Missouri State Bears football


The Missouri State Bears football program is the intercollegiate American football team that represents Missouri State University located in Springfield, Missouri. Missouri State competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision and are members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference.
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 Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association, which Missouri State was a founding member of. 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 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 470-519-39 and have won 9 conference championships. They won their most recent conference championship in 1990. The 1990 season also, saw Missouri State ranked 2nd in the country for 3 weeks from 10/15/1990 to 10/29/1990. This is still the highest ranking school history. The team plays its home games at the 17,500 seat Robert W. Plaster Stadium which has been its home since 1941. Plaster Stadium is the 4th largest stadium in the conference and the second largest college football specific venue in Missouri. The Bears have had 21 head coaches in their history, including their current head coach Bobby Petrino. The 2020 season will be his first at Missouri State.

History

Classifications

†Founding member of the conference

Head coaches

Since 1909, the Missouri State Bears have had 21 different head coaches. The first coach in program history was Walter Langston who coached the team for 1 year. Arthur Briggs is the longest tenured head coach with two non consecutive runs as head coach. He coached the Bears for 20 seasons in total. The current coach is Bobby Petrino who was hired on January 16, 2020. There was no team for the 1913 season. Due to World War II, Missouri State did not field a team for the 1943-1944 seasons.

Facilities

Plaster Stadium

Missouri State plays all home games at Plaster Stadium, which has been their home since 1941. From its opening in 1941 to 1991 the stadium was known as Briggs Stadium. The stadium currently seats 17,500 people. It has undergone several major renovations in 1991 and, most recently, in 2014. After the 1991 renovation which added an upper-deck on the west side and a row of sky-boxes and press box, the stadium was renamed in honor of Robert W. Plaster who provided the major gift for the project. The Stadium was updated in 2008 with a new video board behind the South Endzone. The 2014 renovation made significant changes to the East side of the stadium and the playing surface. The track was removed and the East side was completely rebuilt. The stadium record attendance is 18,386 which was at the 2014 home opener vs. North Dakota.

Top 5 largest crowds

RankDateAttendanceOpponentResult
1September 13, 201418,386North DakotaW, 38–0
2September 12, 201717,835Chadron StateW, 21–13
3October 28, 199715,672Pittsburg StateL, 8–9
4November 2, 199615,878Western IllinoisL, 17–23
5September 9, 200015,647Missouri SouthernW, 48–3

Retired Numbers

Missouri State has retired 4 Jerseys which are memorialized on the second level of the stadium's West side.

Championships

Conference championships

Missouri State has won nine conference championships in their history. The Bears won 7 championships in the MIAA and 2 championships in the Gateway. The first conference championship was won in 1928 under coach Arthur Briggs. Jesse Branch is the only coach to win multiple conference championships. The 1928 and 1990 championships were shared titles.

Postseason Appearances

FCS Playoffs

Missouri State has appeared in the FCS Playoffs twice. Under head coach Jesse Branch, the Bears made two straight trips in 1989 and 1990. In 1989 they drew a first round matchup with the Maine Black Bears. Missouri State won 38-35 and advanced to play the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks in the Quarterfinals where they lost 55-25. Missouri State made it to the playoffs again in the 1990 season. They played at home against the Idaho Vandals and lost 41–35. Their all time record is 1-2.

Bowl games

Missouri State has appeared in 4 bowl games and are 0–4 all time.
Note: The 1989 Pecan Bowl was the Midwest Regional Championship.

Records

Record vs. MIAA Teams

Record vs. Former MVFC Teams

Record vs. Current MVFC Teams

†note: North Dakota will join the Missouri Valley Football Conference in 2020. The Bears have played them twice in non-conference.

Notable players

Current NFL players

Former NFL players

PlayerPosition1st YearDraft RoundTeams
Charlie MitchellC1945Chicago Bears
Henry MayT195117Chicago Cardinals
Bob DeesT195218Los Angeles Rams
Paul MullinsT1953New York Giants
Ben KoenemanC1957San Francisco 49ers
Bill KaczmarekT195825San Francisco 49ers
Glenn SowderT1961Denver Broncos
Rich JohanningmeierT1964Houston Oilers
Pat TalburtDT196616Kansas City Chiefs
Sam McDowellT19689Miami Dolphins
Tom MullenT19742New York Giants
Tom McIntyreFB1974Houston Oilers
Fred TabronRB19747Minnesota Vikings
Bob GranaTE1975St. Louis Cardinals
Dennis HeimDT197811New York Giants
Mike MurphyLB19796Houston Oilers
Tim RiesDB19797Houston Oilers
Jan StahleK1979Houston Oilers
Chris SellaLB1979New Orleans Saints
John FindersFB1983Dallas Cowboys
Darrin NewboldLB19837New York Jets
Mike ArmentroutDB19859Kansas City Chiefs
Rick FultonDT1985New York Giants
Keith WilliamsRB19866Atlanta Falcons
Brad SellenrickT1986Green Bay Packers
Steve AcheLB1987Minnesota Vikings
Matt SoraghanLB1988Green Bay Packers
Clay HarborTE20064Philadelphia Eagles, Jacksonville Jaguars, New England Patriots, Detroit Lions, New Orleans Saints, Team 9

Future opponents

Announced schedules as of February 6, 2020
Note: † Homecoming, # Thursday night game, * Conference match-up