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2024 Missouri Valley Football Conference season

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2024 Missouri Valley Football Conference season
LeagueNCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision
SportFootball
DurationAugust 29, 2024
through January 6, 2025
Number of teams11
TV partner(s)ESPN College Football, ESPN+, Local TV partners
2025 NFL draft
Regular season
Football seasons
← 2023
2025 →
2024 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 19 Illinois State   0 – 0     0 – 0  
Indiana State   0 – 0     0 – 0  
Missouri State*   0 – 0     0 – 0  
Murray State   0 – 0     0 – 0  
No. 24 North Dakota   0 – 0     0 – 0  
No. 2 North Dakota State   0 – 0     0 – 0  
Northern Iowa   0 – 0     0 – 0  
No. 5 South Dakota   0 – 0     0 – 0  
No. 1 South Dakota State   0 – 0     0 – 0  
No. 10 Southern Illinois   0 – 0     0 – 0  
No. 25 Youngstown State   0 – 0     0 – 0  
* Ineligible for 2024 FCS playoffs due to transition to the FBS
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant
As of August 5, 2024
Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2024 Missouri Valley Football Conference season will be the 39th season of college football play for the Missouri Valley Football Conference and part of the 2024 NCAA Division I FCS football season. This will be the MVFC's first season returning to 11 teams, and its 4th in the last 5 seasons. It will also be their last for now as Missouri State announced before the season that they would be joining Conference USA starting in the 2025–26 academic year. They will be ineligible for the FCS playoffs during the 2024 season.[1]

Previous season

[edit]

In 2023, South Dakota State won the conference and received the automatic bid to the 2023 playoffs. The top seeded Jacks would go on to win their second consecutive FCS Championship, beating second seeded Montana.[2] South Dakota would also make a seed and wait until the second round to play as the third seed, but would fall to North Dakota State in the quarterfinal round.[3] The Bison made the tournament unseeded for the first time since the 2010 season, and would make it all the way to the semifinal round before losing to the Griz[4] - winning two straight road games to get there. Southern Illinois, Youngstown State and North Dakota would also make the playoffs as unseeded teams. The Salukis and Penguins fell in the second round, to 4th seeded Idaho[5] and 6th seeded Villanova[6] respectively. The Fighting Hawks fell at home to Sacramento State in the first round.[7]

Conference changes

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After the conclusion of the 2023 college football season, Western Illinois left the conference for the Ohio Valley Conference after 38 years in the league as a charter member. This move matches the Leathernecks departure from their main conference, the Summit League, which they left after the 2022-23 collegiate season.[8]

Coaching changes

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Murray State

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On January 10, 2024, Jody Wright was named the new head coach at Murray State.[9] Wright takes over for Dean Hood, who retired after the 2023 season.[10]

North Dakota State

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On December 17, 2023, Tim Polasek was named the new head coach at North Dakota State.[11] Polasek takes over for Matt Entz, who left the Bison for the linebackers/assistant coach position at USC.[12]

Preseason

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League Poll

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The annual preseason poll; voted on by conference coaches, athletic directors, and media members.[13]

Predicted finish Team Points (1st place votes)
1 South Dakota State 482 (42)
2 North Dakota State 437 (1)
3 South Dakota 371
4 Southern Illinois 293
5 North Dakota 276
6 Illinois State 264
7 Youngstown State 255
8 Northern Iowa 227
9 Missouri State 164 (1)
10 Indiana State 68
11 Murray State 67

Individual Awards

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Source:[14]

Rankings

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Main article: 2024 NCAA Division I FCS football rankings
Legend
    Improvement in ranking
  Drop in ranking
  Not ranked previous week
  No change in ranking from previous week
RV Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25 of poll
т Tied with team above or below also with this symbol
  Pre Wk
1		 Wk
2		 Wk
3		 Wk
4		 Wk
5		 Wk
6		 Wk
7		 Wk
8		 Wk
9		 Wk
10		 Wk
11		 Wk
12		 Final
Illinois State STATS 19
Coaches
Indiana State STATS
Coaches
Missouri State STATS
Coaches
Murray State STATS
Coaches
North Dakota STATS 24
Coaches
North Dakota State STATS 2
Coaches
Northern Iowa STATS RV
Coaches
South Dakota STATS 5
Coaches
South Dakota State STATS 1
Coaches
Southern Illinois STATS 10
Coaches
Youngstown State STATS 25
Coaches

Schedule

[edit]
Index to colors and formatting
MVFC member won
MVFC member lost
MVFC teams in bold

All times Central time.

† denotes Homecoming game
^ denotes AP Poll ranking for FBS teams

Regular season schedule

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Week 1

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Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
August 29 7:00 PM No. 25 Youngstown State No. 6 Villanova Villanova Stadium • Villanova, PA FloSports    
August 29 7:00 PM No. 2 North Dakota State Colorado Folsom Field • Boulder, CO ESPN    
August 29 7:00 PM Northern State No. 5 South Dakota DakotaDome • Vermillion, SD ESPN+    
August 29 7:00 PM Murray State Missouri Faurot Field • Columbia, MO SEC Network/ESPN+    
August 31 11:00 AM No. 19 Illinois State Iowa Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, IA BTN    
August 31 11:00 AM Indiana State Purdue Ross–Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, IN BTN    
August 31 1:00 PM No. 1 South Dakota State Oklahoma State Boone Pickens Stadium • Stillwater, OK ESPN+    
August 31 2:30 PM No. 24 North Dakota Iowa State Jack Trice Stadium • Ames, IA FS1    
August 31 4:00 PM Valparaiso No. RV Northern Iowa UNI-Dome • Cedar Falls, IA ESPN+    
August 31 7:00 PM No. 10 Southern Illinois BYU LaVell Edwards Stadium • Provo, UT ESPN+    
August 31 8:00 PM Missouri State No. 3 Montana Washington-Grizzly Stadium • Missoula, MT ESPN+    
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Week 2

[edit]
Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
September 7 1:00 PM Northern Iowa St. Thomas O'Shaughnessy Stadium • St. Paul, MN TBA    
September 7 1:00 PM Valparaiso Youngstown State Stambaugh Stadium • Youngstown, OH ESPN+    
September 7 2:00 PM Missouri State Ball State Scheumann Stadium • Muncie, IN TBA    
September 7 2:30 PM Tennessee State North Dakota State Fargodome • Fargo, ND ESPN+    
September 7 2:30 PM South Dakota Wisconsin Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, WI FS1    
September 7 6:00 PM Illinois State North Alabama Braly Municipal Stadium • Florence, AL TBA    
September 7 6:00 PM Indiana State Eastern Illinois O'Brien Field • Charleston, IL ESPN+    
September 7 6:00 PM Southern Illinois Austin Peay Fortera Stadium • Clarksville, TN ESPN+    
September 7 6:00 PM Montana North Dakota Alerus Center • Grand Forks, ND ESPN+    
September 7 6:00 PM Butler Murray State Roy Stewart Stadium • Murray, KY ESPN+    
September 7 6:00 PM Incarnate Word South Dakota State Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD ESPN+    
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Week 3

[edit]
Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
September 14 12:00 PM Western Illinois Illinois State Hancock Stadium • Normal, IL ESPN+    
September 14 1:00 PM Duquesne Youngstown State Stambaugh Stadium • Youngstown, OH ESPN+    
September 14 1:00 PM Idaho State North Dakota Alerus Center • Grand Forks, ND ESPN+    
September 14 3:00 PM South Dakota Portland State Hillsboro Stadium • Portland, OR ESPN+    
September 14 4:30 PM North Dakota State East Tennessee State William B. Greene Jr. Stadium • Johnson City, TN ESPN+    
September 14 5:00 PM Dayton Indiana State Memorial Stadium • Terre Haute, IN ESPN+    
September 14 6:00 PM Mississippi Valley State Murray State Roy Stewart Stadium • Murray, KY ESPN+    
September 14 6:00 PM Lindenwood Missouri State Robert W. Plaster Stadium • Springfield, MO ESPN+    
September 14 6:00 PM Incarnate Word Southern Illinois Saluki Stadium • Carbondale, IL ESPN+    
September 14 6:00 PM Augustana (SD) South Dakota State Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD ESPN+    
September 14 6:30 PM Northern Iowa Nebraska Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE BTN    
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Week 4

[edit]
Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
September 21 1:00 PM San Diego North Dakota Alerus Center • Grand Forks, ND ESPN+    
September 21 1:00 PM Towson North Dakota State† Fargodome • Fargo, ND ESPN+    
September 21 1:00 PM Drake South Dakota DakotaDome • Vermillion, SD ESPN+    
September 21 2:30 PM Youngstown State Pitt Acrisure Stadium • Pittsburgh, PA ACC Network    
September 21 6:00 PM Eastern Illinois Illinois State Hancock Stadium • Normal, IL ESPN+    
September 21 6:00 PM Southeast Missouri State Southern Illinois Saluki Stadium • Carbondale, IL ESPN+    
September 21 6:00 PM South Dakota State Southeastern Louisiana Strawberry Stadium • Hammond, LA    
September 21 6:00 PM Missouri State UT Martin Graham Stadium • Martin, TN ESPN+    
September 21 11:00 PM Northern Iowa Hawaii Clarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex • Honolulu, HI    
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Week 5

[edit]
Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
September 28 12:00 PM Houston Christian Indiana State Memorial Stadium • Terre Haute, IN ESPN+    
September 28 1:00 PM Murray State North Dakota Alerus Center • Grand Forks, ND ESPN+    
September 28 1:00 PM Southern Illinois South Dakota DakotaDome • Vermillion, SD ESPN+    
September 28 2:00 PM Youngstown State Missouri State Robert W. Plaster Stadium • Springfield, MO ESPN+    
September 28 2:00 PM North Dakota State Illinois State† Hancock Stadium • Normal, IL ESPN+    
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.
Date Bye week
September 28 South Dakota State Northern Iowa

Week 6

[edit]
Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
October 5 1:00 PM Indiana State Youngstown State Stambaugh Stadium • Youngstown, OH ESPN+    
October 5 2:00 PM South Dakota Murray State Roy Stewart Stadium • Murray, KY ESPN+    
October 5 2:30 PM North Dakota North Dakota State Fargodome • Fargo, ND ESPN+    
October 5 4:00 PM South Dakota State Northern Iowa UNI-Dome • Cedar Falls, IA ESPN+    
October 5 6:00 PM Illinois State Southern Illinois Saluki Stadium • Carbondale, IL ESPN+    
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.
Date Bye week
October 5 Missouri State

Week 7

[edit]
Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
October 12 12:00 PM Missouri State Illinois State Hancock Stadium • Normal, IL ESPN+    
October 12 12:00 PM Murray State Indiana State Memorial Stadium • Terre Haute, IN ESPN+    
October 12 2:00 PM North Dakota State Southern Illinois† Saluki Stadium • Carbondale, IL ESPN+    
October 12 2:00 PM Northern Iowa South Dakota DakotaDome • Vermillion, SD ESPN+    
October 12 2:00 PM Youngstown State South Dakota State Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD ESPN+    
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.
Date Bye week
October 12 North Dakota

Week 8

[edit]
Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
October 19 TBA South Dakota State North Dakota State Fargodome • Fargo, ND TBA    
October 19 1:00 PM Northern Iowa North Dakota Alerus Center • Grand Forks, ND ESPN+    
October 19 2:00 PM Illinois State Murray State Roy Stewart Stadium • Murray, KY ESPN+    
October 19 2:00 PM Indiana State Missouri State† Robert W. Plaster Stadium • Springfield, MO ESPN+    
October 19 5:00 PM South Dakota Youngstown State Stambaugh Stadium • Youngstown, OH ESPN+    
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.
Date Bye week
October 19 Southern Illinois

Week 9

[edit]
Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
October 26 TBA South Dakota South Dakota State Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD TBA    
October 26 12:00 PM Southern Illinois Indiana State† Memorial Stadium • Terre Haute, IN ESPN+    
October 26 1:00 PM North Dakota State Murray State Roy Stewart Stadium • Murray, KY ESPN+    
October 26 4:00 PM Missouri State Northern Iowa† UNI-Dome • Cedar Falls, IA ESPN+    
October 26 5:00 PM North Dakota Youngstown State Stambaugh Stadium • Youngstown, OH ESPN+    
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.
Date Bye week
October 26 Illinois State

Week 10

[edit]
Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
November 2 12:00 PM North Dakota Indiana State Memorial Stadium • Terre Haute, IN ESPN+    
November 2 2:00 PM Youngstown State Illinois State Hancock Stadium • Normal, IL ESPN+    
November 2 2:00 PM Murray State South Dakota State Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD ESPN+    
November 2 2:00 PM Southern Illinois Missouri State Robert W. Plaster Stadium • Springfield, MO ESPN+    
November 2 2:30 PM Northern Iowa North Dakota State Fargodome • Fargo, ND ESPN+    
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.
Date Bye week
November 2 South Dakota

Week 11

[edit]
Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
November 9 12:00 PM Youngstown State Southern Illinois Saluki Stadium • Carbondale, IL ESPN+    
November 9 1:00 PM South Dakota State North Dakota Alerus Center • Grand Forks, ND ESPN+    
November 9 1:00 PM Missouri State Murray State Roy Stewart Stadium • Murray, KY ESPN+    
November 9 1:00 PM Illinois State Northern Iowa UNI-Dome • Cedar Falls, IA ESPN+    
November 9 1:00 PM Indiana State South Dakota DakotaDome • Vermillion, SD ESPN+    
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.
Date Bye week
November 9 North Dakota State

Week 12

[edit]
Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
November 16 11:00 AM Northern Iowa Youngstown State Stambaugh Stadium • Youngstown, OH ESPN+    
November 16 12:00 PM Illinois State Indiana State Memorial Stadium • Terre Haute, IN ESPN+    
November 16 12:00 PM South Dakota North Dakota Alerus Center • Grand Forks, ND ESPN+    
November 16 12:30 PM Murray State Kentucky Kroger Field • Lexington, KY SEC Network/ESPN+    
November 16 2:00 PM Southern Illinois South Dakota State Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD ESPN+    
November 16 2:30 PM Missouri State North Dakota State Fargodome • Fargo, ND ESPN+    
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Week 13

[edit]
Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
November 23 12:00 PM North Dakota Illinois State Hancock Stadium • Normal, IL ESPN+    
November 23 12:00 PM Murray State Southern Illinois Saluki Stadium • Carbondale, IL ESPN+    
November 23 1:00 PM Indiana State Northern Iowa UNI-Dome • Cedar Falls, IA ESPN+    
November 23 1:00 PM North Dakota State South Dakota DakotaDome • Vermillion, SD ESPN+    
November 23 2:00 PM South Dakota State Missouri State Robert W. Plaster Stadium • Springfield, MO ESPN+    
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.
Date Bye week
November 23 Youngstown State

MVFC records vs other conferences

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2024–25 records against non-conference foes:

Awards and honors

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Player of the week honors

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Week Offensive Defensive Special teams Freshman
Player Position Team Player Position Team Player Position Team Player Position Team

Home attendance

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Team Stadium Capacity Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Game 4 Game 5 Game 6 Game 7 Game 8 Game 9 Total Average % of capacity
Illinois State Hancock Stadium 13,391 %
Indiana State Memorial Stadium 12,764 %
Missouri State Robert W. Plaster Stadium 17,500 %
Murray State Roy Stewart Stadium 16,800 %
North Dakota Alerus Center 12,283 %
North Dakota State Fargodome 18,700 %
Northern Iowa UNI-Dome 16,324 %
South Dakota DakotaDome 9,100 %
South Dakota State Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium 19,340 %
Southern Illinois Saluki Stadium 15,000 %
Youngstown State Stambaugh Stadium 20,630 %

Bold - Exceed or met capacity
†Season High
‡FCS Playoff Game

2025 NFL draft

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Main article: 2025 NFL draft

The following list includes all MVFC players who were drafted in the 2025 NFL draft.

Player Position School Draft
round 		Round
pick 		Overall
pick 		Team

Head coaches

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Through ---
All stats include 2024 season

Team Head coach Years at school Overall record Record at school MVFC record MVFC titles FCS playoff appearances FCS playoff record National titles
Illinois State Brock Spack 16 101–70 (.591) 101–70 (.591) 64–52 (.552) 2 5 7–5 (.583) 0
Indiana State Curt Mallory 7[a] 20–47 (.299) 20–47 (.299) 13–35 (.271) 0 0 0–0 (–) 0
Missouri State Ryan Beard 2 4–7 (.364) 4–7 (.364) 3–5 (.375) 0 0 0–0 (–) 0
Murray State Jody Wright 1 0–0 (–) 0–0 (–) 0–0 (–) 0 0 0–0 (–) 0
North Dakota Bubba Schweigert[b] 11 83–71 (.539) 61–50 (.550) 17–12 (.586) 0 5 1–5 (.167) 0
North Dakota State Tim Polasek 1 0–0 (–) 0–0 (–) 0–0 (–) 0 0 0–0 (–) 0
Northern Iowa Mark Farley 24 180–103 (.636) 180–103 (.636) 116–59 (.663) 7 13 16–13 (.552) 0
South Dakota Bob Nielson[c] 9 228–125–1 (.645) 42–45 (.483) 29–31 (.483) 0 3 2–3 (.400) 2
South Dakota State Jimmy Rogers 2 15–0 (1.000) 15–0 (1.000) 8–0 (1.000) 1 1 4–0 (1.000) 1
Southern Illinois Nick Hill 9 44–48 (.478) 44–48 (.478) 26–36 (.419) 0 3 3–3 (.500) 0
Youngstown State Doug Phillips 5 18–22 (.450) 18–22 (.450) 12–18 (.400) 0 1 1–1 (.500) 0
  1. ^ Indiana State did not play football in the 2020-21 academic year
  2. ^ Bubba Schweigert coached Minnesota Duluth of NCAA Division II from 2004-07. He also coached North Dakota while they were a part of the Big Sky Conference from 2014-17 and were independents in 2018 and 2019.
  3. ^ Bob Nielson coached Western Illinois from 2013-15, which included a run in the playoffs that ended in the second round. Nielson also coached Minnesota-Duluth from 1999-2003 and 2008-12, that second stint included five consecutive NCAA Division II playoff appearances highlighted by 2 National Titles. In the first stint at MN-Duluth included his first Division II playoff appearance. Nielson also coached Wisconsin-Eau Claire from 1996-98 that included one NCAA Division III playoff run that ended in the semifinals. Before that, he coached Wartburg from 1991-95, which included two Division III playoff runs as well. His first head coaching job was at Ripon from 1989-90.

References

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  1. ^ "Missouri State heads to FBS, joining Conference USA in 2025". espn.com. ESPN. May 10, 2024. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
  2. ^ "South Dakota State repeats as FCS champs with 29th consecutive win, 23-3 over Montana". apnews.com. Associated Press. January 7, 2024. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
  3. ^ "North Dakota State rolls into FCS semifinals with 45-17 win over South Dakota". cbssports.com. CBS Sports. December 9, 2024. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
  4. ^ "Bergen comes up big as Montana beats North Dakota State 31-29 in 2 OTs to make FCS Championship game". cbssports.com. CBS Sports. December 17, 2023. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
  5. ^ "Chavez kicks 29-yard FG in OT to help Idaho beat S. Illinois 20-17, advance to FCS quarters". apnews.com. Associated Press. December 3, 2023. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
  6. ^ "Watkins, Jackson both run for two TDs, Villanova tops Youngstown State 45-28 in FCS playoffs". apnews.com. Associated Press. December 2, 2023. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
  7. ^ "Late score gives Sacramento State 42-35 win over North Dakota in FCS playoffs". cbssports.com. CBS Sports. November 25, 2023. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
  8. ^ "Leatherneck Athletics Moving to Ohio Valley Conference for All Sports". goleathernecks.com. Western Illinois Leathernecks. May 12, 2023. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
  9. ^ "Murray State Names Jody Wright 20th Head Coach of Racer Football". goracers.com. Murray State Racers. January 10, 2024. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
  10. ^ "Dean Hood Announces Retirement From Coaching". goracers.com. Murray State Racers. January 1, 2024. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
  11. ^ "NDSU Names Tim Polasek Head Football Coach". gobison.com. North Dakota State Bison. December 17, 2023. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
  12. ^ "Matt Entz Leaving NDSU After FCS Playoffs". gobison.com. North Dakota State Bison. December 10, 2023. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
  13. ^ "Valley Football 2024 Preseason Team and Poll". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. July 22, 2024. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
  14. ^ "2024 MVFC Preseason Team and Poll" (PDF). valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. July 22, 2024. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
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