24 Panther athletes highlight MVFC 40th Anniversary team

ST. LOUIS — The Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) completed its 40th season following the 2024 FCS Championship on January 6. To celebrate the league's anniversary, fans voted for 40 days to recognize the league's all-time best players. More than 2,000 votes were cast and 24 Panther standouts were added in the mix.

From the MVFC:

Founded in 1985, the Missouri Valley Football Conference is the nation's premier NCAA FCS conference.

Last season, the MVFC extended its FCS-record to 14-straight title game appearances as North Dakota State defeated No. 2 seed Montana State in Frisco, Texas, for the crown. Notably, the 2024 season marked the 20th title appearance for a league team. The league is 14-6 in title games, although Youngstown State (1991, 1992, 1993, 1994) and Southern Illinois (1983) both played in the championship prior to joining the league. All 20 of the league's title-game appearances have occurred since 1997.

There's not much that has eluded the Missouri Valley Football Conference in its first 40 seasons of competition. The league's first four decades have included national championships, national players of the year, national coaches of the year, No. 1 national rankings, and countless All-Americans. League member North Dakota State earned five-straight national championships from 2011-15 and three-straight from 2017-19. The league also has NCAA titles in 1997 (YSU), 2002 (WKU), 2021 and 2024 (NDSU), and 2022 and 2023 (SDSU).

Strong coaching and great players have helped make the league a national force, but the stability and leadership of Commissioner Patty Viverito -- the only commissioner the league has ever known -- has helped make the Missouri Valley Football Conference a standard bearer on the FCS scene.

The Gateway Conference football division was born on August 21, 1985, when the Gateway Conference President's Council voted to add an FCS football division for six of its members to the previously all-women's athletics organization. Founding members of the football division were Eastern Illinois, Illinois State, UNI, Southern Illinois, Southwest Missouri State (now Missouri State), and Western Illinois. The creation of the football division marked the first time in college annals that football was added to a women's conference. In June of 1986, Indiana State became the seventh member of the conference.

In the 40 years of the football division, league membership has been relatively stable. Eastern Illinois left the league to join the Ohio Valley Conference in 1996, while Youngstown State joined the conference in 1997 to return league membership to its original seven-member status. League membership reached what was then an all-time high of eight members for the start of the 2001 season with the addition of Western Kentucky. The Hilltoppers left the league after six years to join the Sun Belt (FBS). North Dakota State and South Dakota State joined for the start of the 2008 season, giving the league nine members for the first time. The league expanded to 10 members in 2012 after the University of South Dakota was admitted. The University of North Dakota joined the MVFC for the start of the 2020 campaign to expand league membership to 11 institutions. Murray State University joined the league for the start of the 2023 football campaign, bringing league membership to an all-time high of 12 schools. Western Illinois played its final MVFC season in 2023 after departing for the Ohio Valley Conference for the 2024 campaign. And Missouri State finished its final MVFC season in 2024 as it joins Conference USA (FBS) for all sports of the 2025-26 season.

UNI SELECTIONS

Quarterbacks
Eric Sanders, UNI, 2004-07
Kurt Warner, UNI, 1990-93

Running Backs
David Johnson, UNI, 2010-14

Wide Receivers
Mike Furrey, UNI, 1997-98
Kenny Shedd, UNI, 1989-92
Dedric Ward, UNI, 1993-96

Tight Ends
Ryan Hannam, UNI, 1998-01

Offensive Linemen
Spencer Brown, UNI, 2016-20
Brad Meester, UNI, 1996-99
Trevor Penning, UNI, 2017-21

Placekickers
Matthew Cook, UNI, 2019-23
Billy Hallgren, UNI, 2007-10
Brian Mitchell, UNI, 1989-91
Tyler Sievertsen, UNI, 2010-13

Defensive Linemen
Khristian Boyd, UNI, 2018-23
Jared Brinkman, UNI, 2017-21
James Ruffin, UNI, 2006-09
Karter Schult, UNI, 2013-16
Xavier Williams, UNI, 2011-14

Linebackers
Andre Allen, UNI, 1991-94
Bryce Paup, UNI, 1986-89

Defensive Backs
Willie Beamon, UNI, 1989-90, 1992
Ty Talton, UNI, 1995-98

Punters
Tim Mosley, UNI, 1990-93

TOTAL TEAM SELECTIONS

North Dakota State - 36
UNI - 24
South Dakota State - 17
Western Illinois - 12
Southern Illinois - 10
Illinois State - 7
Missouri State - 6
Indiana State - 5
Youngstown State - 5
South Dakota - 4
North Dakota - 1

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