Formerly | Gateway Football Conference (1992–2008) Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference (1982–1992) |
---|---|
Association | NCAA |
Founded | 1982 (chartered) [1] 1985 (began football) |
Commissioner | Patty Viverito (since 1982) |
Sports fielded |
|
Division | Division I |
Subdivision | FCS |
No. of teams | 11 |
Headquarters | St. Louis, Missouri |
Region | Midwest |
Official website | www |
Locations | |
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 Missouri Valley Football Conference has a complex history that involves three other conferences:
In 1985, the MVC stopped sponsoring football. At that time, the two remaining I-AA members from the MVC (Illinois State and Southern Illinois) joined Eastern Illinois, Northern Iowa, Southwest Missouri State, and Western Illinois from the AMCU and together became a football conference under the Gateway's auspices. [3] Indiana State, which had left MVC football after the 1981 season to become a Division I-AA independent while remaining a full MVC member, would join the next year. [4]
In 1992, when the Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference merged with the MVC, [1] the football conference kept the Gateway charter, with a minor name change to Gateway Football Conference. After Eastern Illinois joined the Ohio Valley Conference for football in 1996, Youngstown State joined in 1997 and was followed by Western Kentucky University in 2001. Southwest Missouri State changed its name to Missouri State in 2005.
Western Kentucky moved to the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS; formerly Division I-A) after the 2006 season, [5] leaving the GFC with seven members for the 2007 season. Great West Football Conference members North Dakota State and South Dakota State [6] were invited to join the conference beginning with the 2008 season. [7] Subsequently, the Gateway Football Conference changed its name to the Missouri Valley Football Conference in June 2008. This change aligned the conference with the Missouri Valley Conference, a conference in which five of the nine Missouri Valley Football schools were (and still are) all-sports members. The conferences continue to share the "Missouri Valley" name, and space in the same building in St. Louis, but remain separate administratively. [8]
The University of South Dakota joined as the 10th member in 2012. The University of North Dakota joined as the 11th member in 2020, bringing back the yearly rivalries among North Dakota, North Dakota State, South Dakota and South Dakota State which had existed under the Division II North Central Conference that NDSU and SDSU left in 2004–05. [9] [10] [11]
On April 4, 2022, another change was announced for the league. Murray State University, which had previously been announced as a new MVC member effective in July 2022, joined the MVFC in 2023. [12]
On May 12, 2023, the most recent change to the league was announced. Western Illinois, who had been a founding member of the league, would be leaving the MVFC and their full time conference, the Summit League, for the Ohio Valley Conference beginning in fall 2023 and 2024. They would leave the Summit beginning in fall 2023, and would leave the Valley after the conclusion of the 2023 football season. [13]
Institution | Location | Founded | Joined | Left | Type | Nickname | Colors | Primary conference during tenure in the MVFC | Current primary conference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Eastern Illinois University | Charleston, Illinois | 1895 | 1985 | 1995 | Public | Panthers | Summit | OVC | |
Western Kentucky University | Bowling Green, Kentucky | 1906 | 2001 | 2007 | Hilltoppers | Sun Belt | C-USA | ||
Western Illinois University | Macomb, Illinois | 1899 | 1985 | 2024 | Leathernecks | Summit | OVC |
Current membersFormer membersDual members (list additional conferences)
11 different teams have won MVFC championships. The most recent champion is South Dakota State. The school with the most championships is Northern Iowa, with 16 (10 of them outright).
Team | Titles | Title Years | Finals | Runner-up |
---|---|---|---|---|
North Dakota State | 9 | 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021 | 10 | 2022 |
Youngstown State | 4 | 1991, 1993, 1994, 1997 | 7 | 1992, 1999, 2016 |
South Dakota State | 2 | 2022, 2023 | 3 | 2020 |
Southern Illinois | 1 | 1983 | 1 | |
Western Kentucky ♯ | 1 | 2002 | 1 | |
Northern Iowa | 0 | 1 | 2005 | |
Illinois State | 0 | 1 | 2014 |
♯Now a member of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).
# | Team | Streak | Spoiler | Season(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | North Dakota State | 39 † | Southern Illinois [14] | 2017–2020 |
2. | North Dakota State | 33 | Northern Iowa | 2012–2014 |
3. | South Dakota State | 29 | Ongoing | 2022–present |
4. | North Dakota State | 14 | South Dakota State | 2015–2016 |
5. | Northern Iowa | 13 | Delaware | 2006–2007 |
Western Kentucky | 13 | Auburn | 2002–2003 |
School | Stadium | Capacity |
---|---|---|
Illinois State | Hancock Stadium | 13,391 |
Indiana State | Memorial Stadium | 12,764 |
Missouri State | Plaster Sports Complex | 17,500 |
Murray State | Roy Stewart Stadium | 16,800 |
North Dakota | Alerus Center | 12,283 |
North Dakota State | Fargodome | 18,700 |
Northern Iowa | UNI-Dome | 16,324 |
South Dakota | DakotaDome | 9,100 |
South Dakota State | Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium | 19,340 |
Southern Illinois | Saluki Stadium | 15,000 |
Youngstown State | Stambaugh Stadium | 20,630 |
The Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It participates in Division I of the NCAA; the conference's football programs compete in partnership with the Big South Conference in the Football Championship Subdivision, the lower of two levels of Division I football competition. The OVC has 11 members, six of which compete in football in the conference.
NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision independent schools are four-year institutions in the United States whose football programs are not part of a football conference. This means that FCS independents are not required to schedule each other for competition as conference schools do. As of the 2024 season, Merrimack and Sacred Heart will be competing as independents, as their primary conference, Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, does not sponsor football after previously being members of the Northeast Conference. Merrimack and Sacred Heart are confirmed to play as FCS independents in 2024.
The North Central Conference (NCC), also known as North Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, was a college athletic conference which operated in the north central United States. It participated in the NCAA's Division II.
The NCAA Division I Football Championship is an annual post-season college football game, played since 2006, used to determine a national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). From 1978 to 2005, the game was known as the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship.
The Great West Conference (GWC) was an NCAA college athletic conference in the continental United States. Originally a football-only league, it became an all-sports entity during the 2008–09 season. The GWC stopped sponsoring football following the 2011 season. The conference became defunct when four of the remaining five full member schools became members of other conferences on July 1, 2013.
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 Missouri Valley Conference is the fourth-oldest collegiate athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the midwest.
The North Dakota Fighting Hawks are the athletic teams that represent the University of North Dakota (UND), located in the city of Grand Forks, North Dakota. The Fighting Hawks compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I level as a member of the Summit League. With 17 varsity teams, North Dakota is best known for its Ice Hockey team and American Football team. North Dakota's main rivalries are with the North Dakota State Bison and the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
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 North Dakota State Bison are the athletic teams of North Dakota State University (NDSU), which is located in the city of Fargo, North Dakota. The teams are often called the "Thundering Herd". The current logo is a bison.
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 Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference was a women's-only college athletic conference which operated in the midwestern United States from its inception in 1982 to its absorption by the Missouri Valley Conference in 1992.
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 Big South–OVC Football Association is an association of football members of the Big South Conference and Ohio Valley Conference (OVC). The Big South–OVC covers the American Midwest and South with member institutions located in Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
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 will be 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 will be the MVFC's first season returning to 11 teams, and its 4th in the last 5 seasons.