2026 Missouri Valley Football Conference season

On February 9, 2026, North Dakota State accepted an invitation to join the Mountain West Conference and reclassify to the Football Bowl Subdivision effective July 1, 2026.^[1][2]

On February 6, 2026, Travis Johansen announced he would be leaving the Coyotes for the defensive coordinator job at Rutgers. Later that same day, South Dakota named Matt Vitzthum the 32nd head coach of the program.^[3]

		Pre	Wk 1	Wk 2	Wk 3	Wk 4	Wk 5	Wk 6	Wk 7	Wk 8	Wk 9	Wk 10	Wk 11	Wk 12	Wk 13	Final
Illinois State	STATS
	Coaches
Indiana State	STATS
	Coaches
Murray State	STATS
	Coaches
North Dakota	STATS
	Coaches
Northern Iowa	STATS
	Coaches
South Dakota	STATS
	Coaches
South Dakota State	STATS
	Coaches
Southern Illinois	STATS
	Coaches
Youngstown State	STATS
	Coaches

Summarize Timeline Top Qs Fact Check

Index to colors and formatting
MVFC member won
MVFC member lost
MVFC teams in bold

All times Central time.

† denotes Homecoming game
^ denotes AP Poll ranking for FBS teams

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
August 27	5:00 PM	Mercyhurst	Youngstown State	Stambaugh Stadium • Youngstown, OH	ESPN+
August 27	5:00 PM	Southern Illinois	West Florida	PenAir Field • Pensacola, FL	ESPN+
August 27	TBA	Eastern Illinois	Murray State	Roy Stewart Stadium • Murray, KY	ESPN+
August 27	TBA	LIU	North Dakota	Alerus Center • Grand Forks, ND	ESPN+
August 29	TBA	Southeast Missouri State	Indiana State	Memorial Stadium • Terre Haute, IN	ESPN+
August 29	TBA	Central Connecticut State	South Dakota	DakotaDome • Vermillion, SD	ESPN+
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
September 3	TBA	Southern Illinois	Samford	Pete Hanna Stadium • Homewood, AL	ESPN+
September 5	TBA	Indiana State	Purdue	Ross-Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, IN	TBA
September 5	TBA	Murray State	Middle Tennessee State	Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium • Murfreesboro, TN
September 5	TBA	St. Thomas	North Dakota	Alerus Center • Grand Forks, ND	TBA
September 5	TBA	Northern Iowa	Eastern Washington	Roos Field • Cheney, WA	ESPN+
September 5	TBA	South Dakota	Northern Colorado	Nottingham Field • Greeley, CO	ESPN+
September 5	TBA	South Dakota State	Northwestern	Martin Stadium • Chicago, IL	TBA
September 5	TBA	Youngstown State	Kentucky	Kroger Field • Lexington, KY	TBA
September 5	TBA	Illinois State	Western Illinois	Hanson Field • Macomb, IL	ESPN+
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
September 12	1:00 PM	Duquesne	Youngstown State	Stambaugh Stadium • Youngstown, OH	ESPN+
September 12	TBA	Illinois State	Northern Illinois	Huskie Stadium • DeKalb, IL	TBD
September 12	TBA	Indiana State	Eastern Illinois	O'Brien Field • Charleston, IL	ESPN+
September 12	TBA	Valparaiso	Murray State	Roy Stewart Stadium • Murray, KY	ESPN+
September 12	TBA	North Dakota	Portland State	Hillsboro Stadium • Portland, OR	ESPN+
September 12	TBA	Drake	Northern Iowa	UNI-Dome • Cedar Falls, IA	ESPN+
September 12	TBA	Eastern Washington	South Dakota	DakotaDome • Vermillion, SD	ESPN+
September 12	TBA	New Haven	South Dakota State	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD	ESPN+
September 12	TBA	Southeast Missouri State	Southern Illinois	Saluki Stadium • Carbondale, IL	ESPN+
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
September 19	TBA	Eastern Illinois	Illinois State	Hancock Stadium • Normal, IL	ESPN+
September 19	TBA	Valparaiso	Indiana State	Memorial Stadium • Terre Haute, IN	TBD
September 19	TBA	Murray State	Oklahoma State	Boone Pickens Stadium • Stillwater, OK	TBD
September 19	TBA	North Dakota	Nebraska	Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE	TBD
September 19	TBA	Northern Iowa	Iowa	Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, IA	TBD
September 19	TBA	South Dakota	Boise State	Albertsons Stadium • Boise, ID	TBD
September 19	TBA	Southern Illinois	Illinois	Gies Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL	TBD
September 19	TBA	Youngstown State	South Dakota State	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD	ESPN+
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
September 26	1:00 PM	South Dakota	Youngstown State	Stambaugh Stadium • Youngstown, OH	ESPN+
September 26	TBA	Eastern Illinois	South Dakota State	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD	ESPN+
September 26	TBA	Illinois State	Northern Iowa	UNI-Dome • Cedar Falls, IA	ESPN+
September 26	TBA	North Dakota	Indiana State	Memorial Stadium • Terre Haute, IN	ESPN+
September 26	TBA	Southern Illinois	Murray State	Roy Stewart Stadium • Murray, KY	ESPN+
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
October 3	TBA	South Dakota State	Illinois State	Hancock Stadium • Normal, IL	ESPN+
October 3	TBA	Indiana State	South Dakota	DakotaDome • Vermillion, SD	ESPN+
October 3	TBA	Murray State	North Dakota	Alerus Center • Grand Forks, ND	ESPN+
October 3	TBA	Youngstown State	Southern Illinois	Saluki Stadium • Carbondale, IL	ESPN+
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Date	Bye Week
October 3	Northern Iowa

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
October 10	TBA	Youngstown State	Indiana State	Memorial Stadium • Terre Haute, IN	ESPN+
October 10	TBA	North Dakota	Northern Iowa	UNI-Dome • Cedar Falls, IA	ESPN+
October 10	TBA	Southern Illinois	South Dakota	DakotaDome • Vermillion, SD	ESPN+
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Date	Bye Week
October 10	South Dakota State	Murray State	Illinois State

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
October 17	5:00 PM	Northern Iowa	Youngstown State	Stambaugh Stadium • Youngstown, OH	ESPN+
October 17	TBA	Illinois State	Southern Illinois	Saluki Stadium • Carbondale, IL	ESPN+
October 17	TBA	South Dakota	Murray State	Roy Stewart Stadium • Murray, KY	ESPN+
October 17	TBA	South Dakota State	North Dakota	Alerus Center • Grand Forks, ND	ESPN+
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Date	Bye Week
October 17	Indiana State

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
October 24	TBA	Indiana State	Illinois State	Hancock Stadium • Normal, IL	ESPN+
October 24	TBA	North Dakota	South Dakota	DakotaDome • Vermillion, SD	ESPN+
October 24	TBA	Northern Iowa	Southern Illinois	Saluki Stadium • Carbondale, IL	ESPN+
October 24	TBA	Murray State	South Dakota State	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD	ESPN+
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Date	Bye Week
October 24	Youngstown State

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
October 31	TBA	Murray State	Illinois State	Hancock Stadium • Normal, IL	ESPN+
October 31	TBA	Indiana State	Northern Iowa	UNI-Dome • Cedar Falls, IA	ESPN+
October 31	TBA	North Dakota	Youngstown State	Stambaugh Stadium • Youngstown, OH	ESPN+
October 31	TBA	South Dakota	South Dakota State	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD	ESPN+
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Date	Bye Week
October 31	Southern Illinois

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
November 7	TBA	Illinois State	North Dakota	Alerus Center • Grand Forks, ND	ESPN+
November 7	TBA	Southern Illinois	Indiana State	Memorial Stadium • Terre Haute, IN	ESPN+
November 7	TBA	Youngstown State	Murray State	Roy Stewart Stadium • Murray, KY	ESPN+
November 7	TBA	South Dakota State	Northern Iowa	UNI-Dome • Cedar Falls, IA	ESPN+
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Date	Bye Week
November 7	South Dakota

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
November 14	11:00 AM	Illinois State	Youngstown State	Stambaugh Stadium • Youngstown, OH	ESPN+
November 14	TBA	Murray State	Indiana State	Memorial Stadium • Terre Haute, IN	ESPN+
November 14	TBA	Northern Iowa	South Dakota	DakotaDome • Vermillion, SD	ESPN+
November 14	TBA	South Dakota State	Southern Illinois	Saluki Stadium • Carbondale, IL	ESPN+
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Date	Bye Week
November 14	North Dakota

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
November 21	TBA	South Dakota	Illinois State	Hancock Stadium • Normal, IL	ESPN+
November 21	TBA	Indiana State	South Dakota State	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD	ESPN+
November 21	TBA	Northern Iowa	Murray State	Roy Stewart Stadium • Murray, KY	ESPN+
November 21	TBA	Southern Illinois	North Dakota	Alerus Center • Grand Forks, ND	ESPN+
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Date	Bye Week
November 21	Youngstown State

Conference schedule source:^[4][5]

2026–27 records against non-conference foes:

Week	Offensive			Defensive			Special teams			Newcomer			Offensive line
	Player	Position	Team	Player	Position	Team	Player	Position	Team	Player	Position	Team	Player	Position	Team

Team	Stadium	Capacity	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3	Game 4	Game 5	Game 6	Game 7	Game 8	Total	Average	% of capacity
Illinois State	Hancock Stadium	13,391											%
Indiana State	Memorial Stadium	12,764											%
Murray State	Roy Stewart Stadium	16,800											%
North Dakota	Alerus Center	12,283											%
Northern Iowa	UNI-Dome	16,324											%
South Dakota	DakotaDome	9,100											%
South Dakota State	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium	19,340											%
Southern Illinois	Saluki Stadium	15,000											%
Youngstown State	Stambaugh Stadium	20,630											%

Bold - Exceed or met capacity
†Season High
‡FCS Playoff Game