The Ohio Valley Conference will sponsor football again for the first time since 2022. The ongoing naming convention between the OVC and the Big South Conference has ended, with all eight remaining football teams playing under the OVC banner for the 2026 season.
The two conferences arranged the agreement to ensure all football teams had access to the FCS Playoffs via an automatic qualification bid as realignment led to membership changes in both conferences. The Big South and OVC originally announced a partnership for the 2023 season, which became the Big South-OVC Football Association. The name was changed to the OVC-Big South Football Association for the 2025 season, as most of the football teams were from the OVC.
Gardner-Webb and UT Martin tied for the Big South-OVC title in 2023, with GWU earning the AQ bid after defeating UTM 38-34. The Runnin’ Bulldogs lost the first-round matchup at Mercer 17-7. The 2024 season produced a four-way tie atop the standings: Southeast Missouri State, Tennessee Tech, UT Martin, and Tennessee State all finished 6-2 in the conference. SEMO was the conference’s AQ bid, while UT Martin and Tennessee State were at-large selections. SEMO and Tennessee State lost in the first round, while UT Martin defeated New Hampshire 41-10 in the opening round. The Skyhawks lost 49-17 to top-seeded Montana State in the second round matchup.
In 2025, the conference was renamed to the OVC-Big South Football Association, but didn’t produce a tie for the league title. Tennessee Tech went a perfect 8-0 in the conference and earned the 13-seed for the FCS Playoffs. The Golden Eagles lost 31-6 at home in the first round to North Dakota.
The OVC will have eight football teams for the 2026 season: Charleston Southern (Big South), Eastern Illinois (OVC), Gardner-Webb (Big South), Lindenwood (OVC), Southeast Missouri State (OVC), Tennessee Martin (OVC), Tennessee State (OVC), and Western Illinois (OVC).
Photo Credit to Southeast Missouri State University Athletics
