From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
|
Missouri Valley Football Conference |
| Established: 1985 |
|
| NCAA |
Division I FCS |
| Members |
9 |
| Sports fielded |
1 (football) (men's: 1; women's:
0) |
| Region |
Midwest |
| Former names |
Gateway Collegiate Athletic
Conference (1985–1992)
Gateway Football Conference (1992–2008) |
| Headquarters |
St. Louis, Missouri |
| Commissioner |
Patty Viverito (since 1982) |
| Website |
Missouri Valley Football
Conference |
| Locations |
|
|
The Missouri Valley Football Conference
(formerly the Gateway Football Conference) is a college athletic
conference which operates in the midwestern United States. It
participates in the NCAA's Division I Football
Championship Subdivision (FCS; still frequently referred to by
its former designation of Division I-AA) as a football-only
conference.
History
The Missouri Valley Football Conference has a convoluted
history. The conference was formed from the remnant football
schools of the old Missouri Valley when it
stopped sponsoring its hybrid I-A/I-AA football league in 1985. At
that time, the I-AA members from the MVC (Illinois State, Indiana
State, and Southern Illinois) joined Eastern Illinois, Northern
Iowa, Southwest Missouri State, and Western Illinois to form the
Association of Mid-Continent Universities, later the Mid-Continent
Conference and now The Summit League, for sports other
than football. The football programs joined with the Gateway
Collegiate Athletic Conference, which at the time was a women's
athletic conference that roughly paralleled the MVC.
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 1995, Youngstown State joined in 1997 and was followed
by Western Kentucky in 2001. Southwest Missouri State changed its
name to Missouri State in 2005. The Gateway changed its name to the
Missouri Valley Football Conference in 2008.
On November 2, 2006, Western Kentucky's Board of Regents
approved a proposal by the school's president to upgrade the football program to the Division I
Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS; formerly Division I-A). The
Hilltoppers left the GFC after the 2006 season, went through the
two-year "reclassification" period mandated by the NCAA for schools
moving from the FCS to the FBS, and became a football member of its
all-sports conference, the Sun Belt Conference, in 2009.[1]
Due to Western Kentucky's move, the Gateway was left with 7
members for the 2007 season. However, Great
West Football Conference members North Dakota State and South
Dakota State were asked to submit information about themselves and
to attend the conference presidents' meeting.[2] On
March 7, 2007, the conference announced that both schools would
join the conference beginning with the 2008 season.[3]
On June 6, 2008, the Gateway Football Conference changed its
name to the Missouri Valley Football Conference, effective
immediately. This change aligns the conference with the Missouri
Valley Conference, a conference in which five of the nine Missouri
Valley Football schools participate. The conferences will share the
"Missouri Valley" name but will remain separate
administratively.[4]
Membership
| Institution |
Location |
Founded |
Affiliation |
Enrollment |
Joined |
Nickname |
Primary Conference |
| Illinois State
University |
Normal,
Illinois |
1857 |
Public |
20,757 |
1985 |
Redbirds |
Missouri Valley
Conference |
| Indiana State University |
Terre Haute, Indiana |
1865 |
Public |
10,760 |
1986 |
Sycamores |
Missouri Valley
Conference |
| Missouri State
University |
Springfield, Missouri |
1905 |
Public |
22,785 |
1985 |
Bears |
Missouri Valley
Conference |
| North Dakota State
University |
Fargo, North Dakota |
1890 |
Public |
14,186 |
2008 |
Bison |
The
Summit League |
| University of Northern
Iowa |
Cedar
Falls, Iowa |
1876 |
Public |
14,070 |
1985 |
Panthers |
Missouri Valley
Conference |
| South Dakota State
University |
Brookings, South Dakota |
1881 |
Public |
12,376 |
2008 |
Jackrabbits |
The
Summit League |
| Southern Illinois
University |
Carbondale, Illinois |
1869 |
Public |
19,800 |
1985 |
Salukis |
Missouri Valley
Conference |
| Western Illinois
University |
Macomb,
Illinois |
1899 |
Public |
13,600 |
1985 |
Leathernecks |
The
Summit League |
| Youngstown State
University |
Youngstown, Ohio |
1908 |
Public |
13,183 |
1997 |
Penguins |
Horizon
League |
Locations of current Missouri Valley Football Conference member
institutions.
Former
members
Champions
- 1985: Northern Iowa
- 1986: Eastern Illinois
- 1987: Northern Iowa
- 1988: Western Illinois
- 1989: Missouri State
- 1990: Missouri State & Northern Iowa
- 1991: Northern Iowa
- 1992: Northern Iowa
- 1993: Northern Iowa
- 1994: Northern Iowa
- 1995: Eastern Illinois & Northern Iowa
- 1996: Northern Iowa
- 1997: Western Illinois
- 1998: Western Illinois
- 1999: Illinois State
- 2000: Western Illinois
- 2001: Northern Iowa
- 2002: Western Illinois & Western Kentucky
- 2003: Northern Iowa & Southern Illinois
- 2004: Southern Illinois
- 2005: Northern
Iowa, Southern Illinois, & Youngstown State
- 2006: Youngstown State
- 2007: Northern
Iowa
- 2008: Southern Illinois & Northern
Iowa
- 2009: Southern Illinois
Conference titles by
school
| School |
Championships |
Championship Years |
| Northern Iowa |
14
|
1985, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2001,
2003, 2005, 2007, 2008 |
| Southern
Illinois |
5
|
2003. 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009 |
| Western Illinois |
5
|
1988, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2002 |
| Missouri State |
2
|
1989, 1990 |
| Eastern Illinois |
2
|
1986, 1995 |
| Youngstown State |
2
|
2005, 2006 |
| Illinois State |
1
|
1999 |
| Western Kentucky |
1
|
2002 |
| Indiana State |
0
|
N/A |
| North Dakota State |
0
|
N/A |
| South Dakota State |
0
|
N/A |
Conference
facilities
External
links
Notes and
references
| Missouri Valley Football
Conference |
|
|
|
|
| Football stadiums of the Missouri Valley Football
Conference |
|
|
|
|
Top topics
Wikis
Quiz
Map
Search