Illinois State (at UC Davis) and South Dakota (at Montana) represent the Missouri Valley Football Conference in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Division I Football Championship on Saturday, Dec. 13.
Playoff Notebook (PDF)
| Friday, Dec. 12 - Quarterfinal |
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| #7 SFA (11-2) at #2 Montana State (11-2) [ESPN] |
8:00 PM |
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| Saturday, Dec. 13 - Quarterfinals |
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| Villanova (11-2) at #4 Tarleton State (12-1) [ESPN] |
11:00 AM |
| South Dakota (10-4) at #3 Montana (12-1) [ABC] |
2:30 PM |
| Illinois State (10-4) at #8 UC Davis (9-3) [ESPN+] |
4:00 PM |
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| *tournament seed indicated |
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Playoff Ledger, By Conference
Here are the league records in this year’s NCAA Division I Football Championship:
League Records (Selections), 2025 Playoffs
| Big Sky (UC Davis, Montana, Montana St.) |
3-0 |
1.000 |
| United (Abilene Christian, Tarleton State) |
2-1 |
0.667 |
| MVFC (ILS, UND, NDSU, USD, SDSU, YSU) |
6-4 |
0.600 |
| Coastal (UNH, Rhode Island, Villanova) |
3-2 |
0.600 |
| Southland (Lamar, SE Louisiana, SFA) |
1-2 |
0.333 |
| Ivy (Harvard, Yale) |
1-2 |
0.333 |
| 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 -- Illinois State and South Dakota will play road games at Big Sky Conference sites on Saturday. The MVFC has an all-time record of 33-24 in the playoffs against schools from the Big Sky.
| vs. Other Leagues in the Playoffs |
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| 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. Patriot League |
5-3 |
0.625 |
| vs. CAA Football |
26-16 |
0.619 |
| vs. Big Sky Conference |
33-24 |
0.579 |
| vs. Southern Conference |
15-14 |
0.517 |
| vs. Intra-Conference |
21-21 |
0.500 |
| vs. Independents |
45719 |
0.500 |
| vs. Ivy League |
0-1 |
0.000 |
| TOTAL |
161-96 |
0.626 |
*OVC/Big South Association and pre-Association records
In the Round of 8 -- Since the 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 quarters 14 times.
4 - 2020-21
3 - 2015, 2016, 2019, 2023, 2024
2 - 2011, 2012, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022,
2025
All-Time Semifinal Trips -- Here’s a look at the leaders, by conference, since 1978 (first year of the playoffs).
37 - Missouri Valley Football Conference
36 - Big Sky Conference
32 - CAA Football
29 - Southern Conference
20 - Southland Conference
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 (6-4 overall; 1-1 intraleague)
Road Warriors -- MVFC teams will play two road playoff games on Saturday, Dec. 13. MVFC teams have a combined 42-66 road record in playoff games. 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).
Most Playoff Road Wins, Same Season
4 -- 2025 (UND, South Dakota, Illinois State -- 2)
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)
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. This season the two leagues have five of the remaining eight teams in the field and have combined to win nine of the 16 total possible wins in the tournament.
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
Same-Season Semifinalists -- The MVFC has had two semifinalists in the same playoff in eight of the past 11 years and nine times overall.
9 - MVFC (99) (14) (16) (17) (18) (21) (22) (23) (24)
7 - CAA (2004) (2007) (2008) (2009) (2010) (13) (20)
5 - SoCon (1983) (1987) (2000) (2001) (2005)
4 - Big Sky (1981) (1990) (1994) (2019)
1 - OVC (1979); Southland (1995)
Title Town -- The MVFC has 14 total titles, the most by an FCS league. The 2024 season marked the 20th title game trip for an MVFC member. Breakdown of conference member appearances in FCS title game since 2011:
16 -- Missouri Valley Football Conference
4 -- Big Sky
4 -- CAA
3 -- Southland
1 -- OVC
All-Time Title-Game Appearances, By Conference
20 - Missouri Valley Football (14 titles)
17 - 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.
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.
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).