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Gateway Football Conference

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Gateway Football Conference

Data
Classification	NCAA Division I FCS
Established	1985
Members	7
Sports fielded	1 (football)
Region	Midwestern United States
States	5 - Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, Ohio
Headquarters	St. Louis, Missouri
Commissioner	Patty Viverito
Locations

The Gateway Football Conference is a college athletic conference which operates in the midwestern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS; still frequently referred to by its former designation of Division I-AA) as a football-only conference.

1 Membership
- 1.1 Future members
- 1.2 Former members
2 History
3 Champions
4 Conference facilities
5 External links
6 Notes and references

Membership

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Joined	Nickname	Primary Conference
Illinois State University	Normal, Illinois	1857	Public	20,757	1985	Redbirds	Missouri Valley Conference
Indiana State University	Terre Haute, Indiana	1865	Public	10,760	1986	Sycamores	Missouri Valley Conference
Missouri State University	Springfield, Missouri	1905	Public	22,785	1985	Bears	Missouri Valley Conference
University of Northern Iowa	Cedar Falls, Iowa	1876	Public	14,070	1985	Panthers	Missouri Valley Conference
Southern Illinois University	Carbondale, Illinois	1869	Public	23,600	1985	Salukis	Missouri Valley Conference
Western Illinois University	Macomb, Illinois	1899	Public	13,600	1985	Leathernecks	The Summit League
Youngstown State University	Youngstown, Ohio	1908	Public	13,183	1997	Penguins	Horizon League

Future members

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Joining	Nickname	Primary Conference
North Dakota State University	Fargo, North Dakota	1890	Public	12,527	2008	Bison	The Summit League
South Dakota State University	Brookings, South Dakota	1881	Public	11,706	2008	Jackrabbits	The Summit League

Former members

Eastern Illinois University (Ohio Valley Conference), 1985-1995
Western Kentucky University (Sun Belt Conference), 2001-2006

History

The league was formed from the remnant football schools of the old Missouri Valley when it stopped sponsoring its hybrid I-A/I-AA football league in 1985. The I-AA members from the MVC, Illinois State, Indiana State, and Southern Illinois, joined Eastern Illinois, Northern Iowa, Southwest Missouri State, and Western Illinois from the AMCU. After Eastern Illinois joined the Ohio Valley Conference for football in 1995, Youngstown State joined in 1997 and was followed by Western Kentucky in 2001. Southwest Missouri State changed its name to Missouri State in 2005. On November 2, 2006, Western Kentucky's Board of Regents approved a proposal by the school's president to upgrade the football program to the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS; formerly Division I-A). The Hilltoppers left the GFC after the 2006 season, and are now in the two-year "reclassification" period mandated by the NCAA for schools moving from the FCS to the FBS. WKU will join the Sun Belt Conference for football in 2009; it is already a member of that conference for other sports.^[1] Due to Western Kentucky's move, the Gateway was left with 7 members for the 2007 season. However, Great West Football Conference members North Dakota State and South Dakota State were asked to submit information about themselves and to attend the conference presidents' meeting.^[2] On March, 7, 2007, the conference announced that both schools would join the conference beginning with the 2008 season.^[3]

Champions

1985: Northern Iowa
1986: Eastern Illinois
1987: Northern Iowa
1988: Western Illinois
1989: Southwest Missouri State
1990: Southwest Missouri State & Northern Iowa
1991: Northern Iowa
1992: Northern Iowa
1993: Northern Iowa
1994: Northern Iowa
1995: Eastern Illinois & Northern Iowa
1996: Northern Iowa
1997: Western Illinois
1998: Western Illinois
1999: Illinois State
2000: Western Illinois
2001: Northern Iowa
2002: Western Illinois & Western Kentucky
2003: Northern Iowa & Southern Illinois
2004: Southern Illinois
2005: Northern Iowa, Southern Illinois, & Youngstown State
2006: Youngstown State
2007: Northern Iowa

Conference facilities

School	Football Stadium	Capacity
Illinois State	Hancock Stadium	15,000
Indiana State	Memorial Stadium	12,764
Missouri State	Robert W. Plaster Sports Complex	16,300
North Dakota State (2008)	Fargodome	19,500
Northern Iowa	UNI-Dome	16,000
South Dakota State (2008)	Coughlin-Alumni Stadium	16,000
Southern Illinois	McAndrew Stadium	17,000
Western Illinois	Hanson Field	15,000
Youngstown State	Stambaugh Stadium	20,630

External links

Gateway Football Conference

Notes and references

^ WKU Regents Approve Move To Division 1-A (sic) Football. Western Kentucky University (2006-11-02). Retrieved on 2006-11-03.
^ Gateway Eyes Dakotas For Expansion. ESPN (2006-10-26). Retrieved on 2006-11-19.
^ Gateway Expands to Nine Members. Gateway Football Conference (2007-03-07). Retrieved on 2007-03-09.

• • e Gateway Football Conference
Illinois State (Redbirds) • Indiana State (Sycamores) • Missouri State (Bears) • Northern Iowa (Panthers) • Southern Illinois (Salukis)• Western Illinois (Leathernecks)• Youngstown State (Penguins)