Missouri Valley Football Conference

Missouri Valley Football Conference
Established 1982 (chartered)[1]
1985 (began football)
Association NCAA
Division Division I FCS
Members 10
Sports fielded 1 (football) (men's: 1; women's: 0)
Region Midwest
Former names Gateway Football Conference (1992–2008)
Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference (1982–1992)
Headquarters St. Louis, Missouri
Commissioner Patty Viverito (since 1982)
Website www.valley-football.org
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.

History

Gateway Conference logo

The Missouri Valley Football Conference has a convoluted 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 1995, 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] Left 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 Saint Louis, Missouri, but remain separate administratively.[8]

The University of South Dakota joined as the 10th member in 2012.

Member schools

Current members

Institution Location Founded Type Enrollment Joined Nickname Primary
Conference
when
joining
the MVFC		 Current
Primary
Conference
Illinois State University Normal, Illinois 1857 Public 20,272 1985 Redbirds Missouri Valley Missouri Valley
Indiana State University Terre Haute, Indiana 1865 Public 12,114 1986 Sycamores Missouri Valley Missouri Valley
Missouri State University Springfield, Missouri 1905 Public 21,059 1985 Bears Summit Missouri Valley
North Dakota State University Fargo, North Dakota 1890 Public 14,629 2008 Bison Summit Summit
University of Northern Iowa Cedar Falls, Iowa 1876 Public 12,159 1985 Panthers Summit Missouri Valley
University of South Dakota Vermillion, South Dakota 1862 Public 10,284 2012 Coyotes Summit Summit
South Dakota State University Brookings, South Dakota 1881 Public 12,725 2008 Jackrabbits Summit Summit
Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Illinois 1869 Public 17,964 1985 Salukis Missouri Valley Missouri Valley
Western Illinois University Macomb, Illinois 1899 Public 13,600 1985 Leathernecks Summit Summit
Youngstown State University Youngstown, Ohio 1908 Public 14,483 1997 Penguins Summit Horizon

Former members

Institution Location Founded Type Enrollment Joined Left Nickname Primary
Conference
during
Tenure
in MVFC		 Current
Primary
Conference
Eastern Illinois University Charleston, Illinois 1895 Public 11,651 1985 1995 Panthers Summit OVC
Western Kentucky University Bowling Green, Kentucky 1906 Public 21,048 2001 2007 Hilltoppers Sun Belt C-USA

Membership timeline

University of South Dakota South Dakota State University North Dakota State University Western Kentucky University Youngstown State University Indiana State University Western Illinois University Southern Illinois University University of Northern Iowa Missouri State University Illinois State University Eastern Illinois University
Illinois
State
Indiana State
Missouri State
North Dakota State
Northern Iowa
South Dakota
South Dakota State
Southern Illinois
Western Illinois
Youngstown State
Locations of Missouri Valley Football Conference Members
– Horizon League member
– Missouri Valley Conference member
– Summit League member

Champions

Conference titles by school

School Championships Championship Years
Northern Iowa
16
 1985, 1987, 1990†, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995†, 1996, 2001, 2003†, 2005‡, 2007, 2008†, 2010, 2011†
North Dakota State
6
 2011†, 2012, 2013, 2014†, 2015†, 2016†
Southern Illinois
5
 2003†. 2004, 2005‡, 2008†, 2009
Western Illinois
5
 1988, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2002†
Illinois State
3
 1999, 2014†, 2015†
Missouri State
2
 1989, 1990†
Eastern Illinois
2
 1986, 1995†
Youngstown State
2
 2005‡, 2006
Western Kentucky
1
 2002†
Indiana State
0
 N/A
South Dakota State
1
 2016†
South Dakota
0
 N/A

† 2-way tie for conference championship
‡ 3-way tie for conference championship

NCAA Football Championship Subdivision national championships

Team Titles Title Years Finals Runner-up
North Dakota State 5 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 5
Youngstown State 4 1991, 1993, 1994, 1997 6 1992, 1999
Southern Illinois 1 1983 1
WKU♯ 1 2002 1
Northern Iowa 0 1 2005
Illinois State 0 1 2014

♯ Now a member of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).

Records

Overall Winning Streaks

# Team Streak Spoiler Season(s)
1. North Dakota State 33 † Northern Iowa 2012–2014
2. North Dakota State 14 South Dakota State 2015–2016
3. Northern Iowa 13 Delaware 2006-2007
Western Kentucky 13 Auburn 2002-2003

† FCS Record

Consecutive Conference Wins

1. North Dakota State, 18 (2012-2014)

Facilities

School Football Stadium Capacity
Illinois State Hancock Stadium 13,391
Indiana State Memorial Stadium 12,764
Missouri State Plaster Sports Complex 17,500
North Dakota State Fargodome 19,000
Northern Iowa UNI-Dome 16,324
South Dakota DakotaDome 10,000
South Dakota State Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium 19,340
Southern Illinois Saluki Stadium 15,000
Western Illinois Hanson Field 17,168
Youngstown State Stambaugh Stadium 20,630

References

  1. 1 2 3 "This is the Missouri Valley Conference". Missouri Valley Conference. Retrieved May 4, 2012.
  2. ↑ "Gateway Conference Adding Six Teams in Men's Football". Los Angeles Times. St. Louis, Missouri. August 25, 1985. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
  3. ↑ "Universities plan new football conference". Carbondale, Illinois: St. Joseph Gazette. July 9, 1985. p. 2G. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
  4. ↑ "Indiana State Historical Data". College Football Data Warehouse. Retrieved October 14, 2012.
  5. ↑ "WKU Regents Approve Move To Division 1-A (sic) Football". Western Kentucky University. 2006-11-02. Retrieved 2006-11-03.
  6. ↑ "Gateway Eyes Dakotas For Expansion". ESPN. 2006-10-26. Retrieved 2006-11-19.
  7. ↑ "Gateway Expands to Nine Members". Gateway Football Conference. 2007-03-07. Retrieved 2007-03-09.
  8. ↑ "Gateway Football Conference Changes Its Name". Gateway Football Conference. 2008-06-06. Retrieved 2008-06-07.
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