The Bears are the football team of Missouri State University in Springfield. They compete in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) of the NCAA and play in the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC).
Missouri State, known as South Missouri State until 2005, has won 10 conference titles in the program's history. The most recent of these victories came in 2020, when the Bears shared the MVFC championship with North Dakota and South Dakota State. This ended a 30 year drought in which Missouri State had not won a conference title, dating back to their 1990 triumph in what was then known as the Gateway Football Conference.
The Bears have appeared in 4 bowl games but have never won. Their last appearance was in the Pecan Bowl in 1989, when they lost 25-55 to Stephen F. Austin.
Missouri State play their home games at Robert W. Plaster Stadium, and the head coach is Bobby Petrino.
