Pioneer Football League
The
Pioneer Football League is a
college athletic conference which operates literally from coast to coast in the
United States It has member schools that range from
North Carolina and
Florida in the east to
California in the west. The conference participates in the
NCAA's Division I-AA as a
football-only conference. Unlike most other Division I-AA conferences, the Pioneer League consists of institutions which choose not to award athletic scholarships ("grants-in-aid") to football players. The Pioneer Football League, like its non-scholarship bretheren the
Ivy League, do not participate in the I-AA playoffs. In lieu of playoff participation, the league champion will, as of 2006, play the champion of the
Northeast Conference in the Gridiron Classic.
*
Butler University, located in
Indianapolis,
Indiana*
Davidson College, located in
Davidson,
North Carolina*
University of Dayton, located in
Dayton,
Ohio*
Drake University, located in
Des Moines,
Iowa*
Jacksonville University, located in
Jacksonville,
Florida*
Morehead State University, located in
Morehead,
Kentucky*
University of San Diego, located in
San Diego,
California*
Valparaiso University, located in
Valparaiso,
IndianaTeams
* Butler Bulldogs
* Davidson Wildcats
* Dayton Flyers
* Drake Bulldogs
* Jacksonville Dolphins
* Morehead State Eagles
* San Diego Toreros
* Valparaiso CrusadersFollowing an NCAA rule change passed in January
1991, which required Division I schools to conduct all sports at the Division I level by 1993, the conference was formed by charter members Butler University, the University of Dayton, Drake University, the
University of Evansville, and Valparaiso University. The University of San Diego joined in
1992, and the league played its first season in 1993. These six schools had previously sponsored football at the Division II and Division III levels. The league was narrowed back to five members after the University of Evansville dropped football in 1997.
However, in
2001, the conference nearly doubled in size and was reorganized with the five current members forming the North Division, and newcomers
Austin Peay State University, Davidson College, Jacksonville University and Morehead State University forming the South Division. This reorganization also spawned a new championship system in which the best record holders from each division would play in a title game for the conference championship.
On
April 8,
2005, Austin Peay announced that it would be leaving the Pioneer Football League after the 2005 season and returning to scholarship-granting competition in
2007 with the
Ohio Valley Conference in which it competes in other sports. As a result, the conference was reverted to round-robin play and the divisions were removed. On
April 7,
2006,
Campbell University announced they would bring back football at the non-scholarship level for the 2008 season, with hopes of joining the PFL at that time. [
1]
On
May 16,
2006, the Pioneer Football League (PFL) and Northeast Conference (NEC) announced a two-year agreement to meet in the Gridiron Classic, an exempted postseason football game that will match the champions of the two I-AA football conferences. The inaugural Gridiron Classic will take place on Saturday, November 18 with the NEC champion serving as host. The PFL winner will host the 2007 event.
Regular season
| Season | Champion!Record |
|---|
| 1993 | Dayton | 5-0-0 |
| 1994 | Dayton | 4-1-0 |
| Butler | 4-1-0 |
| 1995 | Drake | 5-0-0 |
| 1996 | Dayton | 5-0-0 |
| 1997 | Dayton | 5-0-0 |
| 1998 | Drake | 4-0 |
| 1999 | Dayton | 4-0 |
| 2000 | Dayton | 3-1 |
| Drake | 3-1 |
| Valparaiso | 3-1 |
| 2001 | Dayton | 4-0 |
| 2002 | Dayton | 4-0 |
| 2003 | Valparaiso | 3-1 |
| 2004 | Drake | 4-0 |
| 2005 | San Diego | 4-0 |
Championship Games
| Date | Champion | Score | Runner-Up!Location |
|---|
| Nov. 17, 2001 | Dayton | 46-14 | Jacksonville | Dayton, OH |
| Nov. 23, 2002 | Dayton | 28-0 | Morehead State | Morehead, KY |
| Nov. 22, 2003 | Valparaiso | 54-42 | Morehead State | Valparaiso, IN |
| Nov. 20, 2004 | Drake | 20-17 | Morehead State | Morehead, KY |
| Nov. 19, 2005 | San Diego | 47-40 | Morehead State | San Diego, CA |
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Official website
