2025 Missouri Valley Football Conference season
| 2025 Missouri Valley Football Conference season | |
|---|---|
| League | NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision |
| Sport | Football |
| Duration | August 28, 2025 through January 5, 2026 |
| Number of teams | 10 |
| 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 April 17, 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,
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, which they also left after the 2024–25 collegiate season.[5]
Coaching changes
North Dakota
On December 8, 2024, Eric Schmidt was named the next head coach at North Dakota.[6] Schmidt takes over for Bubba Schweigert, who stepped down after the 2024 season.[7]
Northern Iowa
On December 3, 2024, Todd Stepsis was named the new head coach at Northern Iowa.[8] Stepsis takes over for longtime coach Mark Farley, who retired after the 2024 season.[9]
South Dakota
On January 16, 2025, Travis Johansen was named the next head coach at South Dakota.[10] Johansen steps in for Bob Nielson, who retired after the 2024 season.[11]
South Dakota State
On December 31, 2024, Dan Jackson was named the next head coach at South Dakota State.[12] Jackson was hired after Jimmy Rogers left the program to become the next head coach at Washington State.[13]
Rankings
| 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 | TBA | McKendree | Indiana State | Terre Haute, IN
|
ESPN+ | |||
| August 28 | 5:00 PM | Mercyhurst | Youngstown State | Youngstown, OH
|
ESPN+ | |||
| August 30 | TBA | Illinois State | Oklahoma | Norman, OK
|
TBA | |||
| August 30 | TBA | Murray State | East Tennessee State | Johnson City, TN
|
ESPN+ | |||
| August 30 | TBA | North Dakota | Kansas State | Manhattan, KS
|
TBA | |||
| August 30 | TBA | North Dakota State | The Citadel | Charleston, SC
|
ESPN+ | |||
| August 30 | TBA | Butler | Northern Iowa | Cedar Falls, IA
|
ESPN+ | |||
| August 30 | TBA | South Dakota | Iowa State | Ames, IA
|
TBA | |||
| August 30 | TBA | Sacramento State | South Dakota State | Brookings, SD
|
ESPN+ | |||
| #Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time. | ||||||||
| Date | Bye Week |
|---|---|
| August 30 | Southern Illinois |
Week 2
| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 6 | TBA | Morehead State | Illinois State | Normal, IL
|
ESPN+ | |||
| September 6 | TBA | Eastern Illinois | Indiana State | Terre Haute, IN
|
ESPN+ | |||
| September 6 | TBA | Southeastern Louisiana | Murray State | Murray, KY
|
ESPN+ | |||
| September 6 | TBA | Portland State | North Dakota | Grand Forks, ND
|
ESPN+ | |||
| September 6 | TBA | North Dakota State | Tennessee State | Nashville, TN
|
ESPN+ | |||
| September 6 | TBA | Northern Iowa | Wyoming | Laramie, WY
|
TBA | |||
| September 6 | TBA | South Dakota | Lamar | Beaumont, TX
|
TBA | |||
| September 6 | TBA | South Dakota State | Montana State | Bozeman, MT
|
ESPN+ | |||
| September 6 | TBA | Southern Illinois | Purdue | West Lafayette, IN
|
TBA | |||
| September 6 | 1:00 PM | Robert Morris | Youngstown State | Youngstown, OH
|
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 | 2:00 PM | Illinois State | Eastern Illinois | Charleston, IL (Mid-America Classic )
|
ESPN+ | |||
| September 13 | TBA | Indiana State | Indiana | Bloomington, IN
|
TBA | |||
| September 13 | TBA | Murray State | Georgia State | Atlanta, GA
|
TBA | |||
| September 13 | TBA | North Dakota | Montana | Missoula, MT
|
ESPN+ | |||
| September 13 | TBA | Southeast Missouri State | North Dakota State | Fargo, ND
|
ESPN+ | |||
| September 13 | TBA | Eastern Washington | Northern Iowa | Cedar Falls, IA
|
ESPN+ | |||
| September 13 | TBA | Northern Colorado | South Dakota | Vermillion, SD
|
ESPN+ | |||
| September 13 | TBA | Drake | South Dakota State | Brookings, SD
|
ESPN+ | |||
| September 13 | TBA | Southern Illinois | UT Martin | Martin, TN
|
ESPN+ | |||
| September 13 | TBA | Youngstown State | Michigan State | East Lansing, MI
|
TBA | |||
| #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 | TBA | North Alabama | Illinois State | Normal, IL
|
ESPN+ | |||
| September 20 | TBA | Indiana State | Montana | Missoula, MT
|
ESPN+ | |||
| September 20 | TBA | Murray State | Jacksonville State | Jacksonville, AL
|
TBA | |||
| September 20 | TBA | Valparaiso | North Dakota | Grand Forks, ND
|
ESPN+ | |||
| September 20 | TBA | Northern Iowa | Utah Tech | St. George, UT
|
ESPN+ | |||
| September 20 | TBA | Drake | South Dakota | Vermillion, SD
|
ESPN+ | |||
| September 20 | TBA | Southern Illinois | Southeast Missouri State | Cape Girardeau, MO (War for the Wheel)
|
ESPN+ | |||
| September 20 | TBA | Youngstown State | Towson | Towson, MD
|
FloSports | |||
| #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 | TBA | South Dakota | North Dakota State† | Fargo, ND
|
||||
| September 27 | TBA | Mercyhurst | South Dakota State | 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 | TBA | North Dakota State | Illinois State | Normal, IL
|
ESPN+ | |||
| October 4 | TBA | Indiana State | Southern Illinois | Carbondale, IL
|
ESPN+ | |||
| October 4 | TBA | Murray State | South Dakota | Vermillion, SD
|
ESPN+ | |||
| October 4 | TBA | North Dakota | Northern Iowa | Cedar Falls, IA
|
ESPN+ | |||
| October 4 | 5:00 PM | South Dakota State | Youngstown State | Youngstown, OH
|
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 | TBA | Illinois State | Murray State | Murray, KY
|
ESPN+ | |||
| October 11 | TBA | South Dakota | Indiana State | Terre Haute, IN
|
ESPN+ | |||
| October 11 | TBA | Youngstown State | North Dakota | Grand Forks, ND
|
ESPN+ | |||
| October 11 | TBA | Southern Illinois | North Dakota State | Fargo, ND
|
ESPN+ | |||
| October 11 | TBA | Northern Iowa | South Dakota State | Brookings, SD
|
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 | TBA | Youngstown State | Illinois State† | Normal, IL
|
ESPN+ | |||
| October 18 | TBA | North Dakota State | Indiana State | Terre Haute, IN
|
ESPN+ | |||
| October 18 | TBA | South Dakota State | Murray State | Murray, KY
|
ESPN+ | |||
| October 18 | TBA | North Dakota | Southern Illinois | Carbondale, IL
|
ESPN+ | |||
| October 18 | TBA | South Dakota | Northern Iowa | Cedar Falls, IA
|
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 | TBA | Illinois State | South Dakota | Vermillion, SD
|
ESPN+ | |||
| October 25 | TBA | Indiana State | North Dakota | Grand Forks, ND
|
ESPN+ | |||
| October 25 | TBA | Murray State | Youngstown State | Youngstown, OH
|
ESPN+ | |||
| October 25 | TBA | North Dakota State | South Dakota State | Brookings, SD (Dakota Marker )
|
ESPN+ | |||
| October 25 | TBA | Northern Iowa | Southern Illinois | Carbondale, IL
|
ESPN+ | |||
| #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 | TBA | Northern Iowa | Illinois State | Normal, IL
|
ESPN+ | |||
| November 1 | TBA | Indiana State | South Dakota State | Brookings, SD
|
ESPN+ | |||
| November 1 | TBA | Southern Illinois | Murray State† | Murray, KY
|
ESPN+ | |||
| November 1 | TBA | North Dakota | South Dakota | Vermillion, SD
|
ESPN+ | |||
| November 1 | TBA | Youngstown State | North Dakota State | Fargo, ND
|
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 | TBA | Illinois State | Indiana State | Terre Haute, IN
|
ESPN+ | |||
| November 8 | TBA | Murray State | Northern Iowa | Cedar Falls, IA
|
ESPN+ | |||
| November 8 | TBA | North Dakota State | North Dakota | Grand Forks, ND (Nickel Trophy )
|
ESPN+ | |||
| November 8 | TBA | South Dakota State | South Dakota | Vermillion, SD
|
ESPN+ | |||
| November 8 | 1:00 PM | Southern Illinois | Youngstown State | Youngstown, OH
|
ESPN+ | |||
| #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 | TBA | Illinois State | South Dakota State | Brookings, SD
|
ESPN+ | |||
| November 15 | 11:00 AM | Indiana State | Youngstown State | Youngstown, OH
|
ESPN+ | |||
| November 15 | TBA | North Dakota | Murray State | Murray, KY
|
ESPN+ | |||
| November 15 | TBA | Northern Iowa | North Dakota State | Fargo, ND
|
ESPN+ | |||
| November 15 | TBA | South Dakota | Southern Illinois | Carbondale, IL
|
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 | TBA | Southern Illinois | Illinois State | Normal, IL
|
ESPN+ | |||
| November 22 | TBA | Murray State | Indiana State | Terre Haute, IN
|
ESPN+ | |||
| November 22 | TBA | South Dakota State | North Dakota | Grand Forks, ND
|
ESPN+ | |||
| November 22 | TBA | St. Thomas | North Dakota State | Fargo, ND
|
ESPN+ | |||
| November 22 | TBA | Youngstown State | Northern Iowa | Cedar Falls, IA
|
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:
|
Post season
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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
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 |
- ^ Indiana State did not play football in the 2020–21 academic year
References
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Missouri State heads to FBS, joining Conference USA in 2025". espn.com. ESPN. May 10, 2024. Retrieved February 28, 2025.
- ^ "Eric Schmidt named head coach of North Dakota football". fightinghawks.com. North Dakota Fighting Hawks. December 8, 2024. Retrieved February 28, 2025.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Todd Stepsis named University of Northern Iowa head coach". unipanthers.com. Northern Iowa Panthers. December 3, 2024. Retrieved February 28, 2025.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Travis Johansen named head coach of South Dakota football". goyotes.com. South Dakota Coyotes. January 16, 2025. Retrieved February 28, 2025.
- ^ "Head football coach Bob Nielson steps down". goyotes.com. South Dakota Coyotes. January 16, 2025. Retrieved February 28, 2025.
- ^ "Jackson selected to lead Jackrabbit football". gojacks.com. South Dakota State Jackrabbits. December 31, 2024. Retrieved February 28, 2025.
- ^ "Rogers steps down to become Head Coach at WSU". gojacks.com. South Dakota State Jackrabbits. December 28, 2024. Retrieved February 28, 2025.