FCS CONFERENCE · 2026 SEASON

MVFC

#12 overall#1 in FCSRR50 +11.6Upper strength +14.19 teamsTop 25 teams 0

VERDICT BEGINS · 2026

Eighteen Titles

The Missouri Valley Football Conference has produced 18 FCS national championships. In 2023 six MVFC teams entered the 24-team bracket simultaneously — a number no other conference in any division has matched. NDSU left for the Mountain West after 2024, but the Valley did not flinch: South Dakota State won the 2025 title in Nashville.

FCS9 teamsRace: FCS PlayoffLeader: Illinois State

MVFC · 2026 Season

Three Things to Watch

The Defending ChampionSouth Dakota State: The New MVFC Standard

SDSU won the 2025 FCS title in Nashville — their second in four years — without the NDSU rivalry to validate them. Entering 2026 as the undisputed Valley standard, the Jackrabbits have the roster depth and coaching continuity to win back-to-back. Every other program in the conference is building a case to knock them off.

The TraditionIowa State's Little Brother Is Doing Fine

North Dakota State left the Valley for the Mountain West after 2024, taking 8 FCS titles with them. What remained wasn't emptied — it was clarified. The Valley now has five programs capable of earning a top-4 seed, and none of them is NDSU. The bracket is genuinely open in a way it hasn't been in fifteen years.

Wild CardIllinois State's Quietly Elite Profile

Illinois State has gone 9-win or better three of the last four seasons and earns at-large bids that don't generate national headlines. Their defensive system is one of the most underrated in FCS football. If they're healthy in November, they're a quarterfinal team every year.

Conference Standings · MVFC · 2026

Standings

# Team Conf Overall Pwr Last 5
1Illinois State0–03–0+16.6
2South Dakota0–03–0+14.3
3North Dakota0–03–0+14.0
4South Dakota State0–02–1+15.6
5Youngstown State0–02–1+12.4
6Southern Illinois0–02–1+11.8
7Northern Iowa0–01–1+10.8
8Indiana State0–01–2+8.8
9Murray State0–01–2+6.7

Conference record determines standing. Power = neutral-field pts vs. all-level average. Last 5 = most recent game results.

Projected Standings · MVFC · 2026

Win Projection

Odds of winning at least N conference games from current power ratings — full slate played out, not locked to results. AVG = expected wins; W–L = most-likely record.

# Team W–L PWR AVG ≥8≥7≥6≥5≥4≥3≥2≥1
Favorites
1Illinois State5–3+4.24.92113361849699✓
2South Dakota State5–3+3.34.7192856819499✓
Challengers
3South Dakota4–4+2.04.4162248759298✓
4North Dakota4–4+1.64.3152046739198✓
The Field
5Youngstown State4–4+0.04.031436648697✓
6Southern Illinois4–4-0.53.931333618496✓
7Northern Iowa4–4-1.53.72102855809599
Rebuilding
8Indiana State3–5-3.53.3151843719199
9Murray State3–5-5.72.931131598597

Conference Power · FCS

Where We Stand

# Conference Avg Power vs Focal Top Team
1MVFCYou are here
+11.6
—Illinois State
2Big Sky
+11.0
3–1Montana State
3UAC
+10.7
0–1Tarleton State
4Southland
+10.6
—Stephen F. Austin
5SWAC
+10.3
—Prairie View A&M
6MEAC
+10.2
—South Carolina State
7Coastal Athletic
+9.9
—Rhode Island
8Southern
+9.9
1–0Tennessee Tech
9Patriot
+9.7
—Lehigh
10OVC
+9.6
3–2UT Martin
11NEC
+9.0
5–0Robert Morris
12Pioneer
+8.9
4–0San Diego
13Ivy
+8.3
—Harvard

Round-robin power = strength of schedule-adjusted conference average, points vs. all-level average team. Record = MVFC's record vs. that conference across all games this season.

The Missouri Valley Football Conference has produced 18 FCS national championships. In 2023 six MVFC teams entered the 24-team bracket simultaneously — a number no other conference in any division has matched. NDSU left for the Mountain West after 2024, but the Valley did not flinch: South Dakota State won the 2025 title in Nashville.

Conference Snapshot

RR50+11.6
Upper Strength+14.1
Median Power+11.5
Resume Pulse61.7
Avg ATS53.7%
Wins vs Market-0.10
Top-to-Middle Gap4.2
Combined Record18-8

`RR50`, `Upper Strength`, and `Median Power` are shown on the same public power scale as the rest of the site: points on a neutral field versus the average all-level NCAA team. Very small affiliations are gently regressed toward their subdivision baseline so a one-team outlier does not hijack the entire conference board.

MVFC Team Board

The league stack, sorted by predictive strength. Power is shown as neutral-field points versus the all-level average team, while resume is shown on a 0-100 season score.

Rank Team Record Power Resume ATS Wins vs Market Recent Form
#89 Illinois State 3-0 +16.6 96 2-0 +0.47 2-0 over the last 2 (W1 W2)
#100 South Dakota State 2-1 +15.6 75 2-1 -0.13 2-1 over the last 3 (W1 L1 W2)
#115 South Dakota 3-0 +14.3 87 2-1 +0.20 3-0 over the last 3 (W1 W1 W2)
#123 North Dakota 3-0 +14.0 92 1-2 +0.04 3-0 over the last 3 (W1 W1 W2)
#147 Youngstown State 2-1 +12.4 57 2-1 +0.01 2-1 over the last 3 (W1 L1 W2)
#152 Southern Illinois 2-1 +11.8 28 1-2 -0.62 2-1 over the last 3 (L1 W1 W2)
#168 Northern Iowa 1-1 +10.8 53 1-1 -0.11 1-1 over the last 2 (L1 W2)
#224 Indiana State 1-2 +8.8 42 2-1 -0.18 1-2 over the last 3 (L1 L1 W2)
#256 Murray State 1-2 +6.7 25 0-3 -0.62 1-2 over the last 3 (L1 L1 W2)