This is a list of yearly Missouri Valley Football Conference champions. Co-champions are listed in alphabetical order. Italics indicate a school that no longer competes in the MVFC
Note: The conference was known as the Gateway Football Conference prior from 1992-2008. Then, from 1982-92 the conference was known as the Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference.
^ Final ranking after the championship game that season
^^ The STATS poll was supplied by The Sports Network prior to 2015
^^^ 2020 season was played in Spring 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Team | MVFC titles | Outright MVFC titles | Winning years |
---|---|---|---|
Northern Iowa | 16 | 10 | 1985, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011 |
North Dakota State | 10 | 6 | 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021 |
Southern Illinois | 5 | 2 | 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009 |
Western Illinois | 5 | 4 | 1988, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2002 |
South Dakota State | 4 | 2 | 2016, 2020, 2022, 2023 |
Illinois State | 3 | 1 | 1999, 2014, 2015 |
Missouri State | 3 | 1 | 1989, 1990, 2020 |
Eastern Illinois | 2 | 1 | 1986, 1995 |
Youngstown State | 2 | 1 | 2005, 2006 |
North Dakota | 1 | 0 | 2020 |
Western Kentucky | 1 | 0 | 2002 |
Indiana State | 0 | 0 | |
South Dakota | 0 | 0 | |
Murray State | 0 | 0 | |
Total | – | 28 |
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.
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The Summit League, or The Summit, is an NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletic conference with its membership mostly located in the Midwestern United States, from Minnesota in the east, to the Dakotas, Nebraska and Colorado to the West, and Missouri and Oklahoma to the South. Founded as the Association of Mid-Continent Universities in 1982, it rebranded as the Mid-Continent Conference in 1989, then again as the Summit League on June 1, 2007. The league headquarters are in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
The North Dakota Fighting Hawks represent the University of North Dakota, competing as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) in the NCAA Division I's Football Championship Subdivision. From 1973 to 2008, they played in the NCAA's NCAA Division II, winning the national championship in 2001. From 1955 to 1972, they competed in the NCAA's College Division where they participated in and won three bowl games.
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 Southern Illinois Salukis football program represents Southern Illinois University Carbondale in college football. The Salukis are a member of the NCAA and compete at the Division I Football Championship Subdivision level. The Salukis are a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference and play in Saluki Stadium on the campus of Southern Illinois University Carbondale in Carbondale, Illinois, which has a seating capacity of 15,000.
The 1992 NCAA Division I-AA football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division I-AA level, began on September 5, 1992, and concluded with the 1992 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 19, 1992, in Huntington, West Virginia. The Marshall Thundering Herd defeated the Youngstown State Penguins by a score of 31–28. It was the second consecutive year that Marshall and Youngstown State faced off in the I-AA title game.
The 2012 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team represented South Dakota State University as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by 16th-year head coach John Stiegelmeier, the Jackrabbits compiled an overall record of 9–4 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 the Jackrabbits defeated Eastern Illinois in the first round before falling to fellow MVFC member and eventual national champion, North Dakota State, in the second round. The team played home games at Coughlin–Alumni Stadium in Brookings, South Dakota.
The 2014 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team represented South Dakota State University as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2014 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by 18th-year head coach John Stiegelmeier, the Jackrabbits compiled an overall record of 9–5 with a mark of 5–3 in conference play, placing fourth in the MVFC. South Dakota State received an at–large bid to the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs, where the Jackrabbits defeated Montana State in the first round before falling to fellow MVFC member and eventual national champion, North Dakota State, in the second round. The team played home games at Coughlin–Alumni Stadium in Brookings, South Dakota.
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 Southern Illinois Salukis football team represented Southern Illinois University Carbondale as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by third-year head coach Nick Hill, the Salukis compiled an overall record of 2–9 with a mark of 1–7 in conference play, placing last out of ten teams in the MVFC. Southern Illinois played home games at Saluki Stadium in Carbondale, Illinois.
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 Illinois State Redbirds football team represented Illinois State University as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by 12th-year head coach Brock Spack, the Redbirds compiled an overall record of 1–3 with an identical in conference play, tying for seventh place in the MVFC. Illinois State played home games at Hancock Stadium in Normal, Illinois.
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 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.
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.