Valparaiso Beacons
PioneerValparaiso, INBrown Field
2026: 3–4 (2–2 Pioneer). Last: lost at San Diego 38–13. Next: Presbyterian, Saturday, Oct 24, 1 p.m. ET.
- W 59–13Lawrence Tech
- L 18–27at Murray State
- L 16–39at Indiana State
- L 28–33Butler
- W 37–3at Morehead State
- W 21–13Drake
- L 13–38at San Diego
- Oct 24Presbyterian
- Nov 7at Dayton
- Nov 14at Stetson
- Nov 21St. Thomas (MN)
Valparaiso has played football since 1919 and is officially 407–552–27; 241 of its 986 games are in our file. They have won seven Indiana Intercollegiate Conference titles (the last in 1969) and two Pioneer Football League titles, counting shared titles. The most-played rival is Drake: 23 meetings, Drake leads 20–3. This season, they’re 3–4.
Résumé
- All-time record
- 407–552–27 official; 62–177–2 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
- 1185
- Computer rankings
- Massey No. 117 · Composite No. 106 in FCS, Oct 17; down 5 since Oct 11. From Massey Ratings
- Conference titles
- 9 last in 2003
- Bowl record
- 0–1 official, bowls only
- Seasons
- 27 since 1920, 241 games
2026 season 3–4
RosterFull 2026 season| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 29 | vsLawrence Tech | W 59–13 | 47% |
| Sep 12 | at Murray State | L 18–27 | 50% |
| Sep 19 | at Indiana State | L 16–39 | 34% |
| Sep 26 | vs Butler | L 28–33 | 32% |
| Oct 3 | at Morehead State | W 37–3 | 33% |
| Oct 10 | vs Drake | W 21–13 | 39% |
| Oct 17 | at San Diego | L 13–38 | 33% |
| Oct 24 | vs Presbyterian | Preview | 38% |
| Nov 7 | at Dayton | Preview | 21% |
| Nov 14 | at Stetson | Preview | 54% |
| Nov 21 | vs St. Thomas (MN) | Preview | 37% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
This season, game by game
Players
The 2026 rosterThe moneyOn the 2026 team
- Rowan Keefe1,105 passing yards, 8 TD (leads Valparaiso in passing yards)
- Max Samuel39 tackles, 5.5 sacks, 1 INT (leads Valparaiso in sacks)
- Nic Lendino39 tackles, 3 INT (leads Valparaiso in interceptions)
- Mark Johnson38 tackles, 2 INT
- Anthony Feltrinelli47 tackles (leads Valparaiso in tackles)
- Chris Gundy25 catches, 311 yards, 1 TD (leads Valparaiso in receiving yards)
Program strength since 1920
Best seasons everMost-played series
All rivalries- Drake
3–20 in 23
- 2018 L 25–42
- 2019 L 6–35
- 2020 L 6–17
- 2020 W 10–7
- 2021 W 24–21
- 2022 L 0–24
- 2023 L 14–20
- 2024 L 3–27
- 2025 L 0–41
- 2026 W 21–13
Won the last one.
- Butler
9–14 in 23
- 2018 W 35–17
- 2019 L 21–24
- 2020 W 24–14
- 2020 W 28–25
- 2021 W 47–3
- 2022 L 25–26
- 2023 L 7–17
- 2024 L 17–24
- 2025 L 20–27
- 2026 L 28–33
Lost the last five.
- Morehead State
4–18 in 22
- 2017 W 63–32
- 2018 L 24–31
- 2019 L 21–27
- 2020 L 24–28
- 2021 L 38–51
- 2022 W 40–35
- 2023 L 21–24
- 2024 L 5–17
- 2025 L 13–17
- 2026 W 37–3
Won the last one.
| Opponent | Games | VAL record |
|---|---|---|
| Drake | 23 | 3–20 |
| Butler | 23 | 9–14 |
| Morehead State | 22 | 4–18 |
| Dayton | 20 | 3–17 |
| San Diego | 18 | 2–16 |
| Davidson | 13 | 5–8 |
| Marist | 13 | 3–10 |
| Jacksonville | 9 | 3–6 |
Rivals the program names: Butler.
Every opponent (53)
Every program Valparaiso has played, A to Z, with Valparaiso’s record against it. Each links to the series, game by game.
- Adrian 0–1
- Aurora 2–0
- Austin Peay 0–1
- Butler 9–14
- Campbell 4–4
- Carthage 0–1
- Central Connecticut 0–1
- Centre 0–0–1
- Charleston (WV) 0–1
- Concordia (WI) 2–0
- Dartmouth 0–2
- Davidson 5–8
- Dayton 3–17
- Drake 3–20
- Duquesne 0–4
- Eastern Kentucky 0–2
- Franklin 0–2
- Harvard 0–1
- Illinois State 0–2
- Indiana State 0–1
- Indiana Wesleyan 2–2
- Jacksonville 3–6
- Kalamazoo 1–0
- Lawrence Tech 1–0
- Marian (IN) 1–1
- Marist 3–10
- Mercer 0–1
- Montana 0–1
- Morehead State 4–18
- Murray State 0–2
- New Mexico State 0–1
- North Dakota 0–2
- North Dakota State 0–1
- Northern Iowa 0–1
- Notre Dame 0–1
- Presbyterian 2–1
- Roosevelt 1–0
- Sacred Heart 0–2
- Saint Francis 1–1
- San Diego 2–16
- South Dakota State 0–1
- Southwest Minnesota State 1–0
- St. Francis (IL) 1–1
- St. Joseph’s (IN) 0–6
- St. Thomas (MN) 0–5
- Stetson 5–2–1
- Trinity International (IL) 2–2
- Truman State 0–2
- Virginia Lynchburg 1–0
- Western Illinois 0–3
- William Jewell 1–1
- Wisconsin Lutheran 2–0
- Youngstown State 0–5
Conference titles
9, counting shared titles- Pioneer Football League 2
- 2000 (shared), 2003
- Indiana Intercollegiate Conference 7
- 1945, 1951, 1952, 1954, 1964, 1968, 1969
- PFL North 1
- 2003 (tied)
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 1919–1923
- Western Interstate Conference 1924–1925
- Independent 1926–1933
- Indiana Intercollegiate Conference 1934–1942 and 1945–1947
- Independent 1948–1950
- Indiana Collegiate Conference 1951–1972
- Heartland Conference 1978
- Midwest Intercollegiate Football Conference 1990–1992
- Pioneer Conference since 1993
- 1993Joined the Pioneer Conference from the Midwest Intercollegiate Football Conference in football. Source
Valparaiso’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 NFL Draft
By college- Drafted, rounds 1–7
- 1 since 1956
- First-round picks
- 0
The school
Valparaiso University- Enrollment
- 2,579 2,123 undergraduates, fall 2024
- Where
- Valparaiso, Indiana
- Public or private
- Private nonprofit
- Founded
- 1859
- Graduates’ median earnings
- $63,191 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.
Season by season
National champions| Season | Record | Conf. | AP pre | AP final | Coach | Elo | SP+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 3–4 | 2–2 | 1185 | ||||
| 2025 | 2–10 | 1–7 | 1059 | ||||
| 2024 | 4–7–1 | 2–5–1 | 1134 | ||||
| 2023 | 3–8 | 2–6 | 1162 | ||||
| 2022 | 5–7 | 4–4 | 1202 | ||||
| 2021 | 4–7 | 4–4 | 1208 | ||||
| 2020 | 4–2 | 1189 | |||||
| 2019 | 1–11 | 1–7 | 1061 | ||||
| 2018 | 2–9 | 2–6 | 1161 | ||||
| 2017 | 6–5 | 5–3 | 1261 | ||||
| 2016 | 4–7 | 3–5 | 1130 | ||||
| 2015 | 1–9 | 1–7 | 1029 | ||||
| 2014 | 3–8 | 2–6 | 1090 | ||||
| 2013 | 1–10 | 1–7 | 1011 | ||||
| 2012 | 1–10 | 1–7 | 1019 | ||||
| 2011 | 1–10 | 1–7 | 986 | ||||
| 2010 | 0–10 | 0–8 | 970 | ||||
| 2009 | 1–9 | 0–7 | 1025 | ||||
| 2008 | 3–8 | 2–6 | 1133 | ||||
| 2007 | 5–6 | 2–5 | 1165 | ||||
| 2006 | 3–8 | 1–6 | 1084 | ||||
| 2005 | 3–8 | 1–6 | 1100 | ||||
| 2004 | 0–1 | 1171 | |||||
| 2003 | 1–1 | 1134 | |||||
| 1933 | 1–0 | 1128 |
Every season back to 1920 (2 more)
Officially 407–552–27 since 1919 (per Wikipedia, rechecked weekly); game by game here, 62–177–2 (241 of its 986 games are on file). Our file starts in 1920; the program began in 1919. Some games are missing from our source.
No season on file for 1921–23, 1925–32, 1934–2002: 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.