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Missouri Southern Lions football

For information on all Missouri Southern State University sports, see Missouri Southern Lions.

The Missouri Southern Lions football program is the intercollegiate American football team for Missouri Southern State University located in the U.S. state of Missouri. The team competes in the NCAA Division II and are members of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association. The team plays its home games at the 7,000 seat Fred G. Hughes Stadium in Joplin, Missouri. Atiba Bradley was named the 14th head football coach in the history of Missouri Southern on February 5, 2021.

History

See also: List of Missouri Southern Lions football seasons

The Lions football program began in 1968. Their first head coach was Jim Johnson. Under coach Jim Frazier the Lions won the 1972 NAIA Division II football championship.[2]

Conferences

From its inaugural season in 1968 until 1975, Missouri Southern played as an independent program. In 1976, it joined the Central States Intercollegiate Conference in which the school won one conference championships before leaving to play as an NCAA Division II member of the Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association (later renamed Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association) in 1989, where the Lions have since remained a member and have won one conference championship.

Championships

National championship seasons

[3]

Season Coach Selectors Record Bowl
1972 Jim Frazier NAIA Division II Playoffs 12–0 Won NAIA Championship
National Championships 1

Conference championship seasons

Year Conference Coach Overall record Conference record
1976† Central States Intercollegiate Conference Jim Frazier 8–2 4–1
1993 Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association Jon Lantz 9–1–1 9–0
Total Conference championships: 2
† Denotes co-champions

Playoff appearances

NCAA Division II

Missouri Southern has made one appearance in the NCAA Division II playoffs, with a combined record of 0-1.

Year Round Opponent Result
1993 First Round Mankato State L, 13–34

All-time record vs. current MIAA teams

Official record (including any NCAA imposed vacates and forfeits) against all current MIAA opponents as of the end of the 2015 season:

Opponent Won Lost Tied Percentage Streak First Meeting
Central Missouri 15 22 2 .410 Lost 4 1973
Central Oklahoma 2 4 0 .333 Lost 4 2012
Emporia State 21 22 4 .489 Lost 6 1970
Fort Hays State 1 5 0 .167 Lost 5 2012
Lindenwood 1 4 0 .200 Lost 3 2012
Missouri Western 22 26 0 .458 Lost 5 1970
Nebraska–Kearney 8 9 0 .471 Lost 1 1977
Northeastern State 7 14 0 .333 Lost 2 1968
Northwest Missouri State 4 25 0 .138 Lost 23 1989
Pittsburg State 10 39 1 .210 Lost 4 1968
Washburn 20 25 1 .446 Lost 3 1970
Totals 123 205 5 .377

Notable former players

Retired numbers

See also: List of NCAA football retired numbers

The Lions has retired only one number.[4]

Missouri Southern Lions retired numbers
No. Player Pos. Tenure
9 Rod Smith WR 1988–1993

Additionally, Smith was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2009.[4]

Other players

References

  1. ^ Missouri Southern State University Official Brand Guidelines (PDF). June 1, 2021. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  2. ^ "Missouri Southern State Historical Data". College Football Data Warehouse. Retrieved November 14, 2013.
  3. ^ DeLassus, David (2014). "Missouri Southern State Championships". College Football Data Warehouse. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  4. ^ a b "Rod Smith (2009)". footballfoundation.org. Retrieved May 13, 2024.