Missouri Valley Football Conference#History

File:GatewayFootballConference 1.png

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.{{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}}
• 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 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 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.{{cite news |author= |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}} 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.{{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 }}

{{Location map+ | Midwest USA| width=393 | caption=Locations of Missouri Valley Football Conference Members
10px – Horizon League member
10px – Missouri Valley Conference member
10px – Summit League member | relief=no | places=

{{Location map~ | Midwest USA| label=Illinois
State | position=top | mark=Blue pog.svg | link=Illinois State Redbirds football | lat=40.51076 | long=-88.99346}}

{{Location map~ | Midwest USA| label=Indiana
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, 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,{{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 }} leaving the GFC with seven members for the 2007 season. Great West Football Conference members North Dakota State and South Dakota State{{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}} were invited to join the conference beginning with the 2008 season.{{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}} 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.{{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 }}

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.{{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 }}{{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 | Big Sky Conference |date=January 24, 2017 |publisher=billingsgazette.com |access-date=2017-04-23}}{{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 }}

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.{{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 }} 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.{{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}} 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.{{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}}

On May 5, 2025, the conference announced a new governance structure that will begin on July 1, 2025 following longtime commissioner Patty Viverito's retirement on June 30. The new structure will place 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 marks the conference's only leadership change in its 40-year history.{{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}} With this move, there will now be a formal connection to both primary conferences for 9 of the 10 conference members (Youngstown State is a member of the Horizon League).

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 (1985–1995)

bar:1 color:OtherC1 from:1996 till:2023 text:OVC

bar:1 color:OtherC2 from:2023 till:end text:OVC-Big South

bar:2 color:AssocOS from:1985 till:1986 text:Illinois State (1985, MVC; 1986–present)

bar:2 color:Full from:1986 till:end

bar:3 color:Full from:1985 till:end text:Northern Iowa (1985–present)

bar:4 color:AssocOS from:1985 till:1986 text:Southern Illinois (1985, MVC; 1986–present)

bar:4 color:Full from:1986 till:end

bar:5 color:Full from:1985 till:2005 text:Southwest Missouri State (1985–2025)

bar:5 color:Full from:2005 till:2025 text:Missouri State

bar:5 color:OtherC1 from:2025 till:end text:C-USA

bar:6 color:AssocF from:1985 till:2024 text:Western Illinois (1985–2024)

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

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

bar:9 color:AssocF from:2001 till:2007 text:Western Kentucky (2001–2007)

bar:9 color:OtherC1 from:2007 till:2008 text:FCS Ind.

bar:9 color:OtherC2 shift:25 from:2008 till:2009 text:FBS Ind.

bar:9 color:OtherC1 shift:50 from:2009 till:2014 text:Sun Belt

bar:9 color:OtherC2 from:2014 till:end text:C-USA

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

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

bar:12 color:Full from:2012 till:end text:South Dakota (2012–present)

bar:13 color:Full from:2020 till:end text:North Dakota (2020–present)

bar:14 shift:(-35) color:Full from:2023 till:end text: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"

1. > 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}} <#

{{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)}}

{{See also|List of Missouri Valley Football Conference champions}}

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

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

† FCS Record

{{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 }}

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

{{Reflist|30em}}

{{commons category-inline}}

{{Missouri Valley Football Conference navbox}}

{{NCAA Division I FCS conference navbox}}

Category:Sports organizations established in 1985

Category:Articles which contain graphical timelines

Category:1985 establishments in the United States