The 2025 Missouri Valley Football Conference season was the 40th season of college football play for the Missouri Valley Football Conference and part of the 2025 NCAA Division I FCS football season. This was the MVFC's first season dropping to 10 teams since the 2019 season, and will be the last for now.
Illinois State made it to the National Championship as the first FCS team ever to win four playoff road games. They were defeated in the title game by Montana State. South Dakota made the playoffs as the 11th seed and was able to make the quarterfinals before falling to 3rd seeded Montana. North Dakota State (1st seed) and South Dakota State (14th seed) both lost in the second round of the playoffs, to Illinois State and Montana respectively. This was the first year that NDSU made the playoffs but did not manage to reach the quarterfinal round. North Dakota also made it to the second round after playing on the road in the first round, but they fell on the road to Tarleton State to end their postseason. Youngstown State made the playoffs as well, but lost to Yale at home in the first round.
After the conclusion of the 2024 college football season, Missouri State left the conference to reclassify to the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and move to Conference USA after 39 years in the league as a charter member. This move matches the Bears' departure from MVFC's sister conference, the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC), which they also left after the 2024âÂÂ25 collegiate season.
Later, on May 5, 2025, the conference announced a new governance structure to begin on July 1, 2025 that placed MVC commissioner Jeff Jackson as the next MVFC commissioner following Patty Viverito's retirement on June 30. It also placed Summit League commissioner Josh Fenton as an executive advisor to the conference. The new structure formalized the decades-long unofficial ties between the MVC and MVFC, and also established a formal relationship between the MVFC and Summit.
On December 8, 2024, Eric Schmidt was named the next head coach at North Dakota. Schmidt takes over for Bubba Schweigert, who stepped down after the 2024 season.
On December 3, 2024, Todd Stepsis was named the new head coach at Northern Iowa. Stepsis takes over for longtime coach Mark Farley, who retired after the 2024 season.
On January 16, 2025, Travis Johansen was named the next head coach at South Dakota. Johansen steps in for Bob Nielson, who retired after the 2024 season.
On December 31, 2024, Dan Jackson was named the next head coach at South Dakota State. Jackson was hired after Jimmy Rogers left the program to become the next head coach at Washington State.
The annual preseason poll; voted on by conference coaches, athletic directors, and media members.
In a departure from seasons past, the MVFC released a player "watch-list" that was voted on by the league's athletic directors, coaches, and media members.
All times Central time.
â denotes Homecoming game<br> ^ denotes AP Poll ranking for FBS teams
In 2025, six teams made the FCS playoffs. North Dakota State (No. 1) received a first round bye; South Dakota (No. 11), South Dakota State (No. 14), Youngstown State (No. 15), Illinois State, and North Dakota played in the first round. Below are the games in which they played.
All times Central time, seedings in parenthesis.
2025âÂÂ26 records against non-conference foes:
Postseason
On December 1, 2025, the Missouri Valley Football Conference released their Players of the Year and All-Conference Honors.
On November 24, 2025, STATS Perform released their list of finalists for the Walter Payton Award, Buck Buchanan Award, Jerry Rice Award, and Eddie Robinson Award, respectively. Finalists are listed in alphabetical order.
The Walter Payton Award is given to the best offensive player in the FCS. The MVFC's own Beau Brungard (QB - Youngstown State) won the award. The following players were listed as finalists for the award:
The following MVFC players were listed as finalists for the Buck Buchanan Award, which was given to the best FCS defensive player:
The following MVFC players were listed as finalists for the Jerry Rice Award, which was the given to the most outstanding FCS freshman player:
The following MVFC coaches were listed as finalists for the Eddie Robinson Award, which was given to the best FCS head coach:
Bold - Exceed or met capacity<br> â Season High<br> â¡FCS Playoff Game
The following list includes all MVFC players who were drafted in the 2026 NFL draft.
Through January 5, 2026<br> All stats include 2025 season