Welcome back oh great and wonderful college football fans. We are 57 days away from week 0 action and have a lot of conferences that we haven’t talked about yet. JoJo and I are both getting excited about the season as we hope you are. Next Tuesday, we will discuss the penultimate FCS conference before we start to shift to the FBS schools. We’ll be in New York and will work on the post together.
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This episode is all about the conference with the most championships since 2010 and, no, it is not the SEC. The 10-member Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVC) has taken home every trophy, except 2 beginning in 2011. South Dakota St was runner up to Sam Houston (since promoted to FBS) in 2020. In 2017 James Madison (also promoted) beat Youngstown St. The last championship game that did not have an MVC team was in 2010 when E Washington took out Delaware (also promoted). North Dakota St is 10-1 in title games, including last season, over that stretch with the only loss to South Dakota St, who is 2-1. Illinois St lost in an MVC-only final in 2014. Prior to 2010, the last MVC champion was Youngstown St in 1997. Speaking of promotions, the Missouri St Bears ended their run in the MVC last season and have shifted up to join Conference-USA along with the Delaware Blue Hens, late of the CAA. That leaves no team from Missouri in the Missouri Valley Conference. If I were a betting man, and I do not bet on teenagers ever, it seems the odds are in favor of a member of this conference making the final.
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Since 1978, here is a list of all teams that played in the FCS final that are now (or will be this season) in the Group of 5 (American, C-USA, MAC, Mountain West, Sun, or non-Notre Dame Independent): UMASS (1978, 1998-CH, 2006), Boise St (1980-CH, 1994), Delaware (1982, 2003-CH, 2007, 2010), LA Tech (1984), Ga Southern (1985-CH, 1986-CH, 1988, 1989-CH, 1990-CH, 1998, 1999-CH), Nevada (1990), Marshall (1991, 1992-CH, 1993, 1995, 1996-CH), W Kentucky (2002-CH), James Madison (2004-CH, 2016-CH 2017, 2019), App St (2005-CH, 2006-CH), Sam Houston (2011, 2012, 2020-CH), and Jacksonville St (2015). The GCR officially takes the stance that we would love to see North Dakota St, South Dakota St, South Dakota, and North Dakota should promote to the Mountain West which would strengthen that conference especially after the split next year sending MWC teams to the new Pac12 (or whatever number they use). Alternatives would be to join the MAC or the PACx directly, but the more I think about it, the MWC is a better fit. With the new 12-team (probably going to 16 at some point soon), playoff, the winner of the MWC could grab the Group of 5 spot and vie for the more championships.
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In the table below, (F) indicates a game against a non-conference FCS foe, (4) indicates a Core 4 opponent, (G) indicates a Group of 5 foe, and (D) indicates a non-division I game. There are no scheduled neutral site games. With no further ado, we are proud to present the 14th (out of 25) most difficult conference in college football; the 2025 Missouri Valley Football Conference:
| Team | Home | 2024 Record (Rank) | 2025 PS SOS (Rank) | Home Games | Away Games |
| Indiana St Sycamores (1) | Terre Haute, IN | 4-8 (257) | 5.35 (140) | McKendree (D), E Illinois (F), South Dakota, North Dakota St, Illinois St, Murray St | Indiana (4), Montana (F), S Illinois, North Dakota, South Dakota St, Youngstown St |
| Murray St Racers (2) | Murray, KY | 1-11 (202) | 4.71 (159) | Southeastern (F), Illinois St, South Dakota St, S Illinois, North Dakota | E Tennessee St (F), Georgia St (G), Jacksonville St (G), South Dakota, Youngstown St, N Iowa, Indiana St |
| South Dakota Coyotes (3) | Vemillion, SD | 11-3 (132) | 4.63 (166) | N Colorado (F), Drake (F), Murray St, Illinois St, North Dakota, South Dakota St | Iowa St (4), Lamar (F), North Dakota St, Indiana St, N Iowa, S Illinois |
| North Dakota Fighting Hawks (4) | Grand Forks, ND | 5-7 (197) | 4.58 (169) | Portland St (F), Valparaiso (F), Youngstown St, Indiana St, North Dakota St, South Dakota St | Kansas St (4), Montana (F), N Iowa, S Illinois, South Dakota, Murray St |
| N Iowa Panthers (5) | Cedar Falls, IA | 3-9 (239) | 4.46 (173) | Butler (F), E Washington (F), North Dakota, South Dakota, Murray St, Youngstown St | Wyoming (G), Utah Tech (F), South Dakota St, S Illinois, Illinois St, North Dakota St |
| Illinois St Redbirds (6) | Normal, IL | 10-4 (151) | 4.42 (176) | Morehead St (F), N Alabama (F), North Dakota St, Youngstown St, N Iowa, S Illinois | Oklahoma (4), E Illinois (F), Murray St, South Dakota, Indiana St, South Dakota St |
| Youngstown St Penquins (7) | Youngstown, OH | 4-8 (213) | 4.40 (178) | Mercyhurst (F), Robert Morris (F), South Dakota St, Murray St, S Illinois, Indiana St | Michigan St (4), Towson (F), North Dakota, Illinois St, North Dakota St, N Iowa |
| North Dakota St Bison (8) | Fargo, ND | 14-2 (133) | 4.35 (181) | SEMO (F), South Dakota, S Illinois, Youngstown St, N Iowa, St Thomas (F) | Citadel (F), Tennessee St (F), Illinois St, Indiana St, South Dakota St, North Dakota |
| S Illinois Salukis (9) | Carbondale, IL | 4-8 (201) | 4.04 (197) | Thomas More (D), Indiana St, North Dakota, N Iowa, South Dakota | Purdue (4), Tennessee Martin (F), SEMO (F), North Dakota St, Murray St, Youngstown St, Illinois St |
| South Dakota St Jackrabbits (10) | Brookings, SD | 12-3 (127) | 3.88 (205) | Sacramento St (F), Drake (F), Mercyhurst (F), N Iowa, North Dakota St, Indiana St, Illinois St | Montana St (F), Youngstown St, Murray St, South Dakota , North Dakota St |
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That’s it for this episode. Thank you for reading and, especially, for sharing with others through the website https://bit.ly/2019GCR or Facebook or now on LinkedIn. Please provide comments for how we can improve the blog as we really appreciate the feedback. JoJo and G
