2026: 3–3 (2–1 MVFC). Last: lost at Youngstown State 35–22. Next: at Southern Illinois, Saturday, Oct 24, 2 p.m. ET.
- L 24–34at Eastern Washington
- W 56–14Drake
- L 0–55at No. 18 Iowa
- W 28–21Illinois State
- W 24–17North Dakota
- L 22–35at Youngstown State
- Oct 24at Southern Illinois
- Oct 31Indiana State
- Nov 7South Dakota State
- Nov 14at South Dakota
- Nov 21at Murray State
Northern Iowa has played football since 1895 and is officially 707–464–47; 376 of its 1,218 games are in our file. They have won 13 Missouri Valley Football Conference titles (the last in 2011), plus 12 North Central Conference titles, three Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference titles, three Mid-Continent Conference titles, two American Rivers Conference titles, counting shared titles. Since 1966, the NFL Draft has taken 18 players from here in its first seven rounds, 1 of them in the first round. The College Football Hall of Fame holds 2 coaches from Northern Iowa. The most-played rival is Drake: 36 meetings, Drake leads 19–16–1. This season, they’re 3–3.
Résumé
- All-time record
- 707–464–47 official; 195–173–8 on file; how we count
- Postseason
- 0–0 bowls, title games, playoff
- AP No. 1 finishes
- 0
- Weeks at No. 1
- 0 of 0 ranked
- Elo now
- 1303
- Computer rankings
- Massey No. 15 · Composite No. 17 in FCS, Oct 17; down 3 since Oct 11. From Massey Ratings
- Conference titles
- 33 last in 2011
- Bowl record
- 1–1 official, bowls only
- Seasons
- 89 since 1899, 376 games
Identity
- Fight song
- UNI Fight
2026 season 3–3
RosterFull 2026 season| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 5 | at Eastern Washington | L 24–34 | 38% |
| Sep 12 | vs Drake | W 56–14 | 45% |
| Sep 19 | at 18Iowa | L 0–55 | 7% |
| Sep 26 | vs Illinois State | W 28–21 | 24% |
| Oct 10 | vs North Dakota | W 24–17 | 36% |
| Oct 17 | at Youngstown State | L 22–35 | 26% |
| Oct 24 | at Southern Illinois | Preview | 42% |
| Oct 31 | vs Indiana State | Preview | 72% |
| Nov 7 | vs South Dakota State | Preview | 37% |
| Nov 14 | at South Dakota | Preview | 22% |
| Nov 21 | at Murray State | Preview | 69% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
This season, game by game
Players
The 2026 rosterThe moneyOn the 2026 team
- Jaxon Dailey1,236 passing yards, 9 TD (leads Northern Iowa in passing yards)
- John Powers55 tackles, 1 INT (leads Northern Iowa in tackles)
- Kolben Miller33 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 INT
- Calvin Jaworski38 tackles, 1 INT
- Braden McShane31 tackles, 1 sack, 1 INT (leads Northern Iowa in interceptions)
- Mekhi Toms31 tackles
Program strength since 1899
Best seasons everMost-played series
All rivalries- Drake
16–19–1 in 36
- 1981 L 30–39
- 1982 L 13–40
- 1983 W 34–10
- 1984 W 33–28
- 1985 L 9–24
- 2005 W 52–17
- 2006 W 48–7
- 2007 W 45–7
- 2013 W 45–14
- 2026 W 56–14
Won the last five.
- Iowa State
6–25–3 in 34
- 2007 W 24–13
- 2010 L 0–27
- 2011 L 19–20
- 2013 W 28–20
- 2015 L 7–31
- 2016 W 25–20
- 2017 L 24–42
- 2019 L 26–29
- 2021 L 10–16
- 2023 L 9–30
Lost the last four.
- Illinois State
14–10 in 24
- 2015 L 13–21
- 2018 W 26–16
- 2019 W 27–10
- 2020 W 20–10
- 2021 L 10–17
- 2022 L 21–23
- 2023 W 24–21
- 2024 L 9–31
- 2025 L 16–31
- 2026 W 28–21
Won the last one.
| Opponent | Games | UNI record |
|---|---|---|
| Drake | 36 | 16–19–1 |
| Iowa State | 34 | 6–25–3 |
| Illinois State | 24 | 14–10 |
| Missouri State | 22 | 17–5 |
| South Dakota State | 22 | 11–11 |
| Southern Illinois | 21 | 10–11 |
| Youngstown State | 21 | 15–6 |
| Western Illinois | 21 | 16–5 |
Rivals the program names: Drake, Iowa State, North Dakota State, Southern Illinois.
Every opponent (69)
Every program Northern Iowa has played, A to Z, with Northern Iowa’s record against it. Each links to the series, game by game.
- Air Force 0–1
- Ball State 1–0
- Boise State 0–1
- Butler 1–0
- BYU 0–1
- Cal Poly 2–0
- Central State 1–0
- Coe 0–0–1
- Cornell (IA) 1–0
- Creighton 0–2
- Delaware 0–1
- Drake 16–19–1
- Eastern Illinois 1–0
- Eastern Michigan 1–0
- Eastern Washington 3–3
- Grinnell 2–4–2
- Hampton 1–0
- Hawai’i 0–2
- Idaho State 2–0
- Illinois State 14–10
- Indiana State 18–2
- Iowa 0–18
- Iowa State 6–25–3
- James Madison 0–1
- Kansas State 3–0
- Lamar 1–0
- Lehigh 0–1
- Maine 1–0
- McNeese 1–0
- Minnesota 0–1
- Minnesota Duluth 1–0
- Minnesota State 2–0
- Missouri State 17–5
- Monmouth 1–0
- Montana 0–2
- Murray State 1–0
- Nebraska 0–1
- New Hampshire 2–0
- Nicholls 1–0
- North Dakota 2–4
- North Dakota State 4–14
- Northern Arizona 2–0
- Northern Colorado 2–1–1
- Northern Michigan 1–0
- Northwestern State 1–0
- Ohio 1–0
- Oklahoma State 0–2
- Pittsburgh 0–1
- Portland State 1–0
- Sacramento State 1–1
- Saint Francis 1–0
- San Diego 1–0
- South Dakota 10–5
- South Dakota State 11–11
- Southern Illinois 10–11
- Southern Utah 4–1
- St. Thomas (MN) 2–0
- Stephen F. Austin 3–2
- Tennessee Tech 1–0
- UC Davis 0–1
- Utah Tech 1–1
- Valparaiso 1–0
- Weber State 0–2
- Western Illinois 16–5
- Western Kentucky 2–2
- Wisconsin 0–1
- Wofford 1–0
- Wyoming 0–2
- Youngstown State 15–6
Conference titles
33, counting shared titles- Missouri Valley Football Conference 13
- 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2001, 2003 (shared), 2005 (shared), 2007, 2008 (shared), 2010, 2011 (shared)
- North Central Conference 12
- 1940, 1941, 1942, 1946, 1947 (shared), 1948, 1949 (shared), 1952, 1960, 1961 (shared), 1962 (shared), 1964 (shared)
- American Rivers Conference 2
- 1927, 1928
As the program counts them in its Wikipedia article, shared titles included, and listed under each conference’s current name (a Western Conference title of the 1900s counts as a Big Ten title); season pages use the name the conference had that year. A title the article files under a conference the team wasn’t in that season is listed under the one it was. Division titles include years the team tied for its division.
Conferences
- Independent 1895–1905 and 1908–1922
- Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference 1923–1934
- North Central Conference 1973–1977
- Mid-Continent Conference 1981–1984
- Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference 1985–1991
- Gateway Football Conference 1992–2007
- MVFC since 2008
- 1985Joined the Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference from the Mid-Continent Conference in football. Source
Northern Iowa’s football conferences by season, from CollegeFootballData.com’s memberships (renamed conferences keep the name of the time). The moves and their announcement dates from Wikipedia’s lists of NCAA Division I conference changes; the year is the first season in the new conference. Conference realignment: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
In the Hall of Fame
Every inductee- Players
- 0
- Coaches
- 2
| 2002 | Earle Bruce coach, career 1972–1992 |
| 2000 | Darrell Mudra coach, career 1959–1987 |
In the NFL Draft
By college- Drafted, rounds 1–7
- 18 since 1966
- First-round picks
- 1
| 2022 | Trevor Penning OT | No. 19, New Orleans Saints |
The school
University of Northern Iowa- Enrollment
- 9,278 7,711 undergraduates, fall 2024
- Where
- Cedar Falls, Iowa
- Public or private
- Public
- Founded
- 1876
- Graduates’ median earnings
- $55,177 10 years after starting
Enrollment, place and Carnegie research tier from the National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS, public domain). Earnings from the US Department of Education’s College Scorecard (CC BY 4.0): the median for students who received federal aid and were working, not in school. Founding year from Wikidata. Every school’s in the data.
Media guides 58
1895193719501953195419571965196719681970197119721973197419751977197819791980198119821983198419861987198819891990199119921993199419961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082011201220142015201620172018201920212022202320242025
Northern Iowa’s football media guides, from the University of Northern Iowa library’s repository. Where our roster source has no full roster for a season, the roster page shows the guide’s printed one.
Season by season
National champions| Season | Record | Conf. | AP pre | AP final | Coach | Elo | SP+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 3–3 | 2–1 | 1303 | ||||
| 2025 | 3–9 | 1–7 | 1199 | ||||
| 2024 | 3–9 | 1–7 | 1243 | ||||
| 2023 | 6–5 | 5–3 | 1352 | ||||
| 2022 | 6–5 | 5–3 | 1403 | ||||
| 2021 | 6–6 | 4–4 | 1384 | ||||
| 2020 | 3–4 | 1402 | |||||
| 2019 | 10–5 | 6–2 | 1482 | ||||
| 2018 | 7–6 | 5–3 | 1417 | ||||
| 2017 | 8–5 | 6–3 | 1461 | ||||
| 2016 | 5–6 | 4–4 | 1422 | ||||
| 2015 | 9–5 | 5–4 | 1504 | ||||
| 2014 | 9–5 | 6–3 | 1497 | ||||
| 2013 | 7–5 | 3–5 | 1410 | ||||
| 2012 | 5–6 | 4–4 | 1420 | ||||
| 2011 | 10–2 | 7–1 | 1520 | ||||
| 2010 | 7–5 | 6–2 | 1406 | ||||
| 2009 | 7–4 | 5–3 | 1480 | ||||
| 2008 | 11–2 | 7–1 | 1566 | ||||
| 2007 | 12–1 | 5–0 | 1538 | ||||
| 2006 | 7–4 | 3–2 | 1437 | ||||
| 2005 | 10–3 | 4–1 | 1481 | ||||
| 2004 | 7–4 | 4–1 | 1449 | ||||
| 2003 | 9–2 | 5–0 | 1444 | ||||
| 2002 | 0–1 | 1301 |
Every season back to 1899 (64 more)
| Season | Record | Conf. | AP pre | AP final | Coach | Elo | SP+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 1–1 | 1326 | |||||
| 2000 | 0–1 | 1328 | |||||
| 1999 | 1–0 | 1356 | |||||
| 1998 | 1–0 | 1315 | |||||
| 1997 | 0–1 | 1289 | |||||
| 1996 | 0–1 | 1296 | |||||
| 1995 | 0–1 | 1324 | |||||
| 1994 | 1–0 | 1356 | |||||
| 1993 | 0–1 | 1319 | |||||
| 1992 | 1–0 | 1340 | |||||
| 1990 | 0–2 | 1287 | |||||
| 1989 | 1–0 | 1312 | |||||
| 1988 | 0–2 | 1299 | |||||
| 1987 | 0–2 | 1324 | |||||
| 1986 | 1–0 | 1360 | |||||
| 1985 | 3–1 | 1334 | |||||
| 1984 | 1–1 | 1256 | |||||
| 1983 | 1–2 | 1241 | |||||
| 1982 | 0–1 | 1214 | |||||
| 1981 | 0–1 | 1179 | |||||
| 1975 | 1–0 | 1205 | |||||
| 1974 | 1–0 | 1199 | |||||
| 1973 | 1–0 | 1174 | |||||
| 1972 | 0–1 | 1114 | |||||
| 1971 | 0–1 | 1128 | |||||
| 1958 | 1–0 | 1151 | |||||
| 1957 | 0–1 | 1139 | |||||
| 1956 | 1–0 | 1173 | |||||
| 1955 | 1–0 | 1135 | |||||
| 1954 | 0–1 | 1092 | |||||
| 1953 | 0–1 | 1098 | |||||
| 1952 | 0–1 | 1107 | |||||
| 1951 | 0–1 | 1114 | |||||
| 1950 | 0–2 | 1127 | |||||
| 1948 | 1–1 | 1158 | |||||
| 1947 | 0–1–1 | 1149 | |||||
| 1946 | 1–1 | 1177 | |||||
| 1945 | 0–2 | 1120 | |||||
| 1942 | 1–0 | 1145 | |||||
| 1941 | 0–1 | 1101 | |||||
| 1940 | 0–1 | 1113 | |||||
| 1939 | 0–1 | 1128 | |||||
| 1937 | 0–1 | 1150 | |||||
| 1936 | 1–0–1 | 1178 | |||||
| 1935 | 0–0–1 | 1111 | |||||
| 1934 | 0–1 | 1110 | |||||
| 1933 | 1–0 | 1130 | |||||
| 1931 | 0–1 | 1088 | |||||
| 1930 | 0–1 | 1092 | |||||
| 1929 | 0–1 | 1095 | |||||
| 1928 | 0–0–1 | 1099 | |||||
| 1926 | 0–1 | 1087 | |||||
| 1925 | 0–0–1 | 1094 | |||||
| 1916few games on file | 0–1 | 1086 | |||||
| 1914few games on file | 0–2 | 1082 | |||||
| 1913few games on file | 0–2 | 1086 | |||||
| 1912few games on file | 0–1 | 1092 | |||||
| 1905few games on file | 0–2–1 | 1093 | |||||
| 1904few games on file | 0–3 | 1100 | |||||
| 1903few games on file | 1–1 | 1115 | |||||
| 1902few games on file | 0–3 | 1086 | |||||
| 1901few games on file | 0–2–1 | 1113 | |||||
| 1900few games on file | 1–2 | 1126 | |||||
| 1899few games on file | 0–1–1 | 1104 |
Officially 707–464–47 since 1895 (per Wikipedia, through the 2023 season); game by game here, 195–173–8 (376 of its 1,218 games are on file). Our file starts in 1899; the program began in 1895. Some games are missing from our source.
No season on file for 1906–11, 1915, 1917–24, 1927, 1932, 1938, 1943–44, 1949, 1959–70, 1976–80, 1991: the program may not have played, or our source may be missing them.
Records are computed from every game on file at CollegeFootballData.com, whose coverage of the earliest seasons can be incomplete. Elo is this site’s own rating; see how it works on the records page.