This is a list of yearly Missouri Valley Football Conference champions. Co-champions are listed in alphabetical order. Italics indicate a school that no longer competes in the MVFC
| Record | Ranking^ | ||||||
| Year | Champions | Conference | Overall | STATS^^ | Coaches | Playoff finish | Head coach |
| 1985 | 5–0 | 11–2 | 4 | – | Darrell Mudra | ||
| 1986 | Eastern Illinois | 5–1 | 11–2 | 3 | – | Al Molde | |
| 1987 | 6–0 | 10–4 | 4 | – | Darrell Mudra | ||
| 1988 | Western Illinois | 6–0 | 10–2 | 3 | – | Bruce Craddock | |
| 1989 | 5–1 | 10–3 | 9 | – | Jesse Branch | ||
| 1990 | 5–1 | 9–3 | 6 | – | Jesse Branch | ||
| 5–1 | 8–4 | 11 | – | Terry Allen | |||
| 1991 | 5–1 | 11–2 | 4 | – | Terry Allen | ||
| 1992 | 5–1 | 12–2 | 3 | – | Terry Allen | ||
| 1993 | 5–1 | 8–4 | 13 | – | Terry Allen | ||
| 1994 | 6–0 | 8–4 | 11 | – | Terry Allen | ||
| 1995 | Eastern Illinois | 5–1 | 10-2 | 14 | – | Bob Spoo | |
| 5–1 | 8–5 | 13 | – | Terry Allen | |||
| 1996 | 5–0 | 12–2 | 3 | – | Terry Allen | ||
| 1997 | Western Illinois | 6–0 | 11–2 | 6 | – | Randy Ball | |
| 1998 | Western Illinois | 5–1 | 11–3 | 4 | – | Randy Ball | |
| 1999 | 6–0 | 11–3 | 3 | – | Todd Berry | ||
| 2000 | Western Illinois | 5–1 | 9–3 | 12 | – | Don Patterson | |
| 2001 | 6–1 | 11–3 | 4 | – | Mark Farley | ||
| 2002 | Western Illinois | 6–1 | 11–2 | 5 | – | Don Patterson | |
| Western Kentucky | 6–1 | 12–3 | 1 | – | Jack Harbaugh | ||
| 2003 | 6–1 | 10–3 | 5 | – | Mark Farley | ||
| 6–1 | 10–2 | 9 | – | Jerry Kill | |||
| 2004 | 7–0 | 10–2 | 9 | – | Jerry Kill | ||
| 2005 | 5–2 | 11–4 | 2 | – | Mark Farley | ||
| 5–2 | 9–4 | 7 | – | Jerry Kill | |||
| 5–2 | 8–3 | 14 | – | None | Jon Heacock | ||
| 2006 | 6–1 | 11–3 | 4 | – | Jon Heacock | ||
| 2007 | 6–0 | 12–1 | 4 | 5 | Mark Farley | ||
| 2008 | 7–1 | 12–3 | 4 | 4 | Mark Farley | ||
| 7–1 | 9–3 | 11 | 10 | Dale Lennon | |||
| 2009 | 8–0 | 11–2 | 6 | 6 | Dale Lennon | ||
| 2010 | 6–2 | 7–5 | 19 | 18 | Mark Farley | ||
| 2011 | 7–1 | 14–1 | 1 | 1 | Craig Bohl | ||
| 2012 | 7–1 | 14–1 | 1 | 1 | Craig Bohl | ||
| 2013 | 8–0 | 15–0 | 1 | 1 | Craig Bohl | ||
| 2014 | 7–1 | 13–2 | 2 | 2 | Brock Spack | ||
| 7–1 | 15–1 | 1 | 1 | Chris Klieman | |||
| 2015 | 7–1 | 10–3 | 5 | 5 | Brock Spack | ||
| 7–1 | 13–2 | 1 | 1 | Chris Klieman | |||
| 2016 | 7–1 | 12–2 | 3 | 3 | Chris Klieman | ||
| 7–1 | 9–4 | 6 | 7 | John Stiegelmeier | |||
| 2017 | 7–1 | 14–1 | 1 | 1 | Chris Klieman | ||
| 2018 | 8–0 | 15–0 | 1 | 1 | Chris Klieman | ||
| 2019 | 8–0 | 16–0 | 1 | 1 | Matt Entz | ||
| 2020^^^ | 5–1 | 5–5 | 13 | 13 | Bobby Petrino | ||
| 5–1 | 8–2 | 2 | 2 | John Stiegelmeier | |||
| 4–1 | 5–2 | 6 | 6 | Bubba Schweigert | |||
| 2021 | 7–1 | 14–1 | 1 | 1 | Matt Entz | ||
| 2022 | 8–0 | 14–1 | 1 | 1 | John Stiegelmeier | ||
| 2023 | 8–0 | 15–0 | 1 | 1 | Jimmy Rogers | ||
| 2024 | 7–1 | 10–2 | Tim Polasek | ||||
| 7–1 | 10–2 | Jimmy Rogers | |||||
| 7–1 | 9–2 | Bob Nielson | |||||
Note: The conference was known as the Gateway Football Conference prior from 1992-2008. Then, from 1982-92 the conference was known as the Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference.
^ Final ranking after the championship game that season
^^ The STATS poll was supplied by The Sports Network prior to 2015
^^^ 2020 season was played in Spring 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic
| width=150px | Team | width=100px | MVFC titles | width=100px | Outright MVFC titles | width=650px | Winning years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Iowa | 1985, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011 | ||||||
| North Dakota State | 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2024 | ||||||
| South Dakota State | 2016, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024 | ||||||
| Southern Illinois | 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009 | ||||||
| Western Illinois | 1988, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2002 | ||||||
| Illinois State | 1999, 2014, 2015 | ||||||
| Missouri State | 1989, 1990, 2020 | ||||||
| Eastern Illinois | 1986, 1995 | ||||||
| Youngstown State | 2005, 2006 | ||||||
| South Dakota | 2024 | ||||||
| North Dakota | 2020 | ||||||
| Western Kentucky | 2002 | ||||||
| Indiana State | |||||||
| Murray State | |||||||
| Total |