PLAYOFFS

INDEX

2017 FCS Playoff Info . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2MVFC vs . Other Leagues . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22016 FCS Playoff Bracket . . . . . . . . . . . . .3MVFC vs . Other Teams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3MVFC vs . Top Seeds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3Miscellaneous Playoff Notes . . . . . . . . . . .4Championship Game Results . . . . . . . . . .5Year-By-Year Summaries . . . . . . . . . . . 5-19All-Time Playoff Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6Coaching Records in the Playoffs . . . . .13Playoff Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20-21

PLAYOFFS

2VALLEY FOOTBALL

FCS Playoff Participation (since 1995) In 2016, the Missouri Valley Football Conference had at least two teams in the FCS postseason a 22nd-consecu-tive year. Below is a yearly breakdown of conferences in the playoffs (since 1995): 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16MVFC 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 4 2 2 3 2 2 2 3 2 3 2 5 5 4Big Sky 2 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 3 2 2 2 2 2 3 2 2 3 4 3 3 4Big South - - - - - - - 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 2 1 2 2 1CAA Football 2 3 2 3 2 2 3 3 2 4 2 3 5 5 4 4 5 3 3 4 4 4MEAC 0 1 2 2 2 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 2 1 0 1Northeast 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1Ohio Valley 2 2 1 1 1 2 1 2 1 1 1 2 2 1 1 2 2 1 3 2 2 1Patriot 0 0 1 2 2 1 1 1 1 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 2 1Pioneer 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1Southern 3 3 1 2 3 3 3 3 1 2 3 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 2 1 2 4Southland 2 2 2 3 1 2 3 2 1 2 2 1 1 1 2 1 2 2 3 3 2 2Great West - - - - - - - - - 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 - - - -SWAC 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Independents 2 0 2 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

The NCAA hosts three football championships: the Division I Foot-ball Championship for teams in the NCAA FCS, the Division II Football Championship and the Division III Football Championship. For the fifth-straight year, the FCS will have a 24-team bracket. The FCS bracket history dates back to 1978-80 when there were only four teams in the field. The bracket expanded to eight teams in 1981; 12 teams (1982-85); 16 teams (1986-2009); 20 teams (2010-12); and 24 teams (2013-present). In 2013, the Pioneer League champ joined 10 other champs as auto-matic qualifiers for the playoffs. The top eight teams are seeded, receive first-round byes and host second-round games. The 16 other teams bid to host first-round games. The playoffs -- in their 40th sea-son -- will begin Saturday, Nov. 24. For the eighth-straight year, the final game will be played at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas. Every title game from 1997-2009 had been held at Finley Stadium in Chatta-nooga, Tenn. Ten conferences (Big Sky, Big South, CAA Football, Missouri Valley Football Conference, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Pioneer, Southern and Southland) have been granted automatic qualifi-cation. The remaining 14 teams are selected at large by the FCS Football Committee. CAA Football formerly competed as both the Atlantic-10 and Yankee, while the Patriot League earned an AQ for the first time in 1997. Since 1978, 11 of 12 current and past MVFC members have appeared in the FCS playoffs (South Dakota, entering its sixth year as an MVFC member in 2017, is the leagues only exception). The 2003 season was an historic one for FCS football as, for the first time, a league received four bids to the 16-team field. UNI, Southern Illi-nois, Western Illinois, and Western Kentucky represented the league in the 2003 FCS playoff field. In 2014 and 2015 a league-record 5 MVFC teams made the field, and the MVFC became the first to have two teams from the same conference face one another in the champion-ship game (North Dakota State beat Illinois State, 29-27, in the 2014 title game.)

*FirstRound *SecondRound *Quarterfinals *Semifinals Final November 25 December 2 Dec . 8/9 Dec . 15/16 Jan . 6

NATIONALCHAMPION

*First-round games, second-round, quarterfinals and semifinals played on campus sites.

Toyota StadiumFrisco, TexasJan. 6, 2018

Missouri Valley Football Conference vs . FCS The league is 92-63 in the NCAA FCS playoffs. Included in that overall record is a .500 or better per-formance against nine of the 11 conferences faced.MVFC against Other Leagues in the Playoffsvs. Mid-Eastern Athletic 4 0 1.000vs. Big South 3 0 1.000vs. Pioneer Football League 2 0 1.000vs. Southwestern Athletic 1 0 1.000vs. Northeast Conference 1 0 1.000vs. Ohio Valley Conference 17 2 .895vs. CAA Football 16 12 .571vs. Big Sky Conference 17 13 .567vs. Southland Football League 8 7 .533vs. Independents 3 3 .500vs. Intra-conference 9 9 .500vs. Patriot League 2 3 .400vs. Southern Conference 9 14 .391TOTAL 92 63 .594

MVFC Was First With Four in Field Since the field expanded to 16 teams in 1986, a league has had three or more members qualify for the FCS play-off field 55 times, but the 2003 season marked the first time the Missouri Valley Football Conference had sent three. No league had ever had four teams in the playoffs during the same season, until the MVFC did in 2003.

Leagues With Four or More Bids Since the NCAA field expanded to 16 teams for the 1986 playoffs, a league has received four or more bids 16 times. The 2003 playoffs marked the first time the MVFC had four bids. A league has had five bids five times, including the MVFC in 2014 and 2015.

5 Bids -- CAA (2007, 08, 11); MVFC (2014, 15)4 Bids -- MVFC (2003, 16); CAA (2004, 09, 10, 14, 15, 16); Big Sky (2013, 15); Southern (2016)

2017 NCAA FCS Championship Bracket & Information

PLAYOFFS

2017 YEARBOOK3

Valley Football vs . Top Seeds In its 32-year playoff history a league school has played a top-four seeded team 45 times, and re-corded a 19-26 record. Fifteen of the 19 wins against a top-four seed were on the road. In five of the seven years in which the league beat either a No. 1 or 2 seed, the conference earned a national title (1997, 2002, 2011, 2014, 2015).1989 -- Eastern Illinois 38, #4 Idaho 211989 -- #3 SF Austin 55, Missouri State 251991 -- #4 Marshall 20, W. Illinois 17 (ot)1991 -- #4 Marshall 41, UNI 131995 -- UNI 35, #4 Murray State 341996 -- #2 Marshall 31, UNI 141997 -- Youngstown St. 37, #1 Villanova 341997 -- Youngstown St. 25, #3 E. Wash. 141998 -- #2 NW State 48, Illinois State 281998 -- #1 Ga. Southern 42, W. Illinois 141999 -- Illinois State 37, #3 Hofstra 201999 -- #2 Ga. Southern 28, Illinois St. 171999 -- #2 Ga. Southern 59, YSU 242001 -- UNI 49, #4 Eastern Illinois 432001 -- #3 Furman 24, Western Ky. 202001 -- #1 Montana 38, UNI 02002 -- Western Ky. 31, #2 W. Illinois 282002 -- Western Ky. 31, #3 Ga. Southern 282002 -- Western Ky. 34, #1 McNeese 142003 -- #2 Delaware 48, Southern Illinois 72003 -- #4 Colgate 28, Western Illinois 272003 -- #3 Wofford 34, Western Ky. 172003 -- #2 Delaware 37, UNI 72005 -- #2 Appalachian State 38, SIU 242005 -- UNI 24, #1 New Hampshire 212005 -- UNI 40, #4 Texas State 37 (ot)2005 -- #2 Appalachian State 21, UNI 162006 -- #1 Appalachian State 49, YSU 242009 -- #1 Montana 61, S. Dakota St. 482010 -- #1 Appalachian State 42, WIU 142010 -- NDSU 42, #4 Montana State 172011 -- #4 Montana 48, #5 UNI 102011 -- #2 NDSU 35, #3 Ga. Southern 72011 -- #2 NDSU 17, #1 Sam Houston 62012 -- #2 E. Washington 51, Illinois St. 352014 -- #2 NDSU 27, S. Dakota State 242014 -- Illinois St. 59, #4 E. Washington 462014 -- Illinois St. 21, #1 N. Hampshire 182014 -- #2 NDSU 29, Illinois State 272015 -- #3 NDSU 37, #1 Jacksonville St. 102016 -- YSU 40, #3 Jacksonville State 242016 -- #1 NDSU 36, South Dakota St. 102016 -- #4 James Madison 27, NDSU 172016 -- YSU 40, #2 Eastern Washington 382016 -- #4 James Madison 28, YSU 14

Playoff Success The league is 80-46 during the past 20 years in the FCS playoffs (since 1997), and the league has had at least two playoff teams every year since 1995. A league team has reached the semifinals 19 times in the past 21 years, which includes seven national crowns. A league team has ap-peared in 10 championship games and in 22 semifinal games.

2016 NCAA FCS Bracket, Won-Lost Marks

League Won-Lost Marks*TEAM W-LAppalachian State .....................................................1-4Arkansas State ..........................................................1-0Boise State ................................................................0-1Boston University .......................................................0-1Central Arkansas .......................................................0-1Coastal Carolina ........................................................3-0Colgate ......................................................................1-1Chattanooga ..............................................................0-1Dayton .......................................................................1-0Delaware ...................................................................0-4Eastern Illinois ...........................................................9-0Eastern Kentucky ......................................................1-1Eastern Washington ..................................................6-4Florida A&M ...............................................................2-0Furman ......................................................................1-1Georgia Southern ......................................................3-4Hampton ....................................................................1-0Hofstra .......................................................................1-0Idaho..........................................................................1-1Illinois State ...............................................................2-2Jackson State ............................................................1-0Jacksonville State .............................