From a 70-7 loss to FBS: Why Missouri State jumped to college football’s highest level

Missouri State University's move to the highest level of college football (FBS) began to formalize around a 2015 game against Arkansas State. The Sun Belt Conference's invitation to Coastal Carolina sparked mutual interest, leading to preliminary talks between Missouri State and the conference about potential membership. While not intended as a direct trial, the game itself became a stark feasibility study, resulting in a humiliating 70-7 loss for Missouri State, forcing the administration to realize they were not ready for the FBS level at that time.

Missouri State has now joined the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) as a member of Conference USA this summer, alongside Delaware. Their FBS debut is scheduled against USC on August 30th. This jump is significant, moving from recent lower-division opponents to facing ranked teams like SMU. It appears ambitious for a program with a .483 all-time winning percentage, only one shared conference title, and six winning seasons since 2000. Securing what they believed could be one of the last FBS spots required substantial effort beyond typical administrative work.

The university hired controversial coach Bobby Petrino to prove that a school historically known for basketball in a basketball-focused region could achieve football success. Missouri State's historical athletic glory stems primarily from men's basketball under its former name, Southwest Missouri State. Between 1987 and 1999, they made six NCAA Tournament appearances, a feat exceeded by only four current mid-majors during that period. This included a Sweet 16 run in 1999. Basketball remains culturally significant despite a recent record of 221-226 over the last 14 seasons, evidenced by a new arena opening in 2008 and a 2017 internal document prioritizing basketball over football.

The women's basketball program at Missouri State has been even more successful. The Lady Bears have made 17 NCAA Tournament appearances in the past 33 years, led the nation in attendance in 1993, and reached the Final Four in 1992 and 2001. Legendary player Jackie Stiles was a national scoring phenomenon, becoming the first woman to score 1,000 points in a season and graduating as the NCAA's all-time leading scorer (3,393 points, still ranked fifth).