Missouri Valley Football Conference

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For the related multi-sport conference, see Missouri Valley Conference.

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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

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File:GatewayFootballConference 1.png
Gateway Conference logo

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 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]

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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 remained separate administratively until 2025, and are still separate legal entities.[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, 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.[12] This was short-lived however, as on May 12, 2023, founding member 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.[13] Almost exactly a year after that, on May 10, 2024, fellow founding member Missouri State announced that they accepted an invitation to join Conference USA in all sports, beginning with the 2025-26 academic year.[14]

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 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.[15] With this move, the MVFC was then formally connected to both primary conferences for 9 of the 10 conference members (Youngstown State is a member of the Horizon League) at the time.

On February 9, 2026, North Dakota State University announced they were leaving the conference to join the Mountain West Conference effective July 1, 2026 after 18 years in the MVFC.[16][17]

Member schools

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Current members

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  Members departing for the Mountain West Conference in 2026.

Template:CollegePrimaryHeader
Illinois State University Normal, Illinois 1857 1985 Public 20,989 $204 million Redbirds Template:College color boxes Missouri Valley
Indiana State University Terre Haute, Indiana 1865 1986 12,144 $103.1 million Sycamores Template:College color boxes
Murray State University Murray, Kentucky 1922 2023 9,427 $90.8 million Racers Template:College color boxes
University of North Dakota Grand Forks, North Dakota 1883 2020 15,844 $510.7 million Fighting Hawks Template:College color boxes Summit
North Dakota State University Fargo, North Dakota 1890 2008 Public 11,952 $457 million Bison Template:College color boxes Summit
University of Northern Iowa Cedar Falls, Iowa 1876 1985 Public 10,497 $163 million Panthers Template:College color boxes Missouri Valley
University of South Dakota Vermillion, South Dakota 1862 2012 10,619 $328.5 million Coyotes Template:College color boxes Summit
South Dakota State University Brookings, South Dakota 1881 2008 11,331 $213 million Jackrabbits Template:College color boxes
Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Illinois 1869 1985 11,366 $190.1 million Salukis Template:College color boxes Missouri Valley
Youngstown State University Youngstown, Ohio 1908 1997 12,155 $321.5 million Penguins Template:College color boxes Horizon

Former members

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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 Template:College color boxes Mid-Continent Ohio Valley
Missouri State University Springfield, Missouri 1905 1985 2025 Bears Template:College color boxes Missouri Valley CUSA
Western Illinois University Macomb, Illinois 1899 1985 2024 Leathernecks Template:College color boxes Summit Ohio Valley
Western Kentucky University Bowling Green, Kentucky 1906 2001 2007 Hilltoppers Template:College color boxes Sun Belt CUSA

Membership timeline

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Current members Former members Dual members (list additional conferences)

Conference champions

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See also: List of Missouri Valley Football Conference champions

12 different teams have won MVFC championships. The most recent champion is North Dakota State, their 12th. The school with the most championships is Northern Iowa, with 16 (10 of them outright).

NCAA Football Championship Subdivision national championships

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Team Titles Title Years Finals Runner-up
North Dakota State 10 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2024 11 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
Illinois State 0 2 2014, 2025
Northern Iowa 0 1 2005

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

Records

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Overall winning streaks

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# Team Streak Spoiler Season(s)
1. North Dakota State 39 † Southern Illinois[18] 2017–2020
2. North Dakota State 33 Northern Iowa 2012–2014
3. South Dakota State 29 Oklahoma State[19] 2022–2024
4. North Dakota State 16 Illinois State 2024–2025
5. North Dakota State 14 South Dakota State 2015–2016
6. Western Kentucky 13 Auburn 2002–2003
Northern Iowa 13 Delaware 2006–2007

† FCS Record [20]
Former member

Consecutive conference wins

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  1. North Dakota State, 19 (2017–2020)
  2. South Dakota State, 19 (2022–2024)
  3. North Dakota State, 18 (2012–2014)

Facilities

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  Members departing for the Mountain West Conference in 2026.

Template:CollegePrimaryHeader
style="text-align:center; Template:CollegePrimaryStyle"| Illinois State [21] Hancock Stadium 13,391
style="text-align:center; Template:CollegePrimaryStyle"| Template:CollegeSecondaryColorLink[22] Memorial Stadium 12,764
style="text-align:center; Template:CollegePrimaryStyle"| Template:CollegeSecondaryColorLink[23] Roy Stewart Stadium 16,800
style="text-align:center; Template:CollegePrimaryStyle"| North Dakota [24] Alerus Center 12,283
style="text-align:center; Template:CollegePrimaryStyle"| Template:CollegeSecondaryColorLink[25] Fargodome 18,700
style="text-align:center; Template:CollegePrimaryStyle"| Template:CollegeSecondaryColorLink[26] UNI-Dome 16,324
style="text-align:center; Template:CollegePrimaryStyle"| South Dakota [27] DakotaDome 9,100
style="text-align:center; Template:CollegePrimaryStyle"| Template:CollegeSecondaryColorLink[28] Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium 19,300
style="text-align:center; Template:CollegePrimaryStyle"| Southern Illinois [29] Saluki Stadium 15,000
style="text-align:center; Template:CollegePrimaryStyle"| Youngstown State [30] Stambaugh Stadium 20,630

References

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  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named This is The Valley
  2. ↑ "Gateway Conference Adding Six Teams in Men's Football". Los Angeles Times. St. Louis, Missouri. August 25, 1985. Retrieved July 29, 2012.
  3. ↑ "Universities plan new football conference". St. Joseph Gazette. St. Joseph, Missouri. Associated Press. July 9, 1985. p. 2G. Retrieved March 23, 2024 – via Google News.
  4. ↑ "Indiana State Historical Data". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on October 13, 2012. Retrieved October 14, 2012.
  5. ↑ "WKU Regents Approve Move To Division 1-A (sic) Football". Western Kentucky University. November 2, 2006. Archived from the original on January 15, 2008. Retrieved November 3, 2006.
  6. ↑ "Gateway Eyes Dakotas For Expansion". ESPN. October 26, 2006. Retrieved November 19, 2006.
  7. ↑ "Gateway Expands to Nine Members". Gateway Football Conference. March 7, 2007. Archived from the original on April 6, 2023. Retrieved March 9, 2007.
  8. ↑ "Gateway Football Conference Changes Its Name". Gateway Football Conference. June 6, 2008. Archived from the original on November 21, 2020. Retrieved June 7, 2008.
  9. ↑ "North Dakota to Join Summit League, Missouri Valley Football Conference". Espn991.com. January 24, 2017. Archived from the original on March 20, 2017. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  10. ↑ "Sources: North Dakota set to leave Big Sky Conference | Big Sky Conference". billingsgazette.com. January 24, 2017. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  11. ↑ "Report: UND to join Summit League in 2018, MVFC in 2020". Argusleader.com. January 24, 2017. Retrieved April 23, 2017.[permanent dead link]
  12. ↑ "Murray State Football To Join Missouri Valley Football Conference July of 2023" (Press release). Missouri Valley Football Conference. April 4, 2022. Archived from the original on April 4, 2022. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  13. ↑ "Leatherneck Athletics Moving to Ohio Valley Conference for All Sports". goleathernecks.com. Western Illinois Leathernecks. May 12, 2023. Retrieved May 12, 2023.
  14. ↑ "Missouri State Accepts Invitation to join Conference USA". missouristatebears.com. Missouri State Bears Athletics. May 10, 2024. Retrieved May 10, 2024.
  15. ↑ "Missouri Valley Football Conference, Summit League Forge Partnership". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. May 5, 2025. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
  16. ↑ "NDSU Football Joining Mountain West Conference". gobison.com. North Dakota State Bison. February 9, 2026. Retrieved February 9, 2026.
  17. ↑ "Mountain West Adds North Dakota State as a football-only member". themw.com. Mountain West Conference. February 9, 2026. Retrieved February 9, 2026.
  18. ↑ "NDSU's 39-game winning streak ends with lopsided loss at Southern Illinois". February 27, 2021.
  19. ↑ "Oklahoma State snaps South Dakota State's 29-game winning streak". siouxfallslive.com. Forum Communications. August 31, 2024. Retrieved August 31, 2024.
  20. ↑ "North Dakota State University Athletics - Bison at Missouri State Saturday in Valley Football Game of the Week". Archived from the original on November 11, 2018. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  21. ↑ Facilities at GoRedbirds.com, URL accessed July 1, 2024.
  22. ↑ Facilities at GoSycamores.com, URL accessed July 1, 2024.
  23. ↑ Facilities at GoRacers.com, URL accessed July 1, 2024.
  24. ↑ Facilities at FightingHawks.com, URL accessed July 1, 2024.
  25. ↑ Facilities at GoBison.com, URL accessed July 1, 2024.
  26. ↑ Facilities at UNIPanthers.com, URL accessed July 1, 2024.
  27. ↑ Facilities at GoYotes.com, URL accessed July 1, 2024.
  28. ↑ Facilities at GoJacks.com, URL accessed July 1, 2024.
  29. ↑ Facilities at SIUSalukis.com, URL accessed July 1, 2024.
  30. ↑ YSU Athletics Facilities at YSUSports.com, URL accessed July 1, 2024.
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