	DB	INST	Liam Becher	OL	UND
Week 9 (Oct. 27) [90]	Cole Payton	QB	NDSU	Tye Niekamp	LB	ILST	Tae Marrero Jr.	PR	SIU	Ky Wilson	KR/WR	YSU	Trent Fraley	C	NDSU
Week 10 (Nov. 3) [91]	Rashad Rochelle	WR/KR	INST	DeJuan Lewis	DB	USD	Nic Yatsko	DB	INST	Jackson Williams	RS	NDSU	Landon Woodard	OG	ILST
Week 11 (Nov. 10) [92]	Bill Jackson	RB	UNI	Donovan Woolen	LB	NDSU	Victor Dawson	S	ILST	Aaron Bickerton	P	NDSU	Jacob Arop	OL	USD
										Matt Maldonado	PK	ILST

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	N/A	11,287†	9,829	9,834	7,756					38,706	9,676	72.3%
Indiana State	Memorial Stadium	12,764	3,206	5,281	5,373†	3,252	3,202					20,314	4,062	31.8%
Murray State	Roy Stewart Stadium	16,800	15,027†	5,647	6,746	8,506						35,926	8,981	53.5%
North Dakota	Alerus Center	12,283	11,469	11,424	11,960	10,618	12,749†					58,220	11,644	94.8%
North Dakota State	Fargodome	18,700	17,354	18,498†	15,812	14,607						66,271	16,567	88.6%
Northern Iowa	UNI-Dome	16,324	9,079	10,774	12,084†	8,434	8,529					48,900	9,780	59.9%
South Dakota	DakotaDome	9,100	6,445	7,441	7,953	6,333	6,809	9,159†				44,140	7,356	80.8%
South Dakota State	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium	19,340	19,163	19,213	19,034	19,342	19,477†	15,842				112,071	18,678	96.6%
Southern Illinois	Saluki Stadium	15,000	6,585	10,132†	5,132	8,115						29,964	7,491	49.9%
Youngstown State	Stambaugh Stadium	20,630	7,040	12,042†	11,068	9,664	8,448					48,262	9,652	46.8%

Bold - Exceed or met capacity
†Season High
‡FCS Playoff Game

2026 NFL Draft

Main article: 2026 NFL draft

The following list includes all MVFC players who were drafted in the 2026 NFL draft.

Player	Position	School	Draft round	Round pick	Overall pick	Team

Head coaches

Through November 8, 2025
All stats include 2025 season

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	17	118–77 (.605)	118–77 (.605)	75–56 (.573)	2	6	8–6 (.571)	0
Indiana State	Curt Mallory	8 [a]	27–62 (.303)	27–62 (.303)	17–45 (.274)	0	0	0–0 (–)	0
Murray State	Jody Wright	2	1–21 (.045)	1–21 (.045)	0–14 (.000)	0	0	0–0 (–)	0
North Dakota	Eric Schmidt	1	6–4 (.600)	6–4 (.600)	4–2 (.667)	0	0	0–0 (–)	0
North Dakota State	Tim Polasek	2	24–2 (.923)	24–2 (.923)	14–1 (.933)	2	2	4–0 (1.000)	1
Northern Iowa	Todd Stepsis	1	3–7 (.300)	3–7 (.300)	1–5 (.167)	0	0	0–0 (–)	0
South Dakota	Travis Johansen	1	7–4 (.636)	7–4 (.636)	5–2 (.714)	0	0	0–0 (–)	0
South Dakota State	Dan Jackson	1	7–3 (.700)	7–3 (.700)	3–3 (.500)	0	0	0–0 (–)	0
Southern Illinois	Nick Hill	10	54–60 (.474)	54–60 (.474)	31–45 (.408)	0	3	3–3 (.500)	0
Youngstown State	Doug Phillips	6	27–35 (.435)	27–35 (.435)	18–26 (.409)	0	1	1–1 (.500)	0

1. Indiana State did not play football in the 2020–21 academic year

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