2020 Missouri Valley Football Conference season

2020 Missouri Valley Football Conference season
LeagueNCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision
SportFootball
DurationSeptember 12, 2020
through May 16, 2021
Number of teams10
2021 NFL Draft
Top draft pickTrey Lance, QB, North Dakota State
Picked bySan Francisco 49ers (round 1, pick 3)
Regular season
Champion



Playoff Participants		Missouri State
South Dakota State
North Dakota

North Dakota State
Southern Illinois
Football seasons
← 2019
2021 →
2020 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 2 South Dakota State +^   5 – 1     8 – 2  
No. 12 Missouri State +^   5 – 1     5 – 5  
No. 7 North Dakota ^   4 – 1     5 – 2  
No. 6 North Dakota State ^   5 – 2     7 – 3  
No. 14 Southern Illinois ^   3 – 3     6 – 4  
Northern Iowa   3 – 4     3 – 4  
South Dakota   1 – 3     1 – 3  
Illinois State†   1 – 3     1 – 3  
Western Illinois†   1 – 5     1 – 5  
Youngstown State   1 – 6     1 – 6  
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant
  • Note: Indiana State opted out of the spring season.
    † – Illinois State and Western Illinois opted out of the remainder of the spring season on March 21 and April 5, 2021, respectively.
Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2020 Missouri Valley Football Conference season was the 35th season of college football play for the Missouri Valley Football Conference and part of the 2020-21 NCAA Division I FCS football season. This was the MVFC's first season with 11 teams, as they added North Dakota in the offseason. Although, the conference technically only had 10 of their members play the season, since Indiana State opted out of the Spring season.

South Dakota State made it to their first ever National Championship as the number 1 seed, but lost to Sam Houston State. SDSU was one of three teams to be a conference co-champion, including Missouri State and North Dakota. North Dakota beat Missouri State in the first round of the playoffs, but lost to James Madison in the quarterfinals. North Dakota State and Southern Illinois also made the playoffs. North Dakota State beat Eastern Washington in the first round, but lost to eventual champion Sam Houston State in the quarterfinals to be eliminated before the semifinals for the first time since 2010. Southern Illinois beat Weber State in the first round, but lost to South Dakota State in the quarterfinals.

Previous season

In 2019, North Dakota State won the conference and received the automatic bid to the 2019 playoffs. They would go on to win the National Championship for their 8th in 9 years.

Besides NDSU; South Dakota State, Illinois State, and Northern Iowa made the playoffs as well. South Dakota State was the 7 seed, and lost to Northern Iowa in the second round. Illinois State was unseeded and beat Southeast Missouri State in the first round, beat Central Arkansas in the second round, before losing to North Dakota State in the quarterfinals. Northern Iowa was unseeded as well, and beat San Diego in the first round, beat South Dakota State in the second round, but lost to James Madison in the quarterfinals.

Offseason

Over the offseason, the conference welcomed in their 11th league member, North Dakota. The Fighting Hawks arrive to the Valley from being a FCS Independent. Before that, they were a part of the Big Sky Conference.

Coaching changes

Missouri State

On January 16, 2020, Bobby Petrino was named the new head coach at Missouri State.[1] Petrino replaces former coach Dave Steckel after he was bought out on January 9, 2020.[2]

Youngstown State

On February 7, 2020, Doug Phillips was named the new head coach at Youngstown State.[3] Phillips replaces former coach Bo Pelini who stepped down to take a defensive coordinator position at LSU.[4]

Preseason

MVFC Media Day

Preseason Poll

The annual preseason poll; voted on by conference coaches, athletic directors, and media members.[5]

Predicted finish Team Points
1 North Dakota State 101
2 Northern Iowa 92
3 South Dakota State 91
4 Illinois State 80
5 Southern Illinois 68
6 South Dakota 52
7 North Dakota 39
8 Youngstown State 36
T9 Missouri State 23
T9 Western Illinois 23

Preseason Awards

Individual awards

[6]

Rankings

Main article: 2020 NCAA Division I FCS football 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		 Final
Illinois State STATS Perform 9 7 15 22
AFCA Coaches Not released
Missouri State STATS Perform 19 15 14 12 13
AFCA Coaches Not released 23 23 18 17 13
North Dakota STATS Perform 14 4 3 2 6 6 6 6 7 6
AFCA Coaches Not released 2 5т 6 6 6 6 6
North Dakota State STATS Perform 1 1 6 5 4 2 2 2 2 6 5
AFCA Coaches Not released 4 3 3 3 3 7 5
Northern Iowa STATS Perform 3 5 3 4 10 22 23 24 24
AFCA Coaches Not released 14т 23 20 21 23 24
South Dakota STATS Perform 20т 21
AFCA Coaches Not released
South Dakota State STATS Perform 5 3 8 8 6 4 4 4 4 2 2
AFCA Coaches Not released 7 5т 4 4 4 2 2
Southern Illinois STATS Perform 24 11 10 5 10 18 16 18 14 8
AFCA Coaches Not released 5 12 19 18 17 14 9
Western Illinois STATS Perform
AFCA Coaches Not released
Youngstown State STATS Perform
AFCA Coaches Not released

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

Fall 2020 Games

Some teams played a couple games in the Fall, even though the MVFC schedule was moved to the Spring.

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
September 12 6:00 PM Missouri State No. 5^ Oklahoma Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium • Norman, OK L 0–48   22,700
September 26 7:00 PM Missouri State No. 11 Central Arkansas Estes Stadium • Conway, AR ESPN3 L 20–27   2,500
October 3 2:30 PM No. 11 Central Arkansas No. 1 North Dakota State Fargodome • Fargo, ND ESPN+ W 39–28   471
October 17 7:00 PM No. 11 Central Arkansas Missouri State† Robert W. Plaster Stadium • Springfield, MO ESPN3 L 24–33   5,489
October 30 6:00 PM No. 25 Southeast Missouri State No. 24 Southern Illinois Saluki Stadium • Carbondale, IL ESPN3 W 20–17   N/A
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Week 1

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
February 19 6:00 PM Western Illinois South Dakota DakotaDome • Vermillion, SD  Cancelled   -
February 19 7:00 PM No. 5 South Dakota State No. 3 Northern Iowa UNI-Dome • Cedar Falls, IA ESPN+  SDSU 24–20   2,137
February 20 12:00 PM No. 24 Southern Illinois North Dakota Alerus Center • Grand Forks, ND ESPN+  UND 44–21   3,176
February 21 2:30 PM Youngstown State No. 1 North Dakota State Fargodome • Fargo, ND ESPN+  NDSU 39–28   6,578
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.
Date Bye Week
February 21 No. 9 Illinois State Missouri State

Week 2

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
February 27 11:00 AM No. 5 Northern Iowa No. RV Youngstown State Stambaugh Stadium • Youngstown, OH ESPN+  UNI 21–0   2,128
February 27 12:00 PM No. 1 North Dakota State Southern Illinois Saluki Stadium • Carbondale, IL ESPN+  SIU 38–14   2,400
February 27 12:00 PM No. 3 South Dakota State No. 14 North Dakota Alerus Center • Grand Forks, ND ESPN+  UND 28–17   3,638
February 27 12:00 PM South Dakota No. 7 Illinois State Hancock Stadium • Normal, IL  USD 27–20   1,853
February 27 12:00 PM Missouri State Western Illinois Hanson Field • Macomb, IL ESPN+  MOST 30–24   421
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Week 3

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
March 4 5:00 PM No. 20т South Dakota No. 4 North Dakota Alerus Center • Grand Forks, ND ESPN+  UND 21–10   3,491
March 6 11:00 AM No. 11 Southern Illinois Youngstown State Stambaugh Stadium • Youngstown, OH ESPN+  SIU 30–22   1,901
March 6 2:00 PM No. 6 North Dakota State Missouri State Robert W. Plaster Stadium • Carbondale, IL ESPN+  NDSU 25–0   3,147
March 6 2:00 PM Western Illinois No. 8 South Dakota State Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD  SDSU 45–10   2,347
March 6 4:00 PM No. 15 Illinois State No. 3 Northern Iowa UNI-Dome • Cedar Falls, IA ESPN+  UNI 20–10   1,920
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Week 4

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
March 13 1:00 PM Missouri State No. 21 South Dakota DakotaDome • Vermillion, SD ESPN+  MOST 27–24   2,051
March 13 2:00 PM Youngstown State No. 8 South Dakota State Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD  SDSU 19–17   2,653
March 13 2:30 PM No. 22 Illinois State No. 5 North Dakota State Fargodome • Fargo, ND ESPN+  NDSU 21–13   6,145
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Week 5

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
March 20 11:00 AM South Dakota Youngstown State Stambaugh Stadium • Youngstown, OH  YSU 28–10   2,159
March 20 12:00 PM No. 6 South Dakota State No. 5 Southern Illinois Saluki Stadium • Carbondale, IL ESPN+  SDSU 44–3   2,400
March 20 2:30 PM No. 2 North Dakota No. 4 North Dakota State Fargodome • Fargo, ND ESPN+  NDSU 21–13   9,121
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Week 6

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
March 27 11:00 AM No. 22 Northern Iowa Western Illinois Hanson Field • Macomb, IL ESPN+  UNI 34–20   542
March 27 1:00 PM No. 2 North Dakota State South Dakota DakotaDome • Vermillion, SD ESPN+  Cancelled   -
March 27 2:00 PM Illinois State No. 4 South Dakota State Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD  Canceled   -
March 27 2:00 PM No. 10 Southern Illinois Missouri State Robert W. Plaster Stadium • Springfield, MO ESPN+  MOST 30–27   3,581
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.
Date Bye Week
March 27 Youngstown State

Week 7

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
April 2 6:00 PM No. 23 Northern Iowa South Dakota DakotaDome • Vermillion, SD  Canceled   -
April 3 11:00 AM No. 19 Missouri State No. 6 North Dakota Alerus Center • Grand Forks, ND  Canceled   -
April 3 12:00 PM Illinois State No. 18 Southern Illinois Saluki Stadium • Carbondale, IL ESPN+  Canceled   -
April 3 7:00 PM Youngstown State Western Illinois Hanson Field • Macomb, IL ESPN+  WIU 27–24   679
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.
Date Bye Week
April 3 No. 2 North Dakota State

Week 8

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
April 10 12:00 PM Western Illinois No. 16 Southern Illinois Saluki Stadium • Carbondale, IL  Canceled   -
April 10 12:00 PM No. 6 North Dakota Illinois State Hancock Stadium • Normal, IL  Canceled   -
April 10 2:00 PM Youngstown State No. 15 Missouri State Robert W. Plaster Stadium • Springfield, MO ESPN+  MOST 21–10   2,948
April 10 2:00 PM South Dakota No. 4 South Dakota State Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD  Canceled   -
April 10 4:00 PM No. 2 North Dakota State No. 24 Northern Iowa UNI-Dome • Cedar Falls, IA ESPN+  NDSU 23–20   2,037
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Week 9

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
April 17 11:00 AM No. 6 North Dakota Youngstown State Stambaugh Stadium • Youngstown, OH  Canceled   -
April 17 12:00 PM No. 15 Southeastern Louisiana No. 18 Southern Illinois Saluki Stadium • Carbondale, IL ESPN+ W 55–48   2,400
April 17 1:00 PM Western Illinois South Dakota DakotaDome • Vermillion, SD  Canceled   -
April 17 1:00 PM Illinois State No. 14 Missouri State Robert W. Plaster Stadium • Springfield, MO  Canceled   -
April 17 2:30 PM No. 4 South Dakota State No. 2 North Dakota State Fargodome • Fargo, ND ESPN+  SDSU 27–17   8,762
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.
Date Bye Week
April 17 Northern Iowa

Postseason

See also: 2020 NCAA Division I FCS football season § NCAA Division I playoff bracket

In 2020, five teams made the FCS playoffs. South Dakota State (No. 1) was the only seeded team. Missouri State, North Dakota, North Dakota State, and Southern Illinois were all unseeded. Below are the games in which they played.

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

All times Central time. Tournament seedings in parentheses

First round

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
April 24 2:00 PM Holy Cross No. 2 (1) South Dakota State Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD ESPN3 W 31–3   2,998
April 24 2:30 PM No. 9 Eastern Washington No. 6 North Dakota State Fargodome • Fargo, ND ESPN3 W 42–20   3,587
April 24 3:00 PM No. 12 Missouri State No. 7 North Dakota Alerus Center • Grand Forks, ND ESPN3  UND 44–10   3,074
April 24 3:00 PM No. 14 Southern Illinois No. 3 Weber State Stewart Stadium • Ogden, UT ESPN3 W 34–31   4,033
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Quarterfinals

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
May 2 2:00 PM No. 6 North Dakota State No. 4 (2) Sam Houston State Bowers Stadium • Huntsville, TX ESPN L 20–24   4,984
May 2 5:00 PM No. 6 North Dakota No. 1 (2) James Madison Bridgeforth Stadium • Harrisburg, VA ESPN2 L 21–34   5,854
May 2 8:00 PM No. 14 Southern Illinois No. 2 (1) South Dakota State Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD ESPN2  SDSU 31–26   3,547
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Semifinals

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
May 8 11:00 AM No. 5 Delaware No. 2 (1) South Dakota State Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD ESPN W 33–3   4,527
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

National Championship

See also: 2021 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game
Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
May 16 1:00 PM No. 4 (2) Sam Houston State No. 2 (1) South Dakota State Toyota Stadium • Frisco, TX ABC L 21–23   7,840
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

MVFC records vs other conferences

2020-21 records against non-conference foes:

Awards and honors

Player of the week honors

Week Offensive Defensive Special Teams Freshman
Player Position Team Player Position Team Player Position Team Player Position Team
Week 1 (Feb. 22) [7] Pierre Strong Jr. RB SDSU Devon Krzanowski LB UND Jake Reinholz PK NDSU Mark Gronowski QB SDSU
Week 2 (Feb. 28) [8] Nic Baker QB SIU Kevin Ellis DE MOST Brady Schutt P USD Josh Navratil LB UND
Week 3 (Mar. 7) [9] Mark Gronowski QB SDSU Spencer Cuvelier LB UNI Garret Wegner P NDSU Jaleel McLaughlin RB YSU
Week 4 (Mar. 14) [10] Tommy Schuster QB UND Montrae Braswell CB MOST Cole Frahm PK SDSU Cam Miller QB NDSU
Week 5 (Mar. 21) [11] Hunter Luepke FB NDSU Grant Dixon LB YSU Jose Pizano K MOST Isaiah Davis RB SDSU
Week 6 (Mar. 28) [12] Celdon Manning RB MOST Riley Van Wyhe LB UNI Omar Brown DB UNI Matt Struck QB MOST
Week 7 (Apr. 4) [13] Tony Tate WR WIU Michael Lawson DB WIU Jaleel McLaughlin RB YSU
Week 8 (Apr. 11) [14] Christian Watson WR NDSU Tylar Wiltz LB MOST Garret Wegner P NDSU Grant Dixon LB YSU
Week 9 (Apr. 18) [15] Javon Williams Jr. RB SIU Adam Bock LB SDSU Cole Frahm PK SDSU Mark Gronowski QB SDSU

Players of the Year

On April 22, 2021, the Missouri Valley Football Conference released their Players of the Year and All-Conference Honors.[16]

Offensive Player of the Year

Defensive Player of the Year

Newcomer of the Year

  • Mark Gronowski, QB (Fr, South Dakota State)

Freshman of the Year

  • Mark Gronowski, QB (South Dakota State)

Coach of the Year

All-Conference Teams

All-Newcomer Team

Award Player School Position Year
All-Newcomer Team Offense Carson Camp South Dakota QB Fr.
Mark Gronowski South Dakota State QB Fr.
Tommy Schuster North Dakota QB Fr.
Pha'Leak Brown Illinois State RB Fr.
Isaiah Davis South Dakota State RB Fr.
Celdon Manning Missouri State RB Fr.
Jaleel McLaughlin Youngstown State RB Jr.
Bo Belquist North Dakota WR Fr.
Dallas Daniels Western Illinois WR Jr.
Quan Hampton Northern Iowa WR Jr.
Kyle Fourtenbary Northern Iowa TE GS
Second Team Defense Eli Mostaert North Dakota State DT Fr.
Brayden Thomas North Dakota State DE Sr.
Adam Bock South Dakota State LB Fr.
Grant Dixon Youngstown State LB Sr.
Devon Krzanowski North Dakota LB Jr.
Montrae Braswell Missouri State DB So.
Michael Lawson Western Illinois DB Sr.
Kyriq McDonald Missouri State DB Jr.
Benny Sapp III Northern Iowa DB Jr.
Myles Harden South Dakota CB Fr.
Keyon Martin Youngstown State CB Fr.

Source:[17]

National Awards

On April 28, 2021, STATS Perform released their list of finalists for the Walter Payton Award, Buck Buchanan Award, and the Jerry Rice Award, respectively.

Walter Payton Award
The Walter Payton Award is given to the best FCS offensive player. Here are the MVFC finalists:[18]

There were no MVFC finalists for the Buck Buchanan Award.

Jerry Rice Award
The Jerry Rice Award is given to the best FCS freshman player. Here are the MVFC finalists:[19]

All-Americans

AP[20]
1st Team 		AP
2nd Team 		AFCA[21]
1st Team
 AFCA
2nd Team 		STATS[22]
1st Team
 STATS
2nd Team 		ADA
[23] 		HERO
[24]
Avante Cox, WR, Southern Illinois Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY
Christian Watson, WR, North Dakota State Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY
Cordell Volson, OL, North Dakota State Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY
Don Gardner, DB, South Dakota State Green tickY Green tickY
Drew Himmelman, OL, Illinois State Green tickY Green tickY
Garret Greenfield, OL, South Dakota State Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY
Garrett Wegner, P, North Dakota State Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY
Hunter Luepke, FB, North Dakota State Green tickY
James Caesar, DB, Southern Illinois Green tickY
James Kaczor, LB, North Dakota State Green tickY Green tickY
Jared Brinkman, DL, Northern Iowa Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY
Javon Williams Jr, WR, Southern Illinois Green tickY
Logan Backhaus, LB, South Dakota State Green tickY Green tickY
Mason McCormick, OL, South Dakota State Green tickY
Nathan Nguon, OL, North Dakota Green tickY
Otis Weah, RB, North Dakota Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY
Pierre Strong Jr., RB, South Dakota State Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY
Qua Brown, DB, Southern Illinois Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY
Ross Kennelly, LS, North Dakota State Green tickY
Spencer Waege, DL, North Dakota State Green tickY

Home attendance

Team Stadium Capacity Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Game 4 Game 5 Game 6 Total Average % of Capacity
Illinois State Hancock Stadium 13,391 1,853 1,853 3,706 1,853 13.8%
Missouri State Robert W. Plaster Stadium 17,500 5,489† 3,147 3,581 2,948 15,165 3,791 21.7%
North Dakota Alerus Center 12,283 3,176 3,638† 3,491 3,074‡ 13,379 3,344 27.2%
North Dakota State Fargodome 18,700 471 6,578 6,145 9,121† 8,762 3,587‡ 34,664 5,777 30.9%
Northern Iowa UNI-Dome 16,324 2,137† 1,920 1,608 2,037 7,702 1,925 11.8%
South Dakota DakotaDome 9,100 2,051† 2,051 2,051 22.5%
South Dakota State Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium 19,340 2,347 2,653 2,998‡ 3,547‡ 4,527†‡ 16,072 3,214 16.6%
Southern Illinois Saluki Stadium 15,000 0 2,400 2,400 2,400 2,400 9,600 1,920 12.8%
Western Illinois Hanson Field 17,128 421 658 542 679 2,300 575 3.4%
Youngstown State Stambaugh Stadium 20,630 2,128 1,901 2,159 6,188 2,062 9.9%

Bold - Exceed capacity
†Season High
‡FCS Playoff Game
Given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, attendance in all venues were severely limited. FCS Playoffs games were limited to 25% capacity as determined by the NCAA.[25]

2021 NFL Draft

Main article: 2021 NFL draft

The following list includes all MVFC players who were drafted in the 2021 NFL draft.

Player Position School Draft
Round 		Round
Pick 		Overall
Pick 		Team Notes
Trey Lance QB North Dakota State 1 3 3 San Francisco 49ers from Houston via Miami
Dillon Radunz OT North Dakota State 2 21 53 Tennessee Titans
Spencer Brown OT Northern Iowa 3 29 93 Buffalo Bills
Elerson Smith DE Northern Iowa 4 11 116 New York Giants

Undrafted Free Agents

Player Position School Team
Cade Johnson WR South Dakota State Seattle Seahawks
Romeo McKnight DE Illinois State Cleveland Browns
Travis Toivonen WR North Dakota Seattle Seahawks
Christian Uphoff DB Illinois State Green Bay Packers

Source:[26]

Head coaches

Through May 16, 2021

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 12 85–53 (.616) 85–53 (.616) 54–38 (.587) 2 5 7–5 (.583) 0
Missouri State Bobby Petrino[a] 1 124–61 (.670) 5–5 (.500) 5–1 (.833) 1 1 0–1 (.000) 0
North Dakota Bubba Schweigert[b] 7 64–55 (.538) 42–34 (.553) 4–1 (.800) 0 3 1–3 (.250) 0
North Dakota State Matt Entz 2 21–3 (.875) 21–3 (.875) 13–2 (.867) 1 2 2–1 (.667) 1
Northern Iowa Mark Farley 20 162–87 (.651) 162–87 (.651) 102–49 (.675) 7 12 16–12 (.571) 0
South Dakota Bob Nielson[c] 5 208–109–1 (.656) 22–29 (.431) 15–21 (.417) 0 1 1–1 (.500) 2
South Dakota State John Stiegelmeier[d] 24 174–104 (.626) 174–104 (.626) 71–31 (.696) 2 10 11–10 (.524) 0
Southern Illinois Nick Hill 5 23–32 (.418) 23–32 (.418) 13–25 (.342) 0 1 1–1 (.500) 0
Western Illinois Jared Elliott 3 7–2 (.778) 7–22 (.241) 6–18 (.250) 0 0 0–0 (–) 0
Youngstown State Doug Phillips 1 1–6 (.143) 1–6 (.143) 1–6 (.143) 0 0 0–0 (–) 0
  1. ^ Bobby Petrino coached in the FBS from 2003-06 and 2015-18 for Louisville, 2008-11 for Arkansas, as well as in 2013 for Western Kentucky.
  2. ^ Bubba Schweigert coached Minnesota Duluth of NCAA Division II from 2004-07. He also coached North Dakota while they were a part of the Big Sky Conference from 2014-17 and were independents in 2018 and 2019.
  3. ^ Bob Nielson coached Western Illinois from 2013-15, which included a run in the playoffs that ended in the second round. Nielson also coached Minnesota-Duluth from 1999-2003 and 2008-12, that second stint included five consecutive NCAA Division II playoff appearances highlighted by 2 National Titles. In the first stint at MN-Duluth included his first Division II playoff appearance. Nielson also coached Wisconsin-Eau Claire from 1996-98 that included one NCAA Division III playoff run that ended in the semifinals. Before that, he coached Wartburg from 1991-95, which included two Division III playoff runs as well. His first head coaching job was at Ripon from 1989-90.
  4. ^ John Stiegelmeier has coached South Dakota State since 1997, when the school was still part of NCAA Division II. While in Division II, the school did not achieve any playoff appearances.

References

  1. ^ "Petrino Named Missouri State Head Football Coach". missouristatebears.com. Missouri State Bears Athletics. January 16, 2020. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  2. ^ "Steckel, Missouri State Reach Separation Agreement". missouristatebears.com. Missouri State Bears Athletics. January 9, 2020. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  3. ^ "Doug Phillips Named Youngstown State Head Football Coach". ysusports.com. Youngstown State Penguins Athletics. February 7, 2020. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  4. ^ "YSU's Bo Pelini Steps Down to Take LSU Defensive Coordinator Position". ysusports.com. Youngstown State Penguins Athletics. January 27, 2020. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  5. ^ "North Dakota State Picked to Repeat as MVFC Champion". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. February 3, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  6. ^ "2021 MVFC Spring Preseason Poll and Team" (PDF). valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. February 3, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  7. ^ "Valley Football -- Players of the Week (Feb. 22)". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. February 22, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
  8. ^ "Valley Football - Players of the Week (Feb. 28)". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. February 28, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
  9. ^ "Valley Football - Players of the Week (March 7)". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. March 7, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
  10. ^ "Valley Football Players of the Week (March 14)". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. March 14, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
  11. ^ "Valley Football - Players of the Week (March 21)". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. March 21, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
  12. ^ "Valley Football - Players of the Week (March 28)". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. March 28, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
  13. ^ "Valley Football - Players of the Week (April 4)". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. April 4, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
  14. ^ "Valley Football - Players of the Week (April 11)". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. April 11, 2021. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
  15. ^ "Valley Football - Players of the Week (April 18)". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. April 18, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
  16. ^ "2020-21 MVFC All-Conference Teams". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. April 22, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
  17. ^ "All-Newcomer Team" (PDF). valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. April 23, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
  18. ^ "FCS finalists announced for 2020-21 Walter Payton Award, other top honors". ncaa.com. NCAA. April 20, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
  19. ^ "UIW's Cameron Ward Wins 10th Jerry Rice Award as FCS Freshman of the Year". theanalyst.com. STATS Perform. May 3, 2021. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
  20. ^ "2020-21 Associated Press FCS All-America Team". fcsinsider.com. FCS Insider. May 13, 2021. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
  21. ^ "AFCA 2020-21 FCS All-America Team". fcsinsider.com. FCS Insider. May 14, 2021. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
  22. ^ "2020-21 Stats Perform FCS All-America Team announced". ncaa.com. NCAA. May 10, 2021. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
  23. ^ "FCS ADA Names 2020-21 Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year; All-America Team". nacda.com. FCS ADA. May 13, 2021. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
  24. ^ "FCS: 2020-21 HERO Sports All-American Team". herosports.com. HERO Sports. May 19, 2021. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
  25. ^ "Spring FCS Playoff Games will have 25% Max Capacity". herosports.com. Hero Sports. February 24, 2021. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  26. ^ "Top undrafted rookie free agents following the 2021 NFL Draft". nfl.com. NFL. May 1, 2021. Retrieved May 18, 2023.