| Missouri State Bears football | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
 | |||
| First season | 1909; 115 years ago | ||
| Head coach | Ryan Beard 1st season, 4–7 (.364) | ||
| Stadium | Robert W. Plaster Stadium[1] (capacity: 17,500) | ||
| Location | Springfield, Missouri, U.S. | ||
| NCAA division | Division I FCS | ||
| Conference | Missouri Valley (CUSA in 2025) | ||
| Past conferences | Independent (1909–1923) MIAA (1924–1980) Mid-Continent (1981–1984) | ||
| All-time record | 492–532–39[2] (.481) | ||
| Playoff appearances | 5 | ||
| Playoff record | 1–4 | ||
| Conference titles | 10 | ||
| Consensus All-Americans | 50 Associated Press[3] | ||
| Colors | Maroon and white[4] | ||
| Fight song | The Scotsman | ||
| Mascot | Boomer | ||
| Marching band | The Pride | ||
| Outfitter | Adidas | ||
| Website | missouristatebears.com | ||
The Missouri State Bears football program is the college football team that represents Missouri State University located in Springfield, Missouri, United States. Missouri State competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and is a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference. The program is in the two-year transition up to the FBS subdivision; it will join Conference USA in 2025 and become a full FBS member in 2026.[5]
The school was known as Southwest Missouri State until 2005 when they changed the name to Missouri State. Missouri State's first football team was fielded in 1909 and the first coach in program history was Walter Langston who went 4–2 in his only season as head coach. Prior to 1923, the team competed as an Independent. From 1923 to 1980, Missouri State were members of the Missouri Intercollegiate Athletics Association (now Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association), of which Missouri State was a founding member. During that time the Bears were classified in the NCAA College Division from 1958 to 1972. From 1973 to 1980 the Bears played in NCAA Division II. Missouri State moved up to the Association of Mid-Continent Universities in time for the 1981 season, which was their first season in NCAA Division I-AA. In 1985, the Bears became a founding member of the Gateway Football Conference which later became the Missouri Valley Football Conference in 2008.
Missouri State has an all-time record of 492–532–39 and have won 10 conference championships. They won their most recent conference championship in 2020. Missouri State was ranked second in the country for 3 weeks from October 15 to 29, 1990. This is still the highest ranking in school history.[2] The team plays its home games at the 17,500-seat Robert W. Plaster Stadium which has been its home since 1941. The Bears have had 22 head coaches in their history, including their current head coach Ryan Beard.
- ^ "Robert W. Plaster Stadium". Missouri State.
- ^ a b "Media Guide" (PDF). s3.amazonaws.com. 2019. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
- ^ "2015 Missouri State Football Guide". Issuu.
- ^ "Colors - Identity Standards - Missouri State University". February 5, 2015. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
- ^ Lyndal Scranton, Missouri State to join Conference USA for chance to ‘play at the highest level in all sports’, Springfield Daily Citizen, May 10, 2024.