Missouri Valley Conference football

Not to be confused with Missouri Valley Football Conference.

Missouri Valley Conference footballConference| NCAA

|

Founded| 1907
Ceased| 1985
Sports fielded|

* 1 (football)
* men's: 1
* women's: 0

Division| Division I-A
Division I-AA
No. of teams| 7 (final), 29 (total)
Region| Midwest
Locations

This is a page on the history of Missouri Valley Conference football. The Missouri Valley Conference sponsored football from 1907 through the 1985 school year. The conference voted to drop football as a sport on April 30, 1985. At the time the Conference was a mixture of NCAA division I-A programs (Tulsa and Wichita State) and NCAA division I-AA programs (Drake, Illinois State, Indiana State, Southern Illinois, and West Texas State).[1]

## History

[edit]

Houston's 1952 Missouri Valley Conference championship trophy

The Missouri Valley Conference started sponsoring football in the fall of 1907. In 1951 Drake University and Bradley University left the Missouri Valley Conference as a result of the Johnny Bright incident, a racially motivated on-field attack against Drake's black star Johnny Bright by a white Oklahoma A&M player.[2][3] Both schools returned to the MVC for non-football sports several years later (Bradley in 1955 and Drake in 1956), but Bradley never rejoined for football (dropping the sport in 1970), and Drake didn't rejoin in football until 1971.[4] Washburn University competed in football from 1935 through 1940.[5] Saint Louis University dropped football after the 1949 season.[6][7]

By the late 1960s, rising costs for football meant that basketball could no longer help subsidize football programs. According to a 2017 story in The Wichita Eagle, "The MVC looked west to find football and alienated its basketball powers." The first schools brought in during this period were New Mexico State and West Texas State (now West Texas A&M),[8] respectively joining in 1970[9] and 1971;[10] the conference also established a tie-in with the now-defunct Pasadena Bowl.[8]

The new additions almost immediately led to conflict between several established members and the conference office. Cincinnati, Louisville, and Memphis State (now Memphis) complained about travel costs, and Memphis State was bitterly opposed to a full round-robin conference schedule, wishing to play more games within its region.[8] All three schools left the MVC within a four-year period in the 1970s—Cincinnati in 1971, Memphis State in 1973, and Louisville in 1975. At the time of Memphis State's departure, Bradley's then-athletic director publicly said, "We sort of pushed Memphis out. They didn’t want to play everybody in football and we said that they must." These were not the only departures from the conference during this period; non-football member Saint Louis left in 1974, wishing to compete with urban basketball-focused schools like itself, and North Texas State (now North Texas) went independent in 1975 due to a desire for more scheduling flexibility.[8] The MVC attempted to reload by adding Southern Illinois (1974 for non-football sports, 1977 for football), Indiana State (1976), and Illinois State (1980 for non-football sports, 1981 for football).[11][8] The two schools whose arrival led to this instability would themselves leave in the 1980s—New Mexico State left after the 1982 season,[9] and West Texas State left after the conference's final football season of 1985.[10]

On December 5, 2006 the Missouri Valley Conference released its All-Centennial team.[12]

## Membership timeline

[edit]

This membership timeline reflects only Missouri Valley Conference football, not the Missouri Valley Conference as a whole.

## Champions by year

[edit]

Season | Champion

|

1907 | Iowa & Nebraska
1908 | Kansas
1909 | Missouri
1910 | Nebraska
1911 | Iowa State & Nebraska
1912 | Iowa State & Nebraska
1913 | Missouri & Nebraska
1914 | Nebraska
1915 | Nebraska
1916 | Nebraska
1917 | Nebraska
1918 | No Champion[13]
1919 | Missouri
1920 | Oklahoma
1921 | Nebraska
1922 | Nebraska
1923 | Nebraska
1924 | Missouri
1925 | Missouri
1926 | Oklahoma A&M
1927 | Missouri
1928 | Drake
1929 | Drake
1930 | Drake & Oklahoma A&M
1931 | Drake
1932 | Oklahoma A&M
1933 | Oklahoma A&M
1934 | Washington (MO)
1935 | Tulsa & Washington (MO)
1936 | Creighton & Tulsa
1937 | Tulsa
1938 | Tulsa
1939 | Washington (MO)
1940 | Tulsa
1941 | Tulsa
1942 | Tulsa
1943 | Tulsa
1944 | Oklahoma A&M
1945 | Oklahoma A&M
1946 | Tulsa
1947 | Tulsa
1948 | Oklahoma A&M
1949 | Detroit
1950 | Tulsa
1951 | Tulsa
1952 | Houston
1953 | Detroit & Oklahoma A&M
1954 | Wichita State
1955 | Detroit & Wichita State
1956 | Houston
1957 | Houston
1958 | North Texas State
1959 | Houston & North Texas State
1960 | Wichita State
1961 | Wichita State
1962 | Tulsa
1963 | Cincinnati & Wichita State
1964 | Cincinnati
1965 | Tulsa
1966 | North Texas State & Tulsa
1967 | North Texas State
1968 | Memphis State
1969 | Memphis State
1970 | Louisville
1971 | Memphis State & North Texas State
1972 | Drake, Louisville, & West Texas State
1973 | North Texas State & Tulsa
1974 | Tulsa
1975 | Tulsa
1976 | New Mexico State & Tulsa
1977 | West Texas State
1978 | New Mexico State
1979 | West Texas State
1980 | Tulsa
1981 | Drake & Tulsa
1982 | Tulsa
1983 | Tulsa
1984 | Tulsa
1985 | Tulsa

## Championships by school

[edit]

School | Years of
Participation | MVC
Championships | Last
MVC
Championship | Last
Outright
MVC
Championship

|
|
|
|

Iowa | 1907-1908 | 1 | 1907 | –
Nebraska | 1907-1918
1921-1927 | 12 | 1923 | 1923
Kansas | 1907-1927 | 1 | 1908 | 1908
Missouri | 1907-1927 | 6 | 1927 | 1927
Washington U. | 1907-1942 | 3 | 1939 | 1939
Iowa State | 1908-1927 | 2 | 1912 | –
Drake | 1908-1951
1971-1985 | 6 | 1981 | 1931
Kansas State | 1913-1927 | 0 | – | –
Grinnell | 1919-1938 | 0 | – | –
Oklahoma | 1920-1927 | 1 | 1920 | 1920
Oklahoma A&M | 1925-1956 | 8 | 1953 | 1948
Creighton | 1928-1942 | 1 | 1936 | –
Butler | 1932-1933 | 0 | – | –
Washburn | 1935-1940 | 0 | – | –
Tulsa | 1935-1985 | 25 | 1985 | 1985
Saint Louis | 1937-1949 | 0 | – | –
Wichita State | 1945-1985 | 5 | 1963 | 1961
Bradley | 1948-1951 | 0 | – | –
Detroit | 1949-1956 | 3 | 1955 | 1949
Houston | 1951-1959[14] | 4 | 1959 | 1957
Cincinnati | 1957-1969 | 2 | 1964 | 1964
North Texas State | 1957-1974 | 6 | 1973 | 1971
Louisville | 1963-1974[15] | 2 | 1972 | 1970
Memphis State | 1968[16]-1972 | 3 | 1971 | 1969
New Mexico State | 1970-1982[17] | 2 | 1978 | 1978
West Texas State | 1971-1985 | 3 | 1979 | 1979
Southern Illinois | 1974-1985 | 0 | – | –
Indiana State | 1976[18]-1985 | 0 | – | –
Illinois State | 1980-1985 | 0 | – | –

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Missouri Valley to drop football as league sport". Tulsa, Oklahoma: Gainesville Sun. May 1, 1985. p. 5D. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
2. ^ "DRAKE VOTES TO DROP FROM CONFERENCE". Des Moines, Iowa: The Miami Daily News. November 28, 1951. Retrieved 30 June 2012.
3. ^ "Drake Quits Missouri Valley Over Injury to Johnny Bright". Des Moines, Iowa: The Southeast Missourian. November 28, 1951. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
4. ^ "Drake Bulldogs 2008 football media guide" (PDF). Drake University. 2008. p. 41\. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
5. ^ "2008 Washburn University football media guide" (PDF). Washburn University. 2008. p. 154. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
6. ^ "ST. LOUIS DROPS COLLEGE FOOTBALL". St. Louis, Missouri: Star-News. December 15, 1949. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
7. ^ "ST. LOUIS QUITS COLLEGE FOOTBALL". St. Louis, Missouri: Spokane Daily Chronicle. December 14, 1949. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
8. ^ a b c d e Suellentrop, Paul (April 1, 2017). "WSU notes: Football's power started the MVC on this path in the early 1970s". The Wichita Eagle. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
9. ^ a b "2008 New Mexico State Aggies football media guide" (PDF). New Mexico State University. 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
10. ^ a b "West Texas A&M Buffaloes School History". Sports-Reference.com College Football. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
11. ^ Missouri Valley Conference 75 1981 Football/Anniversary Issue. Missouri Valley Conference. p. 52.
12. ^ "Missouri Valley Conference Announces Football All-Centennial Team" (PDF). St. Louis, Missouri: Missouri Valley Conference. December 5, 2006. p. 3\. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 September 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2012.
13. ^ "BIG COLLEGES MAY GIVE UP FOOTBALL THIS YEAR". Chicago, Illinois: The Lewiston Daily Sun. September 13, 1918. pp. Page 6. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
14. ^ "Valley Conference Faces Familiar Problem Again". Kansas City, Missouri: St. Joseph Gazette. February 12, 1960. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
15. ^ "Missouri Valley Conference Getting Too Far-Flunt; Louisville Joins New League". Louisville, Kentucky: The Lewiston Daily Sun. June 14, 1975. pp. Page 18. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
16. ^ "Memphis St. Joins Valley Conference". Wichita, Kansas: The Pittsburgh Press. May 22, 1966. pp. Page 4, Section 4. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
17. ^ "New Mexico State plans to leave Missouri Valley". Tulsa, Oklahoma: Lawrence Journal-World. March 22, 1983. pp. Page 11. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
18. ^ "Indiana State Admitted To Missouri Valley Conference". Tulsa, Oklahoma: Herald-Journal. March 11, 1976. Retrieved 21 July 2012.