The Missouri State Bears football program is the college football team that...
The Missouri State Bears football program is the college football team that represents Missouri State University located in Springfield, Missouri, Uni...
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 Bowl Subdivision and is a member of Conference USA. The program is in the two-year transition up to FBS; it joined Conference USA in 2025 and will become a full FBS member in 2026.
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, 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.
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