- Missouri Valley Football Conference
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Missouri Valley Football Conference 
Established 1985 Association NCAA Division Division I FCS Members 9 (10 in 2012) 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 valley-football.org 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) as a football-only conference.
Contents
History
Gateway Conference logo
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]
On November 4, 2010, the University of South Dakota was invited as the 10th member. This will renew a rivalry with fellow MVC member South Dakota State.
Membership
Locations of current Missouri Valley Football Conference member institutions.Former members
- Eastern Illinois University (Ohio Valley Conference), 1985–1995
- Western Kentucky University (Sun Belt Conference), 2001–2006
Membership time line
Champions
- 1985: Northern Iowa (5-0)
- 1986: Eastern Illinois (5-1)
- 1987: Northern Iowa (6-0)
- 1988: Western Illinois (6-0)
- 1989: Missouri State (5-1)
- 1990: Missouri State & Northern Iowa (5-1)
- 1991: Northern Iowa (5-1)
- 1992: Northern Iowa (5-1)
- 1993: Northern Iowa (5-1)
- 1994: Northern Iowa (6-0)
- 1995: Eastern Illinois & Northern Iowa (5-1)
- 1996: Northern Iowa (6-0)
- 1997: Western Illinois (6-0)
- 1998: Western Illinois (5-1)
- 1999: Illinois State (6-0)
- 2000: Western Illinois (5-1)
- 2001: Northern Iowa (6-1)
- 2002: Western Illinois & Western Kentucky (6-1)
- 2003: Northern Iowa & Southern Illinois (6-1)
- 2004: Southern Illinois (7-0)
- 2005: Northern Iowa, Southern Illinois, & Youngstown State (5-2)
- 2006: Youngstown State (6-1)
- 2007: Northern Iowa (6-0)
- 2008: Southern Illinois & Northern Iowa (7-1)
- 2009: Southern Illinois (8-0)
- 2010: Northern Iowa (6-2)
- 2011: North Dakota State (7-1) & Northern Iowa (7-1)
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 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 North Dakota State 1 2011 Indiana State 0 N/A South Dakota State 0 N/A South Dakota 0 N/A Conference facilities
School Football Stadium Capacity Illinois State Hancock Stadium 15,000 Indiana State Memorial Stadium 12,764 Missouri State Plaster Sports Complex 16,300 North Dakota State Fargodome 19,500 Northern Iowa UNI-Dome 17,000 South Dakota DakotaDome 10,000 South Dakota State Coughlin–Alumni Stadium 15,000 Southern Illinois Saluki Stadium 15,276 Western Illinois Hanson Field 17,168 Youngstown State Stambaugh Stadium 20,630 References
- ^ "WKU Regents Approve Move To Division 1-A (sic) Football". Western Kentucky University. 2006-11-02. http://wku.edu/news/releases06/november/football.html. Retrieved 2006-11-03.
- ^ "Gateway Eyes Dakotas For Expansion". ESPN. 2006-10-26. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2639837. Retrieved 2006-11-19.
- ^ "Gateway Expands to Nine Members". Gateway Football Conference. 2007-03-07. http://www.mvc-sports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=39013&SPID=2899&DB_OEM_ID=7600&ATCLID=815985. Retrieved 2007-03-09.
- ^ "Gateway Football Conference Changes Its Name". Gateway Football Conference. 2008-06-06. http://www.mvc-sports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=39013&SPID=2899&DB_OEM_ID=7600&ATCLID=1478424. Retrieved 2008-06-07.
External links
Missouri Valley Football Conference Current members Illinois State Redbirds • Indiana State Sycamores • Missouri State Bears • North Dakota State Bison • Northern Iowa Panthers • South Dakota State Jackrabbits • Southern Illinois Salukis • Western Illinois Leathernecks • Youngstown State Penguins
Future members South Dakota Coyotes (2012)
Former members Eastern Illinois Panthers (1985–1995) Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (2001–2006)
Categories:- Missouri Valley Football Conference
- Organizations established in 1985
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