List of Ohio Valley Conference football champions
| Ohio Valley Conference football champions | |
|---|---|
| Conference Football Champion | |
| Sport | College football |
| Conference | Ohio Valley Conference |
| Number of teams | 9 |
| Played | 1948–2022 |
| Current champion | Austin Peay (2) Southeast Missouri State (2) |
| Most championships | Eastern Kentucky (21) |
This is a list of yearly regular season champions in college football of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) FCS Ohio Valley Conference. Fifteen different teams have won a championship in the seven decade history of the OVC; every team that plays in the conference has won at least one conference championship.[1]
After the 2022 season, the OVC effectively merged its football league with that of the Big South Conference as the Big South–OVC Football Association.
Champions by year
[edit]† Both the OVC[1]: 82 [2] and Tennessee Tech[3] list Tennessee Tech (6–1) as champion, while Western Kentucky (6–1) with a head-to-head victory over Tennessee Tech claims this as a co-championship.[4]
†† Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 OVC season was postponed until the Spring of 2021. Some teams played in the Fall. However, all conference games were played as per normal and the champions were crowned on April 11, 2021.
Championships by team
[edit]| Team | Ohio Valley Championships |
Years |
|---|---|---|
| Eastern Kentucky | 21 | 1954, 1962, 1967, 1968, 1974, 1976, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1997, 2007, 2008, 2011 |
| Middle Tennessee State | 11 | 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1985, 1989, 1990, 1992 |
| Tennessee Tech | 10 | 1952, 1953, 1955, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1972, 1975, 2011 |
| Jacksonville State | 9 | 2003, 2004, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020/21 |
| Western Kentucky | 9 | 1952, 1963, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1975†,1978, 1980, 2000 |
| Murray State | 8 | 1948, 1950, 1951, 1979, 1986, 1995, 1996, 2002 |
| Eastern Illinois | 7 | 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2012, 2013 |
| Southeast Missouri State | 3 | 2010, 2019, 2022 |
| UT Martin | 3 | 2006, 2021, 2022 |
| Tennessee State | 2 | 1998, 1999 |
| East Tennessee State | 2 | 1962, 1969 |
| Morehead State | 2 | 1962, 1966 |
| Evansville | 2 | 1948, 1949 |
| Austin Peay | 2 | 1977, 2019 |
| Youngstown State | 1 | 1987 |
Bold indicates an outright conference championship.
Italics indicates a school not competing in the Big South–OVC Football Association.
† Claimed as a co-championship by WKU, but not recognized by the Ohio Valley Conference.
Notes
[edit]- ^ Jacksonville State (6–1) had the best record in the conference, but was ineligible for the championship due to Academic Progress Rate sanctions.
- ^ Tennessee Tech won the tiebreaker for the conference's automatic bid to the FCS playoffs.
References
[edit]- ^ a b "2017 Ohio Valley Conference Media Guide" (PDF). ovcsports.com.
- ^ "Past OVC Football Champions". ovcsports.com.
- ^ "2014 Tennessee Tech Football Guide". ttusports.com. Tennessee Tech Athletics. p. 166.
- ^ "2017 WKU Football Media Guide" (PDF). wkusports.com. Western Kentucky Athletics. p. 164. Retrieved April 25, 2018.