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Pioneer Football League
Association	NCAA
Founded	1991; 34 years ago
Commissioner	Greg Walter (since 2023)
Sports fielded	1 (football) men's: 1; women's: 0; ;
Division	Division I
Subdivision	FCS
No. of teams	11
Headquarters	St. Louis, Missouri
Region	Nationwide
Official website	pioneer-football.org
Locations

The Pioneer Football League (PFL) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) as a football-only conference. It has member schools that range from New York, North Carolina, and Florida in the east to California in the west. It is headquartered in St. Louis, in the same complex that also contains the offices of the Missouri Valley Conference and Missouri Valley Football Conference. Unlike most other Division I FCS conferences, the Pioneer League consists of institutions that choose not to award athletic scholarships ("grants-in-aid") to football players.

Most of the PFL's members are private schools. Morehead State University is the only public school in the conference.

History

Foundation

Following an NCAA rule change passed in January 1991, which required Division I schools to conduct all sports at the Division I level by 1993, the conference was formed by charter members Butler University, the University of Dayton, Drake University, the University of Evansville, and Valparaiso University.^[1] The University of San Diego joined in 1992, and the league played its first season in 1993. The six original schools which played in the 1993 season had previously sponsored football at the Division I, Division II and Division III levels.

Membership changes

Original contraction

In 1997, the league was reduced to five members when the University of Evansville downgraded football from Division I to club status.

2001 expansion

In 2001, the conference nearly doubled in size and was reorganized with the five pre-2001 members forming the North Division, and newcomers Austin Peay State University, Davidson College, Jacksonville University and Morehead State University forming the South Division. The reorganization spawned a new championship system in which the best record holders from each division would play in a title game for the conference championship.

2005–2008 membership changes

On April 8, 2005, Austin Peay announced its departure from the league effective after the 2005 season; Austin Peay returned to scholarship-granting competition in 2007 as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference in which it competes in other sports. As a result, the conference reverted to round-robin play; the divisions and championship game were abolished. On April 7, 2006, Campbell University announced the reinstatement of football effective in 2008, and on December 5, 2007, accepted an invitation to the PFL.^[2] In February 2008, Marist College announced that it would join the PFL for the 2009 season, after the MAAC stopped sponsoring football.^[3] Although Campbell moved in 2011 from the Atlantic Sun Conference to the Big South Conference, which sponsors football, it did not join the Big South in football and remained in the PFL through the 2017 season.^[4]

2013 membership changes & automatic playoff berth

On June 13, 2011, Mercer University and Stetson University were announced as league members (effective 2013) bringing membership to 12 schools.^[5] In addition, as of 2013, the league has an automatic bid into the FCS division I playoffs.^[6] Soon after its PFL membership was announced, Mercer accepted an invitation to join the Southern Conference (scholarship-granting) effective July 1, 2014.^[7] During its one season in the league, Mercer set a Division I win–loss record for start-up programs; Mercer finished the 2013 season with an overall record of 10–2 including an undefeated 8–0 record at home, also a Division I record held jointly with Auburn University, which likewise went undefeated at home in 2013.

On July 1, 2014, Mercer University joined the Southern Conference for all sports, including football.

The next change in conference membership was announced on November 14, 2016, when Campbell announced it would transition to scholarship football and add that sport to its existing Big South membership effective with the 2018 season, temporarily reducing the PFL membership to 10.^[8] Barring any further changes to conference membership, the PFL would have returned to 11 members in 2021, following the November 20, 2017 announcement of Presbyterian College that it would join the conference starting with the 2021 season. Presbyterian remains in the Big South Conference for all other sports.^[9] While Presbyterian did not become a full conference member until July 2021, it began PFL play in the spring 2021 season, rescheduled from fall 2020 due to COVID-19. After two PFL members chose not to play in the 2020–21 school year, the conference entered into a scheduling agreement with Presbyterian that included it in the spring 2021 schedule. While PC was not eligible for the PFL title in that season, it was eligible for the league's individual awards and honors.^[10]^[11]

2019: Jacksonville drops football

On December 3, 2019 Jacksonville University announced that it discontinued its football program immediately.^[12]

2021: Further expansion

Presbyterian was joined as a new PFL member in 2021 by the University of St. Thomas, a Twin Cities school that had been expelled from its longtime Division III home of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) effective in 2021–22. Shortly after the MIAC announced St. Thomas' expulsion, the Summit League, a non-football Division I conference, offered the Tommies membership. The NCAA announced on July 15, 2020 that it had granted a waiver to allow St. Thomas to make the jump to D-I on a five-year schedule, instead of the four years used for moves from Division II. The Tommies will not be eligible for the FCS playoffs until the transition is completed in 2026.^[13]

Member schools

Current members

Institution	Location	Founded	Joined	Type	Enrollment	Nickname	Primary conference when joining the PFL	Current primary conference
Butler University	Indianapolis, Indiana	1855	1991	Private	5,554	Bulldogs	Horizon	Big East
Davidson College	Davidson, North Carolina	1837	2001		1,950	Wildcats	SoCon	Atlantic 10
University of Dayton	Dayton, Ohio	1850	1991		8,353	Flyers	Horizon	Atlantic 10
Drake University	Des Moines, Iowa	1881	1991		3,164	Bulldogs	Missouri Valley
Marist College	Poughkeepsie, New York	1929	2009		6,200	Red Foxes	MAAC
Morehead State University	Morehead, Kentucky	1922	2001	Public	8,218	Eagles	OVC
Presbyterian College	Clinton, South Carolina	1880	2021	Private	1,172	Blue Hose	Big South
University of St. Thomas	St. Paul, Minnesota	1885	2021		9,878	Tommies	Summit
University of San Diego	San Diego, California	1949	1992		4,904	Toreros	WCC
Stetson University	DeLand, Florida	1883	2013		4,330	Hatters	ASUN
Valparaiso University	Valparaiso, Indiana	1859	1991		2,917	Beacons	Summit	Missouri Valley

Notes

Former members

Institution	Location	Founded	Joined	Left	Type	Nickname	Primary conference when joining the PFL	Current primary conference
Austin Peay State University	Clarksville, Tennessee	1927	2001	2006	Public	Governors	OVC	ASUN
Campbell University	Buies Creek, North Carolina	1887	2008	2018	Private	Fighting Camels	ASUN	CAA
University of Evansville	Evansville, Indiana	1854	1991	1998^[a]		Purple Aces	Missouri Valley
Jacksonville University	Jacksonville, Florida	1934	2001	2020^[b]		Dolphins	ASUN
Mercer University	Macon, Georgia	1833	2013	2014		Bears	ASUN	SoCon

Notes

^ Evansville dropped football following the 1997–98 school year.
^ Jacksonville dropped football following the 2019–20 school year.

Membership timeline

Full members Other Conference Other Conference

Rivalries

One in-state rivalry currently exists in the PFL. A second had existed before Jacksonville discontinued its football program.

Butler and Valparaiso first met in 1927, and have played every year since 1951. Since 2006, the schools have played for the Hoosier Helmet Trophy. Butler leads the all-time series 54–30. The rivalry extended to all sports when both schools were in the Horizon League from 2007 to 2012.

Jacksonville and Stetson had a football rivalry that ran from 2013, when Stetson began PFL play, to 2019, after which Jacksonville dropped football. The schools have been conference rivals in other sports since 1998, when Jacksonville joined the ASUN Conference, home to Stetson since 1985.

Butler and Dayton also have a rivalry based on proximity to each other. The teams have met every year since 1977 with the exception of 1991, 1992 and 2020. Dayton leads 34–14–1.

Conference championships

Butler

Davidson

Dayton

Drake

Marist

Morehead State

Presbyterian

St. Thomas

San Diego

Stetson

Valparaiso

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Locations of Pioneer Football League schools

PFL champions

Season	Champion	Record
1993	Dayton	5–0–0
1994	Butler Dayton	4–1–0
1995	Drake	5–0–0
1996	Dayton	5–0–0
1997	Dayton	5–0–0
1998	Drake	4–0
1999	Dayton	4–0
2000	Dayton Drake Valparaiso	3–1
2001	Dayton	Championship Game
2002	Dayton	Championship Game
2003	Valparaiso	Championship Game
2004	Drake	Championship Game
2005	San Diego	Championship Game
2006	San Diego	7–0
2007	Dayton San Diego	6–1
2008	Jacksonville	7–1
2009	Butler Dayton	7–1
2010	Jacksonville Dayton	8–0
2011	San Diego Drake	7–1
2012	Butler Drake San Diego	7–1
2013	Butler Marist	7–1
2014	San Diego	7–1^[14]
2015	Dayton San Diego	7–1
2016	San Diego	8–0
2017	San Diego	8–0
2018	San Diego	8–0
2019	San Diego	8–0
2020/21*	Davidson	4–1
2021	Davidson San Diego	7–1
2022	St. Thomas	8–0
2023	Drake	8–0
2024	Drake	7–1

(*) Due to COVID-19, the Pioneer Football League suspended the fall 2020 football season. Dayton and Marist opted out of the spring season. Presbyterian played a full PFL schedule, but was ineligible for the conference title, and its games were not counted in PFL standings.

League titles by school

School	Championships	Championship Years
Dayton	12	1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001^, 2002^, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2015
San Diego	12	2005^, 2006, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021*
Drake	8	1995, 1998, 2000, 2004^, 2011, 2012*, 2023, 2024
Butler	4	1994, 2009, 2012, 2013
Jacksonville	2	2008, 2010
Valparaiso	2	2000, 2003^*
Davidson	2	2020×, 2021
Marist	1	2013
St. Thomas	1	2022
Campbell	0	–
Morehead State	0	–
Evansville	0	–
Austin Peay	0	–
Stetson	0	–
Presbyterian	0	–

^* – Won in PFL Championship Game
× – played in spring 2021
Italics – Co-champions

PFL Championship Game

Season	North Division	Score	South Division	Location
2001	Dayton	46–14	Jacksonville	Dayton, Ohio
2002	Dayton	28–0	Morehead State	Morehead, Kentucky
2003	Valparaiso	54–42	Morehead State	Valparaiso, Indiana
2004	Drake	20–17	Morehead State	Morehead, Kentucky
2005	San Diego	47–40	Morehead State	San Diego, California

Postseason games

The Pioneer Football League has had alliances with the Gridiron Classic and the Sports Network Cup. In addition, league members are allowed to accept at-large invitations to other college bowl games and teams are eligible to compete in the FCS playoffs.

Through the 2012 season, the NCAA did not offer the league an automatic invite to the FCS playoffs and never offered an at-large bid to any of its teams, effectively barring the league from the tournament. Starting in 2013, the Pioneer League received an automatic bid to compete in the Division I Football Championship as the playoffs expanded from 20 teams to 24. The PFL won its first playoff game in 2016, as San Diego advanced past the first round of the playoffs.

The PFL was a participant in the NCAA Division I FCS Consensus Mid-Major Football National Championship, along with the Northeast Conference and Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, two other conferences without automatic playoff bids. The Consensus championship has since been discontinued; the NEC first earned an automatic postseason bid in 2010, while the MAAC no longer sponsors football.

Members pre-PFL postseason results

Below are postseason accomplishments by past and current members prior to the formation of the Pioneer Football League.

Season	Champion		Runner-up		Bowl
1945	Drake	13	Fresno State	12	Raisin Bowl
1946	Evansville	19	Northern Illinois	7	Turkey Bowl
1947	Evansville	20	Northern Illinois	0	Hoosier Bowl
1948	Drake	14	Arizona	13	Salad Bowl
1948	Evansville	13	Missouri Valley	7	Refrigerator Bowl
1949	Evansville	22	Hillsdale	7	Refrigerator Bowl
1950	Wisconsin-La Crosse	47	Valparaiso	14	Cigar Bowl
1951	Houston	26	Dayton	21	Salad Bowl
1957	Louisville	34	Drake	20	Sun Bowl
1960	Middle Tennessee State	21	Presbyterian	12	Tangerine Bowl
1969	Arkansas State	29	Drake	21	Pecan Bowl
1969	Toledo	56	Davidson	33	Tangerine Bowl
1972	Tennessee State	29	Drake	7	Pioneer Bowl
1973	Wittenberg	21	San Diego	14	Division III Playoffs
1974	Central (IA)	31	Evansville	14	Division III Playoffs
1980	Dayton	63	Ithaca	0	Stagg Bowl
1981	Widener	17	Dayton	10	Stagg Bowl
1983	Cal Davis	25	Butler	3	Division II Playoffs
1987	Wagner	19	Dayton	3	Stagg Bowl
1988	Tennessee-Martin	23	Butler	3	Division II Playoffs
1989	Dayton	17	Union (NY)	7	Stagg Bowl
1991	Ithaca	34	Dayton	20	Stagg Bowl
1991	Pittsburg State	26	Butler	16	Division II Playoffs

PFL Sports Network Cup results

See Sports Network Cup

PFL Gridiron Classic results

From 2006 through 2009, the PFL and Northeast Conference (NEC) staged the Gridiron Classic, an exempted postseason football game that matched the champions of the two conferences which were technically members of Division I FCS, but which were not the recipients of automatic invitations to the football championship playoff at the time.

Season	Champion		Runner-up
2006	San Diego	27	Monmouth	7
2007	Dayton	42	Albany	21
2008	Albany	28	Jacksonville	0
2009	Butler	28	Central Connecticut	23

NCAA Division I Football Championship results

Since 2013, the PFL champion has received an invite to the FCS playoffs; previously, PFL teams had to receive an at-large bid, which no team ever received.

Season	PFL Champion	Round	Opponent(s)	Result(s)
2013	Butler	First Round	Tennessee State	L, 0–31
2014	San Diego	First Round	Montana	L, 14–52
2015	Dayton	First Round	Western Illinois	L, 7–24
2016	San Diego	First Round Second Round	Cal Poly North Dakota State	W, 35–21 L, 7–45
2017	San Diego	First Round Second Round	Northern Arizona North Dakota State	W, 41–10 L, 3–38
2018	San Diego	First Round	Nicholls	L, 30–49
2019	San Diego	First Round	Northern Iowa	L, 3–17
2020–21	Davidson	First Round	Jacksonville State	L, 14–49
2021	Davidson	First Round	Kennesaw State	L, 21–48
2022	Davidson*	First Round	Richmond	L, 0–41
2023	Drake	First Round	North Dakota State	L, 3–66
2024	Drake	First Round	Tarleton State	L, 29–43

* - St. Thomas was the PFL champion in 2022; however, they were ineligible for postseason play due to still being in transition from Division III. Davidson, the runner-up, was awarded the auto-bid in their place.

Historical standings

Conference facilities

School	Football Stadium	Capacity
Butler	Bud and Jackie Sellick Bowl	7,500
Davidson	Richardson Stadium	4,741
Dayton	Welcome Stadium	11,000
Drake	Drake Stadium	14,557^[15]
Marist	Leonidoff Field	5,000^[16]
Morehead State	Jayne Stadium	10,000
Presbyterian	Bailey Memorial Stadium	6,500
St. Thomas	O'Shaughnessy Stadium	5,025
San Diego	Torero Stadium	6,000
Stetson	Spec Martin Memorial Stadium	6,000
Valparaiso	Brown Field	5,000