Missouri Valley Football Conference

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.

Not to be confused with Missouri Valley Conference.
Missouri Valley Football Conference
Established1982 (chartered)[1]
1985 (began football)
AssociationNCAA
DivisionDivision I
SubdivisionFCS
Members11 (12 in 2023)
Sports fielded
  • 1 (football)
    • men's: 1
    • women's: 0
RegionMidwest
Former namesGateway Football Conference (1992–2008)
Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference (1982–1992)
HeadquartersSt. Louis, Missouri
CommissionerPatty Viverito (since 1982)
Websitewww.valley-football.org
Locations

History
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 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]

Illinois
State
Indiana
State
Missouri State
Murray State
North Dakota State
North Dakota
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
– Future Missouri Valley Conference member

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 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 2 North Central Conference that NDSU and SDSU left in 2004–05. [9][10][11]

The most recent change to the MVFC membership was announced on April 4, 2022. Murray State University, which becomes a full MVC member in July 2022, will join the MVFC in 2023.[12]

Member schools


Current members
Institution Location Founded Joined Type Enrollment Endowment Nickname Colors Initial primary
conference
when joining
the MVFC		 Current
primary
conference
Indiana State University Terre Haute, Indiana 1865 1986 Public 12,144 $70.1 million Sycamores     Missouri Valley
Illinois State University Normal, Illinois 1857 1985 20,635 $195.2 million Redbirds    
Missouri State University Springfield, Missouri 1905 23,502 $170.3 million Bears     Summit Missouri Valley
University of North Dakota Grand Forks, North Dakota 1883 2020 13,772 $366.1 million Fighting Hawks     Summit Summit
North Dakota State University Fargo, North Dakota 1890 2008 12,461 $457 million Bison     Summit
University of Northern Iowa Cedar Falls, Iowa 1876 1985 10,497 $135.3 million Panthers     Missouri Valley
University of South Dakota Vermillion, South Dakota 1862 2012 9,971 $264.1 million Coyotes     Summit
South Dakota State University Brookings, South Dakota 1881 2008 11,405 $213 million Jackrabbits     Summit
Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Illinois 1869 1985 11,366 $154 million Salukis     Missouri Valley
Western Illinois University Macomb, Illinois 1899 7,490 $59.7 million Leathernecks     Summit
Youngstown State University Youngstown, Ohio 1908 1997 12,155 $275.9 million Penguins     Horizon

Future members
InstitutionLocationFoundedJoiningTypeEnrollmentEndowmentNicknameColorsCurrent
conference
Murray State University Murray, Kentucky 1922 2023 Public 9,427 $90.8 million Racers     OVC[lower-alpha 1]
(MVC in July 2022)
  1. Although Murray State joins the Missouri Valley Conference in July 2022, it will remain an OVC football member in the 2022 season.

Former members
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

Membership timeline
Murray State UniversityUniversity of North DakotaUniversity of South DakotaSouth Dakota State UniversityNorth Dakota State UniversityWestern Kentucky UniversityYoungstown State UniversityIndiana State UniversityWestern Illinois UniversitySouthern Illinois UniversityUniversity of Northern IowaMissouri State UniversityIllinois State UniversityEastern Illinois University

Conference 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
10
 2011†, 2012, 2013, 2014†, 2015†, 2016†, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021
Southern Illinois
5
 2003†, 2004, 2005‡, 2008†, 2009
Western Illinois
5
 1988, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2002†
Illinois State
3
 1999, 2014†, 2015†
Missouri State
3
 1989, 1990†, 2020‡
Eastern Illinois*
2
 1986, 1995†
Youngstown State
2
 2005‡, 2006
South Dakota State
2
 2016†, 2020‡
North Dakota
1
 2020‡
Western Kentucky*
1
 2002†
South Dakota
1
 2020‡
Indiana State
0
 N/A
Murray State
0
 N/A

† 2-way tie for conference championship
‡ 3-way tie for conference championship
* Team no longer in conference

NCAA Football Championship Subdivision national championships
TeamTitlesTitle YearsFinalsRunner-up
North Dakota State92011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 20219
Youngstown State41991, 1993, 1994, 199771992, 1999, 2016
Southern Illinois119831
Western Kentucky♯120021
Northern Iowa012005
Illinois State012014
South Dakota State012020

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

Records

Overall winning streaks
# Team Streak Spoiler Season(s)
1.North Dakota State39 †Southern Illinois[13]2017–2020
2.North Dakota State33Northern Iowa2012–2014
3.North Dakota State14South Dakota State2015–2016
4.Northern Iowa13Delaware2006–2007
Western Kentucky13Auburn2002–2003

† FCS Record [14]

Consecutive conference wins
  1. North Dakota State, 19 (2017–2020)
  2. North Dakota State, 18 (2012–2014)

Facilities

Future member Murray State in gray.

Team 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 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. "This is the Missouri Valley Conference". Missouri Valley Conference. Archived from the original on September 15, 2015. 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. 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. 2006-11-02. Archived from the original on 2008-01-15. 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.
  9. "North Dakota to Join Summit League, Missouri Valley Football Conference". Espn991.com. 2017-01-24. Archived from the original on 2017-03-20. Retrieved 2017-04-23.
  10. "Sources: North Dakota set to leave Big Sky Conference | Big Sky Conference". billingsgazette.com. Retrieved 2017-04-23.
  11. "Report: UND to join Summit League in 2018, MVFC in 2020". Argusleader.com. 2017-01-24. Retrieved 2017-04-23.
  12. "Murray State Football To Join Missouri Valley Football Conference July of 2023" (Press release). Missouri Valley Football Conference. April 4, 2022. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  13. "NDSU's 39-game winning streak ends with lopsided loss at Southern Illinois".
  14. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2018-11-11. Retrieved 2018-11-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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