Pioneer
11 current members, four former. Our membership records under this name start in 1993. 2025 champion: Drake.
2016 standings
| Team | Conf. | Overall | Poll | Elo | Last 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8–0 | 10–2 | 21 | 1495 | WWWWL | ||
| 7–1 | 9–2 | 1453 | WWWWW | |||
| 6–2 | 7–4 | 1333 | LWWWW | |||
| 5–3 | 5–6 | 1251 | WLWLL | |||
| Jacksonville | 4–3 | 5–5 | 1309 | WWLLW | ||
| 3–4 | 5–5 | 1223 | LLWWL | |||
| 3–5 | 4–7 | 1235 | LLWLW | |||
| 3–5 | 4–7 | 1130 | WLLLW | |||
| 2–6 | 4–7 | 1163 | WLLLL | |||
| 2–6 | 4–7 | 1170 | WLWLL | |||
| 0–8 | 2–9 | 1036 | LLLLL |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied. Poll: the FCS coaches’ poll, final (else the final AP rank). Elo is our own rating, a measure of strength, not a prediction.
Against other conferences, 2016
Pioneer teams are 16–18 outside the conference.
- Division II8–1
- NEC1–5
- MVFC0–4
- Others4–0
- Patriot Conference0–3
- Big Sky1–1
- Big South0–2
- CAA0–1
- Division III1–0
- Ivy League1–0
- Southern Conference0–1
The bar is the share of those games won. Games against teams from the FBS count together.
Champions
Most titles
| Dayton | 12 | last 2015 |
| San Diego | 11 | last 2019 |
| Drake | 9 | last 2025 |
| Butler | 4 | last 2013 |
| Davidson | 2 | last 2021 |
| Valparaiso | 2 | last 2003 |
| St. Thomas (MN) | 1 | last 2022 |
| Marist | 1 | last 2013 |
By year
| 2025 | Drake |
| 2024 | Drake |
| 2023 | Drake |
| 2022 | St. Thomas (MN) |
| 2021 | Davidson |
| 2020 | Davidson |
| 2019 | San Diego |
| 2018 | San Diego |
| 2017 | San Diego |
| 2016 | San Diego |
| 2015 | Dayton, San Diego (shared) |
| 2014 | San Diego |
20 earlier seasons, back to 1993
| 2013 | Butler, Marist (shared) |
| 2012 | Butler, Drake, San Diego (shared) |
| 2011 | Drake, San Diego (shared) |
| 2010 | Dayton |
| 2009 | Butler, Dayton (shared) |
| 2007 | Dayton, San Diego (shared) |
| 2006 | San Diego |
| 2005 | San Diego |
| 2004 | Drake |
| 2003 | Valparaiso |
| 2002 | Dayton |
| 2001 | Dayton |
| 2000 | Dayton, Drake, Valparaiso (shared) |
| 1999 | Dayton |
| 1998 | Drake |
| 1997 | Dayton |
| 1996 | Dayton |
| 1995 | Drake |
| 1994 | Butler, Dayton (shared) |
| 1993 | Dayton |
Conference titles as each program’s Wikipedia infobox lists them (CC BY-SA), shared titles counted for every co-champion; the conference’s earlier names count as the same conference.
Members
Every school and its years (15)
Members now
- Butler 1993 on
- Dayton 1993–2019, 2021 on
- Drake 1993 on
- San Diego 1993 on
- Valparaiso 1993 on
- Davidson 2001 on
- Morehead State 2001 on
- Marist 2009–2019, 2021 on
- Stetson 2013 on
- Presbyterian 2021 on
- St. Thomas (MN) 2021 on
Former members
- Jacksonville 2003–2019
- Campbell 2008–2017
- Mercer 2013
- Austin Peay 2001–2005
Football membership as CollegeFootballData.com records it under this conference’s name, from 1993; a school’s separate stays are listed apart.
Who came and went
| Season | School | Move | Announced | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Presbyterian | Joined (independent before) (football only) | November 20, 2017 | |
| 2021 | St. Thomas (MN) | Joined from MIAC (Division III) (football only) | Source | |
| 2020 | Jacksonville | Left for Dropped football (football only) | December 3, 2019 | |
| 2018 | Campbell | Left for Big South (football only) | November 14, 2016 | |
| 2014 | Mercer | Left for Southern Conference (football only) | May 30, 2013 | |
| 2013 | Mercer | Joined from No team (football only) | Source | |
| 2013 | Stetson | Joined from No team (football only) | Source | |
| 2009 | Marist | Joined from (non-football) (football only) | Source | |
| 2008 | Campbell | Joined from (non-football) (football only) | Source | |
| 2006 | Austin Peay | Left to play as an independent (football only) | Source | |
| 2001 | Austin Peay | Joined (independent before) (football only) | Source | |
| 2001 | Davidson | Joined (independent before) (football only) | Source | |
| 2001 † | Jacksonville | Joined (independent before) (football only) | Source | |
| 2001 | Morehead State | Joined (independent before) (football only) | Source | |
| 1998 † | Evansville | Left for Dropped football (football only) | Source |
6 earlier moves
| 1993 | Butler | Joined from Midwest Intercollegiate Football Conference (football only) | Source | |
| 1993 | Dayton | Joined (independent before) (football only) | Source | |
| 1993 | Drake | Joined (independent before) (football only) | Source | |
| 1993 † | Evansville | Joined from ?? (football only) | Source | |
| 1993 | San Diego | Joined (independent before) (football only) | Source | |
| 1993 | Valparaiso | Joined from Midwest Intercollegiate Football Conference (football only) | Source |
Football moves from Wikipedia’s lists of NCAA Division I conference changes; the season is the first one played in the new conference, and the date the one the lists or their sources give for the announcement. † Our membership records (CollegeFootballData.com) date the move to another season, or don’t show it. SportsDataverse’s football memberships agree with ours in 297 of 299 team-seasons from 1993. the member tables in the conference’s Wikipedia article agree with ours in 297 of 306 team-seasons from 1992. Conference realignment: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA); memberships: SportsDataverse.
The money
The Pioneer Football League is a nonprofit. Its IRS Form 990 for the year to June 2025 reports $103,000 in revenue and $102,000 in expenses; it ended the year with $129,000 in assets.
By year
| Year | Revenue | Expenses | Assets | Top pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | $103K | $102K | $129K | |
| 2023-24 | $93K | $93K | $122K | |
| 2022-23 | $87K | $82K | $122K | |
| 2021-22 | $96K | $85K | $117K | |
| 2020-21 | $68K | $88K | $104K | |
| 2019-20 | $83K | $80K | $124K | |
| 2018-19 | $60K | $62K | $122K | |
| 2015-16 | $33K | $83K | $91K | |
| 2014-15 | $108K | $63K | $142K | |
| 2013-14 | $136K | $87K | $97K | |
| 2012-13 | $31K | $48K | $47K |
From the organization’s IRS Form 990, via ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer and the IRS’s e-file data. Fiscal years end in June; top pay is the best-paid person’s total compensation on the return, listed for e-filed years (2018 on). Grants are the ones the conference lists on Schedule I; bowl payments are the ones bowls list on theirs. See every filing at ProPublica (EIN 37-1700016).