Current season, competition or edition: 2024 Missouri Valley Football Conference season | |
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 (10 in 2025) |
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, it was announced that 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]
The latest change to the conference was announced on May 10, 2024, when Missouri State announced that they accepted an invitation to join Conference USA in all sports, beginning with the 2025-26 academic year. [14]
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 [15] | 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 |
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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.
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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.
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