It’s Illinois State vs. #2 Montana State for the national championship on Monday, Jan. 5 (ESPN, 6:30 PM CT).  It's the second title-game appearance for the Redbirds and 21^st for an MVFC member.  A league school has been in the FCS title game every year since 2011 (an FCS record 15-straight appearances).

Title Game Notes (PDF)
 

Saturday, Nov. 29 - First Round
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 - Second Round
South Dakota (9-4) at #6 Mercer (9-2)	USD, 47-0
Villanova (10-2) at #5 Lehigh (12-0)	Nova, 14-7
Illinois State (9-4) at #1 NDSU (12-0)	ILS, 29-28
North Dakota (8-5) at #4 Tarleton St. (11-1)	TSU, 31-13
Abilene Christian (9-4) at #7 SFA (10-2)	SFA, 41-34
SDSU (9-4) at #3 Montana (11-1)	UM, 50-29
Yale (9-2) at #2 Montana State (10-2)	MSU, 21-13
Rhode Island (11-2) at #8 UC Davis (8-3)	UCD, 47-26
Friday, Dec. 12 - Quarterfinal
#7 SFA (11-2) at #2 Montana State (11-2)	MSU, 42-28
Saturday, Dec. 13 - Quarterfinals
Villanova (11-2) at #4 Tarleton State (12-1)	Nova, 26-21
South Dakota (10-4) at #3 Montana (12-1)	UM, 52-22
Illinois State (10-4) at #8 UC Davis (9-3)	ILS, 42-31
Saturday, Dec. 20 - Semifinals
#3 Montana (13-1) at #2 Montana State (12-2)	MSU, 48-23
Illinois State (11-4) at Villanova (12-2)	ILS, 30-14
Monday, Jan. 5 - Championship
Illinois State (12-4) vs. #2 Montana St. (13-2) [ESPN]	6:30 PM CT
FirstBank Stadium • Nashville, Tenn.

MVFC ALL-CONFERENCE NEWS
2025 All-Conference Team -- https://bit.ly/43Xq45O
2025 All-Newcomer Team -- https://bit.ly/3KliPhu
2025 Scholar-Athlete Team -- https://bit.ly/48H2mwd

MVFC ALL-AMERICA TEAMS
Stats Perform -- Click Here
Associated Press -- Click Here
AFCA -- Click Here
Walter Camp -- Click Here
FCS Football Central -- Click Here
FCS ADA — Jan. 2
Phil Steele — TBA


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

Big Sky (UC Davis, Montana, Montana St.)	6-2	0.750
MVFC (ILS, UND, NDSU, USD, SDSU, YSU)	8-5	0.615
Coastal (UNH, Rhode Island, Villanova)	4-3	0.571
United (Abilene Christian, Tarleton State)	2-2	0.500
Ivy (Harvard, Yale)	1-2	0.333
Southland (Lamar, SE Louisiana, SFA)	1-3	0.250
Patriot (Lehigh)	0-1	0.000
Southern (Mercer)	0-1	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

Against the Rest -- It’s Illinois State vs. Montana State for the national championship on Monday, Jan. 5.  The MVFC is 34-25 all-time in the playoffs against teams from the Big Sky Conference.

vs. Pioneer Football League	6-0	1.000
vs. Mid-Eastern Athletic	4-0	1.000
vs. Northeast Conference	3-0	1.000
vs. SWAC	1-0	1.000
vs. OVC/Big South*	25-3	0.893
vs. United Athletic	2-1	0.667
vs. Southland Conference	17-10	0.630
vs. CAA Football	27-16	0.628
vs. Patriot League	5-3	0.625
vs. Big Sky Conference	34-25	0.576
vs. Southern Conference	15-14	0.517
vs. Intra-Conference	21-21	0.500
vs. Independents	3-3	0.500
vs. Ivy League	0-1	0.000
TOTAL	163-97	0.627

*OVC/Big South Association and pre-Association records

Title Town -- The MVFC has 14 total titles, the most by an FCS league.  Below data includes 2025.

Title-Game Appearances, Since 2011
17 -- Missouri Valley Football Conference (NDSU-11, SDSU,-3 ILS-2, YSU-1)
5 -- Big Sky
4 -- CAA
3 -- Southland
1 -- OVC

All-Time Title-Game Appearances, By Conference
21 - Missouri Valley Football (14 titles)
18 - Big Sky Conference (6 titles)
16 - Southern Conference (8 titles)
13 - CAA Football (6 titles)
12 - Independents (9 titles)*
9 - Southland Conference (2 titles)
5 - Ohio Valley Conference (2 titles)
*includes 5 combined trips by YSU (4) and SIU (1), with 4 FCS titles when they played as independents.

Title Games, Consecutive Years -- Counting this year, an MVFC school has appeared in an FCS-record 15-straight title games (every year since 2011).  The CAA had a streak of five-straight appearances  from 2006-10.  A Big Sky school is making a third-straight championship trip.

15 -- MVFC (2011, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
5 -- CAA (2006, 07, 08, 09, 10)
4 -- OVC (1979, 80, 81, 82)
4 -- SoCon (1998, 99, 00, 01)
3 -- Big Sky (2023, 24, 25)
3 -- Big Sky (2008, 09, 10)
3 -- Big Sky (1994, 95, 96)
3 -- Southern (1991, 92, 93)
3 -- SoCon (2005, 06, 07)

Road Warriors -- Illinois State picked up its fourth road win of the 2025 playoffs with its victory at Villanova. All-time, MVFC teams have a combined 44-67 road record in playoff games. In the 13-year history of the 24-team bracket (since 2013), In that span, Illinois State has more playoff road wins (9) than any other FCS team.  Only four times in MVFC history has the Conference had two playoff road wins on the same date (11/29/2014; 12/7/2019; and twice this season). Counting the regular season, Illinois State has an MVFC-record nine road wins in 2025.

Most Playoff Road Wins, Same Season
6 -- 2025 (UND, South Dakota, Illinois State -- 4)
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)

Most Road Wins, 24-Team Bracket Era (2013-pres.)
9 -- Illinois State
5 -- South Dakota State
3 -- North Dakota
3 -- Kennesaw State
3 -- New Hampshire

MVFC, Big Sky Dominate -- 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. They’ll match that record in 2025 as the two leagues have combined for 14 of the 22 previous playoff wins this year.

MVFC Members for the Title -- The MVFC is 14-6 in previous title-game appearances, although Youngstown State (1991, 1992, 1993, 1994) and Southern Illinois (1983) both played in the championship prior to joining the league, recording a combined 4-1 record in those five championship games.

Illinois State (0-1):  2014-L, 2025-
NDSU (10-1):  2011-W, 2012-W, 2013-W, 2014-W, 2015-W, 2017-W, 2018-W, 2019-W, 2021-W, 2022-L, 2024-W
UNI (0-1):  2005-L
SDSU (2-1):  2020-L; 2022-W; 2023-W
Southern Illinois (1-0):  *1983-W
Western Kentucky (1-0):  2002-W
Youngstown State (4-3):  *1991-W, *1992-L, *1993-W, *1994-W, 1997-W, 1999-L, 2016-L
*indicates title game trips prior to MVFC membership

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 (8-5 overall; 1-1 intraleague)

MVFC-Big Sky Challenge Series -- In an effort to publicize current matchups and promote future non-conference scheduling between two of the premier FCS conferences, the MVFC and the Big Sky Conference announced a Challenge Series between the two leagues before the 2017 season. (Only regular-season contests count in the series standings.)  The MVFC claimed the 2025 series with a 5-2 advantage.  The MVFC has never lost a season series in the Challenge.

Series History (2017-25)
2017 (MVFC Wins, 5-3) | Playoffs: Big Sky 1-0
2018 (MVFC Wins, 5-3) | Playoffs: MVFC 2-1
2019 (MVFC Wins, 6-4) | Playoffs: MVFC 1-0
20-21 (COVID) | Playoffs: MVFC 2-0
2021 (MVFC Wins, 4-2) | Playoffs: MVFC 3-2
2022 (Series Tied, 3-3) | Playoffs: MVFC 2-1
2023 (MVFC Wins, 4-1) | Playoffs: Tied 3-3
2024 (MVFC Wins, 2-1) | Playoffs: MVFC 3-2
2025 (MVFC Wins, 5-2) | Playoffs: Big Sky 2-1

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 this year, an MVFC member has reached the FCS semifinals 24 times in the past 15 seasons (and 38 times overall).  The MVFC is 115-53 (.684) since 2010 in the playoffs -- which includes 19 intra-conference games (meaning the league is 96-34 against teams from other leagues for a phenomenal .738 winning percentage).

7 MVFC Teams Ranked -- Seven Missouri Valley Football teams are ranked in the Stats Perform and AFCA Coaches Top 25 polls.  Seven or more MVFC teams have been ranked in the same week 40 times in league history, including 11 times this season.  

All-Time Semifinal Trips -- Here’s a look at the leaders, by conference, since 1978 (first year of the playoffs).

38 - Missouri Valley Football Conference
38 - Big Sky Conference
33 - CAA Football
29 - Southern Conference
20 - Southland Conference