2025 Missouri Valley Football Conference season

2025 Missouri Valley Football Conference season
LeagueNCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision
SportFootball
DurationAugust 28, 2025
through January 5, 2026
Number of teams10
TV partner(s)ESPN College Football, ESPN+, Local TV partners
2026 NFL draft
Regular season
Conf. Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Illinois State   0 – 0     0 – 0  
Indiana State   0 – 0     0 – 0  
Murray State   0 – 0     0 – 0  
North Dakota   0 – 0     0 – 0  
North Dakota State   0 – 0     0 – 0  
Northern Iowa   0 – 0     0 – 0  
South Dakota   0 – 0     0 – 0  
South Dakota State   0 – 0     0 – 0  
Southern Illinois   0 – 0     0 – 0  
Youngstown State   0 – 0     0 – 0  
As of July 7, 2025
Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2025 Missouri Valley Football Conference season will be the 40th season of college football play for the Missouri Valley Football Conference and part of the 2025 NCAA Division I FCS football season. This will be the MVFC's first season dropping to 10 teams since the 2019 season.

Previous season

In 2024, North Dakota State, South Dakota State, South Dakota won the conference with South Dakota State receiving the automatic bid to the 2024 playoffs. The second-seeded Bison would go on to win their tenth FCS Championship, beating top-seeded and previously undefeated Montana State.[1] South Dakota State and South Dakota would receive the second and third seeds, respectively, and each would fall in the semifinals. The Jacks would lose to the eventual champion Bison,[2] while the Coyotes would fall to Montana State.[3] Illinois State also made the playoffs as the twelve seed, part of the expanded seeding for the 2024 edition of the playoffs. The Redbirds would defeat Southeast Missouri State in the first round before falling to five seed UC Davis in the second round.[4]

Conference changes

After the conclusion of the 2024 college football season, Missouri State left the conference to reclassify to the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and move to Conference USA after 39 years in the league as a charter member. This move matches the Bears' departure from MVFC's sister conference, the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC), which they also left after the 2024–25 collegiate season.[5]

Later, on May 5, 2025, the conference announced a new governance structure to begin on July 1, 2025 that places MVC commissioner Jeff Jackson as the next MVFC commissioner following Patty Viverito's retirement on June 30. It also places Summit League commissioner Josh Fenton as an executive advisor to the conference. The new structure formalizes the decades-lung informal ties between the MVC and MVFC, and also establishes a formal relationship between the MVFC and Summit.[6]

Coaching changes

North Dakota

On December 8, 2024, Eric Schmidt was named the next head coach at North Dakota.[7] Schmidt takes over for Bubba Schweigert, who stepped down after the 2024 season.[8]

Northern Iowa

On December 3, 2024, Todd Stepsis was named the new head coach at Northern Iowa.[9] Stepsis takes over for longtime coach Mark Farley, who retired after the 2024 season.[10]

South Dakota

On January 16, 2025, Travis Johansen was named the next head coach at South Dakota.[11] Johansen steps in for Bob Nielson, who retired after the 2024 season.[12]

South Dakota State

On December 31, 2024, Dan Jackson was named the next head coach at South Dakota State.[13] Jackson was hired after Jimmy Rogers left the program to become the next head coach at Washington State.[14]


Rankings

Legend
    Improvement in ranking
  Drop in ranking
  Not ranked previous week
  No change in ranking from previous week
RV Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25 of poll
т Tied with team above or below also with this symbol
  Pre Wk
1		 Wk
2		 Wk
3		 Wk
4		 Wk
5		 Wk
6		 Wk
7		 Wk
8		 Wk
9		 Wk
10		 Wk
11		 Wk
12		 Wk
13		 Final
Illinois State STATS
Coaches
Indiana State STATS
Coaches
Murray State STATS
Coaches
North Dakota STATS
Coaches
North Dakota State STATS
Coaches
Northern Iowa STATS
Coaches
South Dakota STATS
Coaches
South Dakota State STATS
Coaches
Southern Illinois STATS
Coaches
Youngstown State STATS
Coaches

Schedule

Index to colors and formatting
MVFC member won
MVFC member lost
MVFC teams in bold

All times Central time.

† denotes Homecoming game
^ denotes AP Poll ranking for FBS teams

Regular season schedule

Week 1

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
August 28 5:00 PM McKendree Indiana State Memorial Stadium • Terre Haute, IN ESPN+    
August 28 5:00 PM Mercyhurst Youngstown State Stambaugh Stadium • Youngstown, OH ESPN+    
August 30 11:00 AM North Dakota State The Citadel Johnson Hagood Stadium • Charleston, SC ESPN+    
August 30 1:00 PM Butler Northern Iowa UNI-Dome • Cedar Falls, IA ESPN+    
August 30 2:30 PM South Dakota Iowa State Jack Trice Stadium • Ames, IA FOX    
August 30 4:30 PM Murray State East Tennessee State William B. Greene Jr. Stadium • Johnson City, TN ESPN+    
August 30 5:00 PM Illinois State Oklahoma Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium • Norman, OK ESPN+    
August 30 6:00 PM North Dakota Kansas State Bill Snyder Family Stadium • Manhattan, KS ESPN+    
August 30 6:00 PM Sacramento State South Dakota State Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD ESPN+    
August 30 6:00 PM Thomas More Southern Illinois Saluki Stadium • Carbondale, IL ESPN+    
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Week 2

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
September 6 12:00 PM Eastern Illinois Indiana State Memorial Stadium • Terre Haute, IN ESPN+    
September 6 1:00 PM Robert Morris Youngstown State Stambaugh Stadium • Youngstown, OH ESPN+    
September 6 1:30 PM North Dakota State Tennessee State Nissan Stadium • Nashville, TN ESPN+    
September 6 6:00 PM Morehead State Illinois State Hancock Stadium • Normal, IL ESPN+    
September 6 6:00 PM Portland State North Dakota Alerus Center • Grand Forks, ND ESPN+    
September 6 6:00 PM South Dakota Lamar Provost Umphrey Stadium • Beaumont, TX ESPN+    
September 6 6:30 PM Southern Illinois Purdue Ross-Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, IN BTN    
September 6 TBA Southeastern Louisiana Murray State Roy Stewart Stadium • Murray, KY ESPN+    
September 6 TBA Northern Iowa Wyoming War Memorial Stadium • Laramie, WY TBA    
September 6 TBA South Dakota State Montana State Bobcat Stadium • Bozeman, MT ESPN+    
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Week 3

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
September 13 1:00 PM Northern Colorado South Dakota DakotaDome • Vermillion, SD ESPN+    
September 13 2:00 PM Illinois State Eastern Illinois O'Brien Field • Charleston, IL (Mid-America Classic) ESPN+    
September 13 2:00 PM North Dakota Montana Washington–Grizzly Stadium • Missoula, MT ESPN+    
September 13 2:30 PM Southeast Missouri State North Dakota State Fargodome • Fargo, ND ESPN+    
September 13 2:30 PM Youngstown State Michigan State Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI BTN    
September 13 4:00 PM Eastern Washington Northern Iowa UNI-Dome • Cedar Falls, IA ESPN+    
September 13 6:00 PM Murray State Georgia State Center Parc Stadium • Atlanta, GA ESPN+    
September 13 6:00 PM Drake South Dakota State Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD ESPN+    
September 13 6:00 PM Southern Illinois UT Martin Graham Stadium • Martin, TN ESPN+    
September 13 TBA Indiana State Indiana Memorial Stadium • Bloomington, IN BTN    
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Week 4

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
September 20 12:00 PM North Alabama Illinois State Hancock Stadium • Normal, IL ESPN+    
September 20 1:00 PM Drake South Dakota DakotaDome • Vermillion, SD ESPN+    
September 20 2:00 PM Indiana State Montana Washington–Grizzly Stadium • Missoula, MT ESPN+    
September 20 3:00 PM Valparaiso North Dakota† Alerus Center • Grand Forks, ND ESPN+    
September 20 5:00 PM Youngstown State Towson Johnny Unitas Stadium • Towson, MD FloSports    
September 20 6:00 PM Murray State Jacksonville State AmFirst Stadium • Jacksonville, AL ESPN+    
September 20 6:00 PM Southern Illinois Southeast Missouri State Houck Stadium • Cape Girardeau, MO (War for the Wheel) ESPN+    
September 20 TBA Northern Iowa Utah Tech Greater Zion Stadium • St. George, UT ESPN+    
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.
Date Bye Week
September 20 North Dakota State South Dakota State

Week 5

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
September 27 1:00 PM South Dakota North Dakota State† Fargodome • Fargo, ND    
September 27 2:00 PM Mercyhurst South Dakota State Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD ESPN+    
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.
Date Bye Week
September 27 Illinois State Indiana State Murray State North Dakota Northern Iowa Southern Illinois Youngstown State

Week 6

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
October 4 2:00 PM Murray State South Dakota DakotaDome • Vermillion, SD ESPN+    
October 4 4:00 PM North Dakota Northern Iowa UNI-Dome • Cedar Falls, IA ESPN+    
October 4 5:00 PM South Dakota State Youngstown State Stambaugh Stadium • Youngstown, OH ESPN+    
October 4 6:00 PM North Dakota State Illinois State Hancock Stadium • Normal, IL ESPN+    
October 4 6:00 PM Indiana State Southern Illinois Saluki Stadium • Carbondale, IL ESPN+    
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Week 7

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
October 11 12:00 PM South Dakota Indiana State Memorial Stadium • Terre Haute, IN ESPN+    
October 11 2:00 PM Northern Iowa South Dakota State Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD ESPN+    
October 11 2:30 PM Southern Illinois North Dakota State Fargodome • Fargo, ND ESPN+    
October 11 3:00 PM Youngstown State North Dakota Alerus Center • Grand Forks, ND ESPN+    
October 11 TBA Illinois State Murray State Roy Stewart Stadium • Murray, KY ESPN+    
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Week 8

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
October 18 12:00 PM North Dakota State Indiana State Memorial Stadium • Terre Haute, IN ESPN+    
October 18 1:00 PM South Dakota Northern Iowa UNI-Dome • Cedar Falls, IA ESPN+    
October 18 2:00 PM Youngstown State Illinois State† Hancock Stadium • Normal, IL ESPN+    
October 18 2:00 PM North Dakota Southern Illinois Saluki Stadium • Carbondale, IL ESPN+    
October 18 TBA South Dakota State Murray State Roy Stewart Stadium • Murray, KY ESPN+    
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Week 9

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
October 25 1:00 PM Illinois State South Dakota DakotaDome • Vermillion, SD ESPN+    
October 25 1:00 PM Murray State Youngstown State Stambaugh Stadium • Youngstown, OH ESPN+    
October 25 2:00 PM Northern Iowa Southern Illinois† Saluki Stadium • Carbondale, IL ESPN+    
October 25 3:00 PM Indiana State North Dakota Alerus Center • Grand Forks, ND ESPN+    
October 25 TBA North Dakota State South Dakota State Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD (Dakota Marker) ESPN Network    
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Week 10

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
November 1 1:00 PM North Dakota South Dakota DakotaDome • Vermillion, SD (Sitting Bull Trophy) ESPN+    
November 1 2:00 PM Northern Iowa Illinois State Hancock Stadium • Normal, IL ESPN+    
November 1 2:00 PM Indiana State South Dakota State Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD ESPN+    
November 1 2:30 PM Youngstown State North Dakota State Fargodome • Fargo, ND ESPN+    
November 1 TBA Southern Illinois Murray State† Roy Stewart Stadium • Murray, KY ESPN+    
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Week 11

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
November 8 12:00 PM Illinois State Indiana State Memorial Stadium • Terre Haute, IN ESPN+    
November 8 1:00 PM North Dakota State North Dakota Alerus Center • Grand Forks, ND (Nickel Trophy) ESPN+    
November 8 1:00 PM Murray State Northern Iowa UNI-Dome • Cedar Falls, IA ESPN+    
November 8 1:00 PM Southern Illinois Youngstown State Stambaugh Stadium • Youngstown, OH ESPN+    
November 8 TBD South Dakota State South Dakota DakotaDome • Vermillion, SD (rivalry) ESPN Network    
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Week 12

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
November 15 11:00 AM Indiana State Youngstown State Stambaugh Stadium • Youngstown, OH ESPN+    
November 15 12:00 PM South Dakota Southern Illinois Saluki Stadium • Carbondale, IL ESPN+    
November 15 2:00 PM Illinois State South Dakota State Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD ESPN+    
November 15 2:30 PM Northern Iowa North Dakota State Fargodome • Fargo, ND ESPN+    
November 15 TBA North Dakota Murray State Roy Stewart Stadium • Murray, KY ESPN+    
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Week 13

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
November 22 12:00 PM Southern Illinois Illinois State Hancock Stadium • Normal, IL ESPN+    
November 22 12:00 PM Murray State Indiana State Memorial Stadium • Terre Haute, IN ESPN+    
November 22 1:00 PM South Dakota State North Dakota Alerus Center • Grand Forks, ND ESPN+    
November 22 1:00 PM Youngstown State Northern Iowa UNI-Dome • Cedar Falls, IA ESPN+    
November 22 2:30 PM St. Thomas North Dakota State Fargodome • Fargo, ND ESPN+    
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.
Date Bye Week
November 22 South Dakota

MVFC records vs other conferences

2025–26 records against non-conference foes:

Awards and honors

Players of the week honors

Week Offensive Defensive Special teams Freshman
Player Position Team Player Position Team Player Position Team Player Position Team

Home attendance

Team Stadium Capacity Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Game 4 Game 5 Game 6 Game 7 Game 8 Game 9 Total Average % of capacity
Illinois State Hancock Stadium 13,391 %
Indiana State Memorial Stadium 12,764 %
Murray State Roy Stewart Stadium 16,800 %
North Dakota Alerus Center 12,283 %
North Dakota State Fargodome 18,700 %
Northern Iowa UNI-Dome 16,324 %
South Dakota DakotaDome 9,100 %
South Dakota State Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium 19,340 %
Southern Illinois Saluki Stadium 15,000 %
Youngstown State Stambaugh Stadium 20,630 %

Bold - Exceed or met capacity
†Season High
‡FCS Playoff Game

2026 NFL Draft

Main article: 2026 NFL draft

The following list includes all MVFC players who were drafted in the 2026 NFL draft.

Player Position School Draft
round 		Round
pick 		Overall
pick 		Team

Head coaches

Through February 28, 2025
All stats include 2025 season

Team Head coach Years at school Overall record Record at school MVFC record MVFC titles FCS playoff appearances FCS playoff record National titles
Illinois State Brock Spack 17 111–74 (.600) 111–74 (.600) 71–54 (.568) 2 6 8–6 (.571) 0
Indiana State Curt Mallory 8[a] 24–55 (.304) 24–55 (.304) 16–40 (.286) 0 0 0–0 (–) 0
Murray State Jody Wright 2 1–11 (.083) 1–11 (.083) 0–8 (.000) 0 0 0–0 (–) 0
North Dakota Eric Schmidt 1 0–0 (–) 0–0 (–) 0–0 (–) 0 0 0–0 (–) 0
North Dakota State Tim Polasek 2 14–2 (.875) 14–2 (.875) 7–1 (.875) 1 1 4–0 (1.000) 1
Northern Iowa Todd Stepsis 1 0–0 (–) 0–0 (–) 0–0 (–) 0 0 0–0 (–) 0
South Dakota Travis Johansen 1 0–0 (–) 0–0 (–) 0–0 (–) 0 0 0–0 (–) 0
South Dakota State Dan Jackson 1 0–0 (–) 0–0 (–) 0–0 (–) 0 0 0–0 (–) 0
Southern Illinois Nick Hill 10 48–56 (.462) 48–56 (.462) 28–42 (.400) 0 3 3–3 (.500) 0
Youngstown State Doug Phillips 6 21–31 (.404) 21–31 (.404) 15–23 (.395) 0 1 1–1 (.500) 0
  1. ^ Indiana State did not play football in the 2020–21 academic year

References

  1. ^ "North Dakota State wins 10th FCS title with 35-32 win over Montana State". sports.yahoo.com. Yahoo!. January 6, 2025. Retrieved February 28, 2025.
  2. ^ "Lance and Miller team to send North Dakota State to FCS title game with 28-21 win over Jackrabbits". cbssports.com. CBS Sports. December 21, 2024. Retrieved February 28, 2025.
  3. ^ "Mellott leads Montana State over South Dakota 31-17 to reach FCS championship game". cbssports.com. CBS Sports. December 21, 2024. Retrieved February 28, 2025.
  4. ^ "Hastings, Larison account for 6 TDs, UC Davis rolls past Illinois State 42-10 in FCS second round". cbssports.com. CBS Sports. December 7, 2024. Retrieved February 28, 2025.
  5. ^ "Missouri State heads to FBS, joining Conference USA in 2025". espn.com. ESPN. May 10, 2024. Retrieved February 28, 2025.
  6. ^ "Missouri Valley Football Conference, Summit League Forge Parternship". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. May 5, 2025. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
  7. ^ "Eric Schmidt named head coach of North Dakota football". fightinghawks.com. North Dakota Fighting Hawks. December 8, 2024. Retrieved February 28, 2025.
  8. ^ "Head Coach Bubba Schweigert to step down, move into senior administrative role with UND Athletics". fightinghawks.com. North Dakota Fighting Hawks. November 30, 2024. Retrieved February 28, 2025.
  9. ^ "Todd Stepsis named University of Northern Iowa head coach". unipanthers.com. Northern Iowa Panthers. December 3, 2024. Retrieved February 28, 2025.
  10. ^ "UNI Football head coach Mark Farley to retire at conclusion of 2024 season". unipanthers.com. Northern Iowa Panthers. November 10, 2024. Retrieved February 28, 2025.
  11. ^ "Travis Johansen named head coach of South Dakota football". goyotes.com. South Dakota Coyotes. January 16, 2025. Retrieved February 28, 2025.
  12. ^ "Head football coach Bob Nielson steps down". goyotes.com. South Dakota Coyotes. January 16, 2025. Retrieved February 28, 2025.
  13. ^ "Jackson selected to lead Jackrabbit football". gojacks.com. South Dakota State Jackrabbits. December 31, 2024. Retrieved February 28, 2025.
  14. ^ "Rogers steps down to become Head Coach at WSU". gojacks.com. South Dakota State Jackrabbits. December 28, 2024. Retrieved February 28, 2025.
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