Missouri Valley Football Conference facts for kids
The Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) is a sports group for 10 colleges and universities in the Midwestern United States. These schools play football games against each other every year. The team that wins the conference championship gets to play in the NCAA Division I Football Championship. This is a big tournament for teams in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), which is the second highest level of college football.
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History of the MVFC
The MVFC has a bit of a tricky history. It is connected to two other sports groups: the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) and the Association of Mid-Continent Universities (AMCU). The AMCU is now called The Summit League.
Football Changes in the 1980s
Back in 1984, both the AMCU and MVC had football teams. All the AMCU football schools were in a division called NCAA Division I-AA. This division is now known as the FCS. The MVC had schools playing in both Division I-A (now called the Football Bowl Subdivision or FBS) and Division I-AA.
After the 1984 season, the AMCU stopped having football. The MVC also said it would stop football after the 1985 season.
The Gateway Conference Begins
In 1985, something new happened. All the football teams from the AMCU that were still playing, plus the MVC's Division I-AA teams, joined a new group. This group was called the Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference. Before this, the Gateway Conference only had women's sports. Many of the schools in the Gateway Conference were also members of the MVC.
Gateway Becomes MVFC
In 1992, the women's sports part of the Gateway Conference joined with the MVC. This meant the Gateway Conference became a group just for football. It then changed its name to the Gateway Football Conference.
Later, in 2008, the Gateway Football Conference changed its name again. It became the Missouri Valley Football Conference, which is its name today. The MVFC and the MVC are still separate groups by law. However, they share the same offices in St. Louis.
Teams in the MVFC Today
Here are the schools that are currently part of the Missouri Valley Football Conference:
- Illinois State University
- Indiana State University
- Missouri State University
- North Dakota State University
- University of Northern Iowa
- University of South Dakota
- South Dakota State University
- Southern Illinois University Carbondale (often called "Southern Illinois")
- Western Illinois University
- Youngstown State University
Past Teams
Two schools used to be part of the MVFC when it was known as the Gateway Conference. They later moved to other sports groups.
- Eastern Illinois University
- This school was a member from 1985 to 1995.
- It then left to join the Ohio Valley Conference.
- Western Kentucky University
- This school was a member from 2001 to 2006.
- Its football program moved up to the top level, Division I FBS.
- Western Kentucky was already a member of the Sun Belt Conference for other sports. It later played football in the Sun Belt too.
- Now, Western Kentucky plays football in Conference USA.
See also
In Spanish: Missouri Valley Football Conference para niños
