The Southeast Missouri State Redhawks football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the Southeast Missouri State University located in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and are members of the Ohio Valley Conference. The school's first football team was fielded in 1902. The team plays its home games at the 11,015-seat Houck Stadium. They are coached by Tom Matukewicz.
Southeast Missouri State first competed in football in 1904. In 1912, the school joined the Missouri Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA), which later joined the NCAA as a Division II conference. The football team had its first known head coach, J.F. Corleux, in 1915. Corleux remained head coach until 1929.
In 1991, Southeast Missouri State joined the Ohio Valley Conference and moved up to the Division I-AA level.
Southeast Missouri State has won 21 conference championships, 12 outright and nine shared.
â Co-champions
The Redhawks have made five appearances in the Division IâÂÂAA/FCS playoffs, with a combined record of 1âÂÂ5.
Southeast Missouri State has an in-state rivalry with Missouri State. The two schools last played in 2008, and Missouri State leads the series 46âÂÂ28.
Another rivalry is with Southern Illinois. The annual series between the schools went on hiatus after 2005 and resumed in 2010. In 2013, the two schools played in a game called the College Classic, at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. In the first-ever football game held at Busch, Southern Illinois won 36âÂÂ19. In 2018, the rivalry game was dubbed the "War of the Wheel". The winner of the "War of the Wheel" takes home an authentic ship's wheel. Southeast Missouri State leads the series 44âÂÂ40âÂÂ8 as of 2024.
Within the Ohio Valley Conference, Southeast Missouri State's rival was Murray State. Murray State left the Ohio Valley Conference to join the Missouri Valley Conference for football on July 1, 2023. The two schools last played in 2022, which was the last Ohio Valley Conference game for Murray State. Murray State leads the series 43âÂÂ14âÂÂ1.
Announced schedules as of March 10, 2026.