Southern Illinois
7-5 2025 finalSouthern Illinois is the 1983 national champion whose football program fell into irrelevance, and whose fanbase will not let the glory fade.
The Salukis are patient.
Southern Illinois is the 1983 national champion whose football program fell into irrelevance, and whose fanbase will not let the glory fade.
Southern Illinois went 7-5 in the 2025 Missouri Valley conference season, continuing a pattern of middling mediocrity that has defined the program since the 1980s. The Salukis remain a Valley fixture but lack the sustained excelle…
Offseason
69 days
until kickoff · Sun Aug 30 · 17:00 UTC
The 2026 Outlook
The Pulse on Southern Illinois
What moved it — offseason · last 30 days
Aspiration Ladder
Brief Part III §33.4 · Southern Illinois
The baseline expectation.
The annual recruiting proof point.
Conference qualifier or at-large.
Championship weekend. Top-4 in the country.
Southern Illinois · Next-Season Outcome Band
Floor / Base / Ceiling
Variance assumed at ±2 wins from last-season record. Replace with the season-path projection once preview data is built.
Who We Are
Fanbase Health Index · Southern Illinois · medium confidence
Stable (51)
Home-Field Advantage · Southern Illinois · 2018-present
Strong
57% home win rate vs 50% on the road. margin runs +8.8 better at home.
Act IIILast Season Reviewed
2025 season · tap to expand
Recent Form · last 10 games
Mixed
Three of five. Trending up, not yet hot.
MVFC Standing · 2025
6th in the MVFC
Southern Illinois sits 6th of 9 in the MVFC at 7-5. Mid-conference — moves up or down depend on rivalry results and the late-season closing run.
| # | Program | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Illinois State | 12-5 |
| 2 | South Dakota | 10-5 |
| 3 | South Dakota State | 9-5 |
| 4 | Youngstown State | 8-5 |
| 5 | North Dakota | 8-6 |
| 6 | Southern Illinois | 7-5 |
| 7 | Indiana State | 3-9 |
| 8 | Northern Iowa | 3-9 |
| 9 | Murray State | 1-11 |
Schedule Strength · Southern Illinois · 2025
Soft
Average opponent win rate 42% across 12 finalized games. Few elite opponents on the slate — win quality matters for the at-large bracket.
Moment of the Year · Southern Illinois · 2025
Won 49-3 vs Thomas More College
Week 1 of 2025. A statement margin. Recruiting boards re-rendered overnight.
Playoff History
Recent postseason (2023): 1-1
Most recent: 2023 — loss 20-17 (away). Last 5 postseason: 1-1.
From the Archive — Southern Illinois
2021: Won 22-10 at South Dakota
In 2021, the program won 22-10 at South Dakota — a tight road result that left the 12-point margin on the books.
Go Salukis.