Five teams represent the Missouri Valley Football Conference in the Round of 16 in the NCAA Division I Football Championship this weekend.

Playoff Notebook (PDF)

MVFC ALL-CONFERENCE NEWS
2025 All-Conference Team -- https://bit.ly/43Xq45O
2025 All-Newcomer Team -- https://bit.ly/3KliPhu
 

Saturday, Nov. 29
Illinois State (8-4) at Southeastern La. (9-3)	ILS, 21-3
Central Conn. St. (8-4) at Rhode Island (10-2)	URI, 27-19
Harvard (9-1) at Villanova (9-2)	Nova, 52-7
North Dakota (7-5) at Tennessee Tech (11-1)	UND, 31-6
New Hampshire (8-4) at South Dakota State (8-4)	SDSU, 41-3
Drake (8-3) at South Dakota (8-4)	USD, 38-17
Lamar University (8-4) at Abilene Christian (8-4)	ACU, 38-20
Yale (8-2) at Youngstown State (8-4)	Yale, 43-42
Saturday, Dec. 6
South Dakota (9-4) at #6 Mercer (9-2) [ESPN+]	11 am CT
Villanova (10-2) at #5 Lehigh (12-0) [ESPN+]	11 am CT
Illinois State (9-4) at #1 NDSU (12-0) [ESPN+]	12 pm CT
North Dakota (8-5) at #4 Tarleton St. (11-1) [ESPN+]	12 pm CT
Abilene Christian (9-4) at #7 SFA (10-2) [ESPN+]	12 pm CT
SDSU (9-4) at #3 Montana (11-1) [ESPN+]	1 pm CT
Yale (9-2) at #2 Montana State (10-2) [ESPN+]	1 pm CT
Rhode Island (11-2) at #8 UC Davis (8-3) [ESPN2]	9 pm CT

Playoff Ledger, By Conference -- Here are the league records in this year’s NCAA Division I Football Championship:
 

League Records (Selections), 2025 Playoffs
United (Abilene Christian, Tarleton State)	1-0	1.000
MVFC (ILS, UND, NDSU, USD, SDSU, YSU)	4-1	0.800
Coastal (UNH, Rhode Island, Villanova)	2-1	0.667
Ivy (Harvard, Yale)	1-1	0.500
Big Sky (UC Davis, Montana, Montana St.)	0-0	0.000
Patriot (Lehigh)	0-0	0.000
Southern (Mercer)	0-0	0.000
Northeast (Central Connecticut State)	0-1	0.000
OVC/Big South (Tennessee Tech)	0-1	0.000
Pioneer (Drake)	0-1	0.000
Southland (Lamar, SE Louisiana, SFA)	0-2	0.000

Against the Rest -- The Illinois State-NDSU matchup on Dec. 6 will mark the 21st time that two league teams faced one another in the NCAA Division I Football Championship.

MVFC vs. Other Leagues in the Playoffs
vs. Pioneer Football League -- 6-0 (1.000)
vs. Mid-Eastern Athletic -- 4-0 (1.000)
vs. Northeast Conference -- 3-0 (1.000)
vs. United Athletic -- 2-0 (1.000)
vs. SWAC -- 1-0 (1.000)
vs. OVC/Big South* -- 25-3 (.893)
vs. Southland Conference -- 17-10 (.630)
vs. Patriot League -- 5-3 (.625)
vs. CAA Football -- 26-16 (.619)
vs. Big Sky Conference -- 33-23 (.589)
vs. Southern Conference -- 14-14 (.500)
vs. Intra-Conference -- 20-20 (.500)
vs. Independents -- 3-3 (.500)
vs. Ivy League -- 0-1 (.000)
TOTAL -- 159-93 (.631)
*OVC/Big South Association and pre-Association records

In the Field of 24 -- The MVFC matched an FCS (and MVFC) record with six playoff bids in 2025, marking the 11th time the league has had four or more playoff teams in the same season.  

MVFC in the Playoffs (Most Total Bids, All Time)
6 -- 2021, 2023, 2025
5 -- 2014, 2015, 2017, 2020
4 -- 2003, 2016, 2019, 2024
3 -- 2006, 2010, 2012, 2018, 2022
16 teams (1986-2009, 2020); 20 (2010-12); 24 (2013-present)

Leagues With Six Bids -- Only four times in FCS history has a Conference received six playoff bids in the same season, all since 2018)

Leagues With Six Playoff Teams (Notes)
2018 -- CAA (3-6 overall; 1-1 intraleague; Maine reached semis)
2021 -- MVFC (7-5 overall; 2-2 intraleague; FCS title - NDSU)
2023 -- MVFC (10-5 overall; 1-1 intraleague; FCS title - SDSU)
2025 -- MVFC (4-1 overall)

7 MVFC Teams Ranked -- Seven MVFC teams are ranked in the Stats Perform and AFCA Coaches Top 25 polls.  NDSU is No. 1 in both polls. Seven or more MVFC teams have been ranked in the same week 40 times in league history, including 11 times this season.  Six or more MVFC teams have been ranked in the same top-25 poll 95 times.  A minimum of six MVFC teams have been ranked in the Top 25 for 13-straight weeks this season (every week, but the preseason).

Road Warriors -- MVFC teams will play four road playoff games on Saturday, Dec. 6. MVFC teams have a combined 40-64 road record in playoff games.  Only three times in MVFC history has the Conference had two playoff road wins on the same date (11/29/2014; 12/7/2019; and last weekend).

Most Playoff Road Wins, Same Season
4 -- 2014 (Indiana State, SDSU, Illinois State -- 2)
3 -- 2005 (Southern Illinois, UNI -- 2)
3 -- 2019 (UNI, Illinois State -- 2)
3 -- 2021 (Southern Illinois, SDSU -- 2)
2 -- 9 times, including 11/29/2025

In the Round of 16 -- Since the playoff bracket expanded to 20 teams in 2010 (3 years) and 24 in 2013 (13 years), the MVFC has had a minimum of two teams in the Round of 16 every year.  

5 - 2014, 2020, 2023, 2025
4 - 2015, 2017, 2019, 2024
3 - 2012, 2016, 2018, 2021
2 - 2010, 2011, 2013, 2022

In the Round of 8 -- Since the bracket expanded to 20 teams in 2010 (3 years) and 24 in 2013 (12 years prior to 2025), the MVFC has had a minimum of two teams in the quarters 13 times.

4 - 2020-21
3 - 2015, 2016, 2019, 2023, 2024
2 - 2011, 2012, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022
1 - 2010, 2013

MVFC vs. MVFC in Playoffs -- In 2014 (Illinois State/NDSU) and in 2022 (NDSU/SDSU), the league played an all-MVFC FCS title game -- the only two times that’s happened in FCS history.

Year -- Score (Round) -- Tourney Seed listed
2002 -- WKU 31, at #2 W. Illinois 28 (Quarters)
2006 -- at YSU 28, Illinois State 21 (Quarters)
2012 -- at #1 NDSU 28, SDSU 3 (2nd Round)
2014 -- at #5 Illinois State 41, UNI 21 (2nd Round)
2014 -- at #2 NDSU 27, SDSU 24 (2nd Round)
2014 -- #2 NDSU 29, #5 Illinois State 27 (Finals)
2015 -- at #2 Illinois State 36, WIU 19 (2nd Round)
2015 -- at #3 NDSU 23, UNI 13 (Quarters)
2016 -- at #1 NDSU 36, #8 SDSU 10 (Quarters)
2017 -- at #5 SDSU 37, UNI 22 (2nd Round)
2018 -- at #1 NDSU 44, #5 SDSU 21 (Semis)
2019 -- UNI 13, at #7 SDSU 10 (2nd Round)
2019 -- at #1 NDSU 9, Illinois State 3 (Quarters)
20-21 -- at UND 44, Missouri St. 10 (Round of 16)
20-21 -- at #2 SDSU 31, Southern Illinois 26 (Quarters)
2021 -- Southern Illinois 22, S. Dakota 10 (1st Rd.)
2021 -- at #2 NDSU 38, Southern Illinois 7 (2nd)
2022 -- #1 SDSU 45, #3 NDSU 21 (Finals)
2023 -- NDSU 45, at #3 South Dakota 17 (Quarters)
2024 -- at #2 NDSU 28, #3 SDSU 21 (Semis)

MVFC, Big Sky Dominate in 2024 -- The MVFC (9) and Big Sky (6) accounted for 15 of the 23 playoff wins in 2024 - that matched a record win total by two leagues, also accomplished in 2016 and in 2023.

2024:  Another Title -- Last season, the MVFC extended its FCS-record to 14-straight title-game appearances as NDSU defeated No. 1 seed Montana State for the crown.  Notably, the 2024 season marked the 20th title appearance for a league team. The league is 14-6 in title games, although Youngstown State (1991, 1992, 1993, 1994) and Southern Illinois (1983) both played in the championship prior to joining the league.  All 20 of the league’s title-game appearances have occurred since 1997.

MVFC Playoff Dominance -- The league has established itself as a leader among FCS conferences.  Counting last year, an MVFC member has reached the FCS semifinals 23 times in the past 14 seasons (and 37 times overall).  The MVFC has had two semifinal teams eight times since 2014 (and three in 2024).  The MVFC is 107-48 (.690) since 2010 in the playoffs -- which includes 18 intra-conference games (meaning the league is 89-30 against teams from other leagues for a phenomenal .748 winning percentage).