View source for Missouri Valley Football Conference

{{Short description|U.S. college football-only conference}}
{{For|the related multi-sport conference|Missouri Valley Conference}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox sports league
| name         = Missouri Valley Football Conference
| color        = #003976; {{box-shadow border|a|#C8102E|2px}}
| font_color   = white
| logo         = Missouri Valley Football Conference logo.svg
| logo_size    = 150
| founded      = 1982 (chartered)<ref name="This is The Valley">{{cite web |url=http://www.mvc-sports.com/valleyinfo/default/ |title=This is the Missouri Valley Conference |publisher=Missouri Valley Conference |access-date=May 4, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150915170401/http://www.mvc-sports.com/valleyinfo/default/ |archive-date=September 15, 2015 }}</ref><br />1985 (began football)
| association  = NCAA
| division     = [[NCAA Division I|Division I]]
| subdivision  = [[Football Championship Subdivision|FCS]]
| teams        = 10
| sports       = 1 (football)
| mens         = 1
| womens       = 0
| region       = [[Midwestern United States|Midwest]]
| formerly     = <small>Gateway Football Conference (1992–2008)<br /> Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference (1982–1992)</small>
| headquarters = [[St. Louis, Missouri]]
| commissioner = [[Jeff Jackson (basketball)|Jeff Jackson]]
| since        = 2025
| website      = {{URL|https://www.valley-football.org/}}
| map          = Missouri Valley Football Conference Map.svg
| map_size     = 250
| current_season = 2025 Missouri Valley Football Conference season
}}

The '''Missouri Valley Football Conference''' ('''MVFC'''), formerly the '''Gateway Football Conference''', is a collegiate [[List of NCAA conferences|athletic conference]] which operates in the [[Midwestern United States]]. It participates in the [[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA]]'s [[NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision|Division I Football Championship Subdivision]] (FCS) as a [[college football|football]]-only conference.

==History==
[[File:GatewayFootballConference 1.png|thumb|left|Gateway Conference logo]]

The Missouri Valley Football Conference has a complex history that involves three other conferences:

* [[Missouri Valley Conference]] (MVC): A long-established conference, in existence since 1907, that sponsored football until 1985. In its last years as a football conference, it was a hybrid league that included teams in NCAA Divisions I-A (today's FBS) and I-AA (now FCS).
* [[Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference]] (Gateway): A women's sports conference founded in 1982 by MVC member schools.<ref name="This is The Valley"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-08-25-sp-25016-story.html|title=Gateway Conference Adding Six Teams in Men's Football|date=August 25, 1985|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=29 July 2012|location=St. Louis, Missouri}}</ref>
* [[Summit League|Association of Mid-Continent Universities]] (AMCU): An all-sports conference, also founded in 1982, that sponsored football at the I-AA level through the 1984 season. The AMCU had absorbed the [[Association of Mid-Continent Universities football|Mid-Continent Athletic Association]], a football-only league founded in 1978. (After dropping football, the AMCU later became the Mid-Continent Conference, and is now [[Summit League|The Summit League]].)

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 Gateway's auspices.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Universities plan new football conference |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=xuxeAAAAIBAJ&pg=3225%2C1202191 |newspaper=[[St. Joseph Gazette]] |location=[[St. Joseph, Missouri]] |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=July 9, 1985 |page=2G |access-date=March 23, 2024 |via=[[Google News]]}}</ref> Indiana State, which had left MVC football after the 1981 season to become a [[NCAA Division I FCS independent schools|Division I-AA independent]] while remaining a full MVC member, would join the next year.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/div_iaa/missourivalley/indiana_state/index.php |title=Indiana State Historical Data |publisher=[[College Football Data Warehouse]] |access-date=October 14, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121013110412/http://cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/div_iaa/missourivalley/indiana_state/index.php |archive-date=October 13, 2012 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

{{Location map+ | Midwest USA| width=393 | caption=Locations of Missouri Valley Football Conference Members<br />[[File:Red pog.svg|10px]] – [[Horizon League]] member<br />[[File:Blue pog.svg|10px]] – [[Missouri Valley Conference]] member<br />[[File:Yellow pog.svg|10px]] – [[Summit League]] member | relief=no | places=
   {{Location map~ | Midwest USA| label=Illinois<br />State | position=top | mark=Blue pog.svg | link=Illinois State Redbirds football | lat=40.51076 | long=-88.99346}}
   {{Location map~ | Midwest USA| label=Indiana<br />State | position=right | mark=Blue pog.svg | link=Indiana State Sycamores football | lat=39.4714 | long=-87.4083}}
   {{Location map~ | Midwest USA| label=Murray State | position=right| mark=Blue pog.svg | link=Murray State Racers football | lat=36.6163 | long=-88.3209}}
   {{Location map~ | Midwest USA| label=North Dakota State | position=right| mark=Yellow pog.svg | link=North Dakota State Bison football | lat=46.89167 | long=-96.8}}
   {{Location map~ | Midwest USA| label=North Dakota | position=left| mark=Yellow pog.svg | link=North Dakota Fighting Hawks football | lat=47.9253 | long=-97.03}}
   {{Location map~ | Midwest USA| label=Northern Iowa | position=top | mark=Blue pog.svg | link=Northern Iowa Panthers football | lat=42.51336 | long=-92.46248}}
   {{Location map~ | Midwest USA| label=South Dakota | position=bottom| mark=Yellow pog.svg | link=South Dakota Coyotes football | lat=42.786 | long=-96.9253}}
   {{Location map~ | Midwest USA| label=South Dakota State | position=left| mark=Yellow pog.svg | link=South Dakota State Jackrabbits football | lat=44.31806 | long=-96.78333}}
   {{Location map~ | Midwest USA| label=Southern Illinois | position=left| mark=Blue pog.svg | link=Southern Illinois Salukis football | lat=37.7086 | long=-89.2162}}
   {{Location map~ | Midwest USA| label=Youngstown State | position=left| mark=Red pog.svg | link=Youngstown State Penguins football | lat=41.10556 | long=-80.6481}}
}}

In 1992, when the Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference merged with the MVC,<ref name="This is The Valley"/> 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,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wku.edu/news/releases06/november/football.html |publisher=[[Western Kentucky University]] |title=WKU Regents Approve Move To Division 1-A ''(sic)'' Football |date=2006-11-02 |access-date=2006-11-03 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080115123929/http://wku.edu/news/releases06/november/football.html |archive-date=2008-01-15 }}</ref> leaving the GFC with seven members for the 2007 season. [[Great West Conference|Great West Football Conference]] members North Dakota State and South Dakota State<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/college-football/news/story?id=2639837|publisher=[[ESPN]]|title=Gateway Eyes Dakotas For Expansion|date=2006-10-26|access-date=2006-11-19}}</ref> were invited to join the conference beginning with the 2008 season.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mvc-sports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=39013&SPID=2899&DB_OEM_ID=7600&ATCLID=815985|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406190341/https://mvc-sports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=39013&SPID=2899&DB_OEM_ID=7600&ATCLID=815985|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 6, 2023|publisher=Gateway Football Conference|title=Gateway Expands to Nine Members|date=2007-03-07|access-date=2007-03-09}}</ref> 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 remained separate administratively until 2025, and are still separate legal entities.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mvc-sports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=39013&SPID=2899&DB_OEM_ID=7600&ATCLID=1478424 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201121173514/http://mvc-sports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=39013&SPID=2899&DB_OEM_ID=7600&ATCLID=1478424 |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 21, 2020 |publisher=Gateway Football Conference |title=Gateway Football Conference Changes Its Name |date=2008-06-06 |access-date=2008-06-07 }}</ref>

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 [[NCAA Division II|Division II]] [[North Central Conference]] that NDSU and SDSU left in 2004–05.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://espn991.com/north-dakota-to-join-summit-league-missouri-valley-football-conference/ |title=North Dakota to Join Summit League, Missouri Valley Football Conference |publisher=Espn991.com |date=2017-01-24 |access-date=2017-04-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170320193500/http://espn991.com/north-dakota-to-join-summit-league-missouri-valley-football-conference/ |archive-date=2017-03-20 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://billingsgazette.com/sports/college/big-sky-conference/sources-north-dakota-set-to-leave-big-sky-conference/article_3b15312e-fb64-505e-a593-4158edfa7644.html |title=Sources: North Dakota set to leave Big Sky Conference &#124; Big Sky Conference |date=January 24, 2017 |publisher=billingsgazette.com |access-date=2017-04-23}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.argusleader.com/story/sports/college/2017/01/24/report-und-join-summit-league-2018-mvfc-2020/97004366/ |title=Report: UND to join Summit League in 2018, MVFC in 2020 |publisher=Argusleader.com |date=2017-01-24 |access-date=2017-04-23 }}{{Dead link|date=December 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

On April 4, 2022, [[Murray State University]], who had previously been announced as a new MVC member effective in July 2022, joined the MVFC in 2023, bringing the league up to a record high of 12 active members.<ref>{{cite press release |url=https://valley-football.org/news/2022/4/3/murray-state-football-to-join-missouri-valley-football-conference-july-of-2023.aspx |title=Murray State Football To Join Missouri Valley Football Conference July of 2023 |publisher=Missouri Valley Football Conference |date=April 4, 2022 |accessdate=April 6, 2022 |archive-date=April 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220404175326/https://valley-football.org/news/2022/4/3/murray-state-football-to-join-missouri-valley-football-conference-july-of-2023.aspx |url-status=dead }}</ref> This was short-lived however, as on May 12, 2023, founding member [[Western Illinois Leathernecks|Western Illinois]] announced that they 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://goleathernecks.com/news/2023/5/12/athletics-department-leatherneck-athletics-moving-to-ohio-valley-conference-for-all-sports.aspx|title=Leatherneck Athletics Moving to Ohio Valley Conference for All Sports|website=goleathernecks.com|publisher=Western Illinois Leathernecks|date=May 12, 2023|access-date=May 12, 2023}}</ref> Almost exactly a year after that, on May 10, 2024, fellow founding member [[Missouri State Bears|Missouri State]] announced that they accepted an invitation to join [[Conference USA]] in all sports, beginning with the 2025-26 academic year.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://missouristatebears.com/news/2024/5/10/general-missouri-state-accepts-invitation-to-join-conference-usa.aspx|title=Missouri State Accepts Invitation to join Conference USA|website=missouristatebears.com|publisher=Missouri State Bears Athletics|date=May 10, 2024|access-date=May 10, 2024}}</ref>

On May 5, 2025, the conference announced a new governance structure that took effect on July 1, 2025 following longtime commissioner Patty Viverito's retirement on June 30. The new structure placed current [[Missouri Valley Conference]] commissioner [[Jeff Jackson (basketball)|Jeff Jackson]] as the new MVFC commissioner and current [[Summit League]] commissioner Josh Fenton as an executive advisor to the conference. This move marked the conference's only leadership change in its 40-year history.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://valley-football.org/news/2025/5/3/missouri-valley-football-conference-summit-league-forge-partnership.aspx|title=Missouri Valley Football Conference, Summit League Forge Partnership|website=valley-football.org|publisher=Missouri Valley Football Conference|date=May 5, 2025|access-date=May 5, 2025}}</ref> With this move, the MVFC is now formally connected to both primary conferences for 9 of the 10 conference members (Youngstown State is a member of the [[Horizon League]]).

==Member schools==

===Current members===
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
{{CollegePrimaryHeader|border=2|team=Missouri Valley Football Conference | Institution| Location | Founded | Joined | Type | Enrollment | Endowment | Nickname| class="unsortable"|Colors | Current<br />primary<br />conference}}
|-
| '''[[Illinois State University]]'''
| [[Normal, Illinois]]
| 1857
| 1985
| rowspan="10"|[[Public university|Public]]
| 20,989
| $204 million
| [[Illinois State Redbirds football|Redbirds]]
| {{college color boxes|Illinois State Redbirds}}
| rowspan="3"|[[Missouri Valley Conference|Missouri Valley]]
|-
| '''[[Indiana State University]]'''
| [[Terre Haute, Indiana]]
| 1865
| 1986
| 12,144
| $103.1 million
| [[Indiana State Sycamores football|Sycamores]]
| {{college color boxes|Indiana State Sycamores}}
|-
| '''[[Murray State University]]'''
| [[Murray, Kentucky]]
| 1922
| 2023
| 9,427
| $90.8 million
| [[Murray State Racers football|Racers]]
| {{college color boxes|Murray State Racers}}
|-
| '''{{sort|North Dakota|[[University of North Dakota]]}}'''
| [[Grand Forks, North Dakota]]
| 1883
| 2020
| 15,844
| $422.1 million
| [[North Dakota Fighting Hawks football|Fighting Hawks]]
| {{college color boxes|North Dakota Fighting Hawks}}
| rowspan="2" |[[Summit League|Summit]]
|-
| '''[[North Dakota State University]]'''
| [[Fargo, North Dakota]]
| 1890
| 2008
| 11,952
| $457 million
| [[North Dakota State Bison football|Bison]]
| {{college color boxes|North Dakota State Bison}}
|-
| '''{{sort|Northern Iowa|[[University of Northern Iowa]]}}'''
| [[Cedar Falls, Iowa]]
| 1876
| 1985
| 10,497
| $163 million
| [[Northern Iowa Panthers football|Panthers]]
| {{college color boxes|Northern Iowa Panthers}}
| [[Missouri Valley Conference|Missouri Valley]]
|-
| '''{{sort|South Dakota|[[University of South Dakota]]}}'''
| [[Vermillion, South Dakota]]
| 1862
| 2012
| 10,619
| $328.5 million
| [[South Dakota Coyotes football|Coyotes]]
| {{college color boxes|South Dakota Coyotes}}
| rowspan="2" |[[Summit League|Summit]]
|-
| '''[[South Dakota State University]]'''
| [[Brookings, South Dakota]]
| 1881
| 2008
| 11,331
| $213 million
| [[South Dakota State Jackrabbits football|Jackrabbits]]
| {{college color boxes|South Dakota State Jackrabbits}}
|-
| '''[[Southern Illinois University Carbondale|Southern Illinois University]]'''
| [[Carbondale, Illinois]]
| 1869
| 1985
| 11,366
| $190.1 million
| [[Southern Illinois Salukis football|Salukis]]
| {{college color boxes|Southern Illinois Salukis}}
| [[Missouri Valley Conference|Missouri Valley]]
|-
| '''[[Youngstown State University]]'''
| [[Youngstown, Ohio]]
| 1908
| 1997
| 12,155
| $321.5 million
| [[Youngstown State Penguins football|Penguins]]
| {{college color boxes|Youngstown State Penguins}}
| [[Horizon League|Horizon]]
|}

===Former members===
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
!Institution
!Location
!Founded
!Joined
!Left
!Type
!Nickname
!class="unsortable"|Colors
!Primary<br />conference<br />during<br />tenure<br />in the MVFC
!Current<br />primary<br />conference
|-
| '''[[Eastern Illinois University]]'''
| [[Charleston, Illinois]]
| 1895
| 1985
| 1995
| rowspan="4"|Public
| [[Eastern Illinois Panthers football|Panthers]]
| {{college color boxes|Eastern Illinois Panthers}}
| [[Summit League|Mid-Continent]]
| [[Ohio Valley Conference|Ohio Valley]]
|-
| '''[[Missouri State University]]'''
| [[Springfield, Missouri]]
| 1905
| 1985
| 2025
| [[Missouri State Bears football|Bears]]
| {{college color boxes|Missouri State Bears}}
| [[Missouri Valley Conference|Missouri Valley]]
| [[Conference USA|CUSA]]
|-
| '''[[Western Illinois University]]'''
| [[Macomb, Illinois]]
| 1899
| 1985
| 2024
| [[Western Illinois Leathernecks football|Leathernecks]]
| {{college color boxes|Western Illinois Leathernecks}}
| [[Summit League|Summit]]
| [[Ohio Valley Conference|Ohio Valley]]
|-
| '''[[Western Kentucky University]]'''
| [[Bowling Green, Kentucky]]
| 1906
| 2001
| 2007
| [[Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football|Hilltoppers]]
| {{college color boxes|Western Kentucky Hilltoppers}}
| [[Sun Belt Conference|Sun Belt]]
| [[Conference USA|CUSA]]
|}

===Membership timeline===
<timeline>

DateFormat  = yyyy

ImageSize   = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:20

Period      = from:1985 till:2027

TimeAxis    = orientation:horizontal

PlotArea    = right:20 left:0 bottom:50 top:5 #> to display a count on left side of graph,  use "left:20" to suppress the count, use "left:20"<#

Colors =  id:barcolor value:rgb(0.99,0.7,0.7)

          id:line     value:black

          id:bg       value:white
          id:Full value:rgb(0.742,0.727,0.852) # Use this color to denote a team that is a current member
          id:AssocF value:rgb(0.98,0.5,0.445) # Use this color to denote a team that is a former member
          id:AssocOS value:rgb(0.5,0.691,0.824) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member of two conferences for the same sport (consider identifying in legend or a footnote)
          id:OtherC1 value:rgb(0.996,0.996,0.699) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to another conference
          id:OtherC2 value:rgb(0.988,0.703,0.383) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to another conference where OtherC1 has already been used, to distinguish the two
PlotData=

   width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s

   bar:1 color:AssocF  from:1985 till:1996 text:[[Eastern Illinois University|Eastern Illinois]] (1985–1995)
   bar:1 color:OtherC1 from:1996 till:2023 text:[[Ohio Valley Conference|OVC]]
   bar:1 color:OtherC2 from:2023 till:end text:[[OVC–Big South Football Association|OVC-Big South]]

   bar:2 color:AssocOS  from:1985 till:1986 text:[[Illinois State University|Illinois State]] (1985, MVC; 1986–present)
   bar:2 color:Full  from:1986 till:end

   bar:3 color:Full  from:1985 till:end text:[[University of Northern Iowa|Northern Iowa]] (1985–present)

   bar:4 color:AssocOS  from:1985 till:1986 text:[[Southern Illinois University|Southern Illinois]] (1985, MVC; 1986–present)
   bar:4 color:Full  from:1986 till:end

   bar:5 color:AssocF  from:1985 till:2005 text:[[Missouri State University|Southwest Missouri State]] (1985–2025)
   bar:5 color:AssocF  from:2005 till:2025 text:[[Missouri State University|Missouri State]]
   bar:5 color:OtherC1 from:2025 till:end text:[[Conference USA|C-USA]]

   bar:6 color:AssocF  from:1985 till:2024 text:[[Western Illinois University|Western Illinois]] (1985–2024)
   bar:6 color:OtherC1 from:2024 till:end text:[[OVC–Big South Football Association|OVC-Big South]]

   bar:7 color:Full  from:1986 till:end text:[[Indiana State University|Indiana State]] (1986–present)

   bar:8 color:Full  from:1997 till:end text:[[Youngstown State University|Youngstown State]] (1997–present)

   bar:9 color:AssocF  from:2001 till:2007 text:[[Western Kentucky University|Western Kentucky]] (2001–2007)
   bar:9 color:OtherC1 from:2007 till:2008 text:[[NCAA Division I FCS independent schools|FCS Ind.]]
   bar:9 color:OtherC2 shift:25 from:2008 till:2009 text:[[NCAA Division I FBS independent schools|FBS Ind.]]
   bar:9 color:OtherC1 shift:50 from:2009 till:2014 text:[[Sun Belt Conference|Sun Belt]]
   bar:9 color:OtherC2 from:2014 till:end text:[[Conference USA|C-USA]]

   bar:10 color:Full  from:2008 till:end text:[[North Dakota State University|North Dakota State]] (2008–present)

   bar:11 color:Full  from:2008 till:end text:[[South Dakota State University|South Dakota State]] (2008–present)

   bar:12 color:Full from:2012 till:end text:[[University of South Dakota|South Dakota]] (2012–present)

   bar:13 color:Full from:2020 till:end text:[[University of North Dakota|North Dakota]] (2020–present)

   bar:14 shift:(-35) color:Full from:2023 till:end text:[[Murray State University|Murray State]] (2023–present)

   bar:N color:powderblue  from:1985 till:1992 text:Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference
   bar:N color:yellow  from:1992 till:2008 shift:35 text:Gateway Football Conference
   bar:N color:pink  from:2008 till:end text:Missouri Valley Football Conference

ScaleMajor  = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:2 start:1986

TextData =
    fontsize:L
    textcolor:black
    pos:(0,30) tabs:(400-center)
    text:^"MVFC membership history"

#> If the chart uses more than one bar color, add a legend by selecting the appropriate fields from the following six options (use only the colors that are used in the graphic.) Leave a blank line after the end of the timeline, then add a line with the selected values from the list, separated by a space. {{Font color||{{RGB|190|186|218}}|Full members}} {{Font color||{{RGB|141|211|199}}|Full members (non-football)}} {{Font  color||{{RGB|251|128|114}}|Assoc. members (football only)}} {{Font color||{{RGB|128|177|211}}|Assoc. member (list sports)}} {{Font color||{{RGB|255|255|179}}|Other  Conference}} {{Font color||{{RGB|253|180|98}}|Other  Conference}} <#  </timeline>

{{Font color||{{RGB|190|186|218}}|Current members}} {{Font color||{{RGB|251|128|114}}|Former members}} {{Font color||{{RGB|128|177|211}}|Dual members (list additional conferences)}}

==Conference champions==
{{See also|List of Missouri Valley Football Conference champions}}
12 different teams have won MVFC championships. The most recent champion is [[2025 North Dakota State Bison football team|North Dakota State]], their 12th. The school with the most championships is [[Northern Iowa Panthers football|Northern Iowa]], with 16 (10 of them outright).

==NCAA Football Championship Subdivision national championships==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; width:50%;"
|-
! Team !! Titles !! Title Years !! Finals !! Runner-up
|-
| [[North Dakota State Bison football|North Dakota State]] || align=center|10 || [[2011 North Dakota State Bison football team|2011]], [[2012 North Dakota State Bison football team|2012]], [[2013 North Dakota State Bison football team|2013]], [[2014 North Dakota State Bison football team|2014]], [[2015 North Dakota State Bison football team|2015]], [[2017 North Dakota State Bison football team|2017]], [[2018 North Dakota State Bison football team|2018]], [[2019 North Dakota State Bison football team|2019]], [[2021 North Dakota State Bison football team|2021]], [[2024 North Dakota State Bison football team|2024]] || align=center |11 || [[2022 North Dakota State Bison football team|2022]]
|-
| [[Youngstown State Penguins football|Youngstown State]] || align=center|4 || 1991, 1993, 1994, 1997 || align=center|7 || 1992, 1999, [[2016 Youngstown State Penguins football team|2016]]
|-
| [[South Dakota State Jackrabbits football|South Dakota State]] || align=center|2 ||  [[2022 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team|2022]], [[2023 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team|2023]]  || align=center|3  || [[2020 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team|2020]]
|-
| [[Southern Illinois Salukis football|Southern Illinois]] || align=center|1 || 1983 || align=center|1||
|-
| [[Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football|Western Kentucky]]<sup>♯</sup> || align=center|1 || [[2002 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team|2002]] || align=center|1 ||
|-
| [[Northern Iowa Panthers football|Northern Iowa]] || align=center|0 || || align=center|1 || [[2005 Northern Iowa Panthers football team|2005]]
|-
| [[Illinois State Redbirds football|Illinois State]] || align=center|0 || || align=center|1 || [[2014 Illinois State Redbirds football team|2014]]
|}
'''♯''' ''Now a member of the [[NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision|Football Bowl Subdivision]] (FBS).''

==Records==
===Overall winning streaks===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!# 
!Team
!Streak 
!Spoiler 
!Season(s)
|-
|1.|| [[North Dakota State Bison football|North Dakota State]] || 39 † || [[2020 Southern Illinois Salukis football team|Southern Illinois]]<ref>{{cite web |title=NDSU's 39-game winning streak ends with lopsided loss at Southern Illinois |date=February 27, 2021 |url=https://bismarcktribune.com/sports/football/ndsus-39-game-winning-streak-ends-with-lopsided-loss-at-southern-illinois/article_0c424d73-b10d-50c7-bc14-9551653bc5cb.html}}</ref> || 2017–2020
|-
|2.|| North Dakota State || 33 || [[2014 Northern Iowa Panthers football team|Northern Iowa]] || 2012–2014
|-
|3.|| [[South Dakota State Jackrabbits football|South Dakota State]] || 29 || [[2024 Oklahoma State Cowboys football team|Oklahoma State]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.siouxfallslive.com/sports/college/oklahoma-state-snaps-south-dakota-states-29-game-winning-streak|title=Oklahoma State snaps South Dakota State's 29-game winning streak|website=siouxfallslive.com|publisher=Forum Communications|date=August 31, 2024|access-date=August 31, 2024}}</ref> || 2022–2024
|-
| rowspan="2" | 4.|| North Dakota State|| 14 || [[2016 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team|South Dakota State]] || 2015–2016
|-
| North Dakota State|| 14 || || 2024–
|-
| rowspan="2" |5.|| [[Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football|Western Kentucky]] || 13 || [[2003 Auburn Tigers football team|Auburn]] || 2002–2003
|-
| [[Northern Iowa Panthers football|Northern Iowa]] || 13 || [[2007 Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football team|Delaware]] || 2006–2007
|}
'''†''' ''[[Football Championship Subdivision|FCS]] Record''
<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://gobison.com/news/2018/11/5/bison-at-missouri-state-saturday-in-valley-football-game-of-the-week.aspx |title=North Dakota State University Athletics - Bison at Missouri State Saturday in Valley Football Game of the Week |access-date=2018-11-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181111173547/https://gobison.com/news/2018/11/5/bison-at-missouri-state-saturday-in-valley-football-game-of-the-week.aspx |archive-date=2018-11-11 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

====Consecutive conference wins====

#[[North Dakota State Bison football|North Dakota State]], 19 (2017–2020)
#[[South Dakota State Jackrabbits football|South Dakota State]], 19 (2022–2024)
#North Dakota State, 18 (2012–2014)

==Facilities==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
{{CollegePrimaryHeader|border=2|team=Missouri Valley Football Conference | School | Stadium | Capacity }}
|-
| style="text-align:center; {{CollegePrimaryStyle|Illinois State Redbirds}}"| [[Illinois State Redbirds football|{{white|'''Illinois State '''}}]]<ref name="FacilitiesAthleticsIllinoisState">[https://goredbirds.com/sports/facilities Facilities] at GoRedbirds.com, URL accessed July 1, 2024.</ref>
|[[Hancock Stadium]]
|13,391
|-
| style="text-align:center; {{CollegePrimaryStyle|Indiana State Sycamores}}"| {{CollegeSecondaryColorLink|Indiana State Sycamores|Indiana State Sycamores football|'''Indiana State '''}}<ref name="FacilitiesAthleticsIndianaState">[https://gosycamores.com/facilities Facilities] at GoSycamores.com, URL accessed July 1, 2024.</ref>
|[[Memorial Stadium (Terre Haute)|Memorial Stadium]]
|12,764
|-
| style="text-align:center; {{CollegePrimaryStyle|Murray State Racers}}"| {{CollegeSecondaryColorLink|Murray State Racers|Murray State Racers football|'''Murray State '''}}<ref name="FacilitiesAthleticsMurrayState">[https://goracers.com/facilities/ Facilities] at GoRacers.com, URL accessed July 1, 2024.</ref>
|[[Roy Stewart Stadium]]
|16,800
|-
| style="text-align:center; {{CollegePrimaryStyle|North Dakota Fighting Hawks}}"| [[North Dakota Fighting Hawks football|{{color|black|'''North Dakota ''' }}]]<ref name="FacilitiesAthleticsNorthDakota">[https://fightinghawks.com/facilities Facilities] at FightingHawks.com, URL accessed July 1, 2024.</ref>
|[[Alerus Center]]
|12,283
|-
| style="text-align:center; {{CollegePrimaryStyle|North Dakota State Bison}}"| {{CollegeSecondaryColorLink|North Dakota State Bison|North Dakota State Bison football|'''North Dakota State ''' }}<ref name="FacilitiesAthleticsNorthDakotaState">[https://gobison.com/facilities Facilities] at GoBison.com, URL accessed July 1, 2024.</ref>
|[[Fargodome]]
|19,000
|-
| style="text-align:center; {{CollegePrimaryStyle|Northern Iowa Panthers}}"| {{CollegeSecondaryColorLink|Northern Iowa Panthers|Northern Iowa Panthers football|'''Northern Iowa '''}}<ref name="FacilitiesAthleticsNorthernIowa">[https://unipanthers.com/facilities/ Facilities] at UNIPanthers.com, URL accessed July 1, 2024.</ref>
|[[UNI-Dome]]
|16,324  
|-
| style="text-align:center; {{CollegePrimaryStyle|South Dakota Coyotes}}"| [[South Dakota Coyotes football|{{white|'''South Dakota '''}}]]<ref name="FacilitiesAthleticsSouthDakota">[https://goyotes.com/facilities Facilities] at GoYotes.com, URL accessed July 1, 2024.</ref>
|[[DakotaDome]]
|9,100
|-
| style="text-align:center; {{CollegePrimaryStyle|South Dakota State Jackrabbits}}"| {{CollegeSecondaryColorLink|South Dakota State Jackrabbits|South Dakota State Jackrabbits football|'''South Dakota State''' }}<ref name="FacilitiesAthleticsSouthDakotaState">[https://gojacks.com/facilities Facilities] at GoJacks.com, URL accessed July 1, 2024.</ref>
|[[Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium]] 
|19,300 
|-
| style="text-align:center; {{CollegePrimaryStyle|Southern Illinois Salukis}}"| [[Southern Illinois Salukis football|{{white|'''Southern Illinois '''}}]]<ref name="FacilitiesAthleticsSouthernIllinois">[https://siusalukis.com/facilities Facilities] at SIUSalukis.com, URL accessed July 1, 2024.</ref>
|[[Saluki Stadium]]
|15,000
|-
| style="text-align:center; {{CollegePrimaryStyle|Youngstown State Penguins}}"| [[Youngstown State Penguins football|{{white|'''Youngstown State''' }}]]<ref name="FacilitiesAthleticsYoungstownState">[https://ysusports.com/facilities YSU Athletics Facilities] at YSUSports.com, URL accessed July 1, 2024.</ref>
|[[Stambaugh Stadium]]
|20,630
|}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{commons category-inline}}

{{Missouri Valley Football Conference navbox}}
{{NCAA Division I FCS conference navbox}}

[[Category:Missouri Valley Football Conference| ]]
[[Category:Sports organizations established in 1985]]
[[Category:Articles which contain graphical timelines]]
[[Category:1985 establishments in the United States]]