In Missouri State’s 35 years in the Missouri Valley Conference, the Bears’ most engaged fans could rattle off the league’s most prominent alums.
Kurt Warner at Northern Iowa. Adam Vinatieri at South Dakota State. Carson Wentz at North Dakota State. The list goes on.
As the Bears begin their Conference USA and Football Bowl Subdivision journey, here’s a list of names MSU fans can correlate with its new string of conference foes.
Lousiana Tech: Terry Bradshaw
NFL Hall of Fame quarterback and famous TV personality Terry Bradshaw as college athlete at Lousiana Tech (Lousiana Tech photo)
Before he won four Super Bowls with the Pittsburgh Steelers and carved out a prominent television career in NFL broadcasting and commentary, the jovial Bradshaw was a big-time talent from little Ruston, Louisiana.
The NFL Hall of Fame inductee was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1970 NFL Draft after a sterling career at Lousiana Tech where he led the nation in total yards (2,890) as a junior and had similar numbers as a senior.
His touring “The Terry Bradshaw Show” has made several visits to Clay Cooper Theater in Branson in recent years.
Missouri State faces Louisiana Tech on Nov. 29 in Springfield, the Bulldogs’ final game in Conference USA regular season game before moving to the Sun Belt Conference.
Delaware: Joe Flacco
NFL veteran and Super Bowl-winning qaurterback Joe Flacco as a senior at Delaware (Photo by Delaware athletics)
Flacco is entering his 18th NFL season and is currently projected to be the Cleveland Browns’ Week 1 starting quarterback.
The 2023 NFL Comeback Player of the Year has thrown for 45,697 career yards and touchdowns, the bulk of which came in his 11 years in Baltimore. He led the Ravens to a 2012 Super Bowl victory and was named the game’s MVP.
Flacco had two monster years at Delaware after transferring from Pittsburgh, passing for a combined 7,057 yards, 41 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. He led the Blue Hens to the 2007 FCS national title game — beating Missouri Valley Conference members Northern Iowa and Southern Illinois in the playoff run — and was selected 18th overall in the 2008 NFL Draft.
Four-time Pro Bowl quarterback and 2002 NFL MVP Rich Gannon also played his college ball at Delaware. It was a coin flip between Gannon and Flacco for the spot on this list.
Delaware is making the transition to the FBS and Conference USA this season along with Missouri State. They will not play each other this season.
UTEP: Don Maynard
A year ago today, we lost Don Maynard.
One of the greatest Jets ever.
RIP, 1️⃣3️⃣ pic.twitter.com/oJpcpZsJ5M
— New York Jets (@nyjets) January 10, 2023
One of NFL great Joe Namath’s favorite wide receivers was Don Maynard during the New York Jets’ glory years, including their 1969 Super Bowl victory.
Maynard, a NFL Hall of Fame inductee, hauled in 633 passes for 11,834 yards 88 touchdowns in his lengthy pro career. His final NFL season was in Missouri in 1973 as a member of the St. Louis Football Cardinals.
At Texas Western (now known as UTEP or UT El Paso), Maynard was a wide receiver, running back, defensive back and kick returner, amassing 2,283 all-purpose yards.
Successful NFL players from UTEP in the modern football era include three-time Pro Bowl linebacker Seth Joyner (Philadelphia Eagles) and one-time Pro Bowl defensive end Tony Tolbert (Dallas Cowboys) of 1990s fame.
Before UTEP leaves Conference USA for the Mountain West Conference in 2026, Missouri State will host the Miners at Plaster Stadium on November 15 for Homecoming.
Jacksonville State: Eric Davis
Eric Davis #49ers pic.twitter.com/oivStzw8VN
— Niners History (@NinersHistory) April 22, 2022
Jacksonville State, another relatively new FBS program, was led defensively by a speedy cornerback in the late 1980s when the Alabama school was NCAA Division II.
Eric Davis, a native of neighboring Anniston, would go on to play 13 NFL seasons, win a 1994 Super Bowl with the San Francisco 49ers and earn Pro Bowl selections in 1995 and 1996. He had 38 career interceptions and five defensive touchdowns.
As a senior at JSU, Davis helped his team to an appearance in the Division II championship game. He had 51 tackles, six interceptions and eight pass-breaks that season.
Missouri State does not play Jacksonville State in 2025.
Florida International: T.Y. Hilton
Pro Bowl wide receiver T.Y. Hilton played collegiately at Florida International (FIU photo).
The fleet-footed T.Y. Hilton played 10 of his 11 pro seasons with the Indianapolis Colts, where he led the NFL in receiving yards in 2016 and was a four-time Pro Bowl selection.
Hilton’s career included 9,812 receiving yards and 53 touchdowns on 638 receptions.
He was a four-year All-Sun Belt Conference selection at Florida International, earning Sun Belt Player of the Year honors in 2011. He college career included 3,531 receiving yards and 27 touchdowns.
Missouri State hosts Florida International on Oct. 29, a Wednesday night game.
Western Kentucky: Romeo Crennel
Romeo Crennel starred at Western Kentucky before his longtime NFL coaching career (WKU photo).
Many Missourians know Romeo Crennel for his stints as a defensive coordinator (2010), interim head coach (2011) and head coach (2012) for the Kansas City Chiefs.
But before Crennel was a three-time NFL head coach (Browns, Chiefs and Texas) who spent the majority of his 30-plus year career as assistant, he was a stout offensive lineman at Western Kentucky.
Crennel was a four-year starter for the Hilltoppers and was named his team’s MVP, but he wasn’t drafted following his 1969 senior season. He opted to stay at the school in Bowling Green, Kentucky, in 1970 to get an early start to his coaching career.
WKU has produced several draft picks in the modern football era, including current veteran Los Angeles Rams tight end Ty Higbee and two-time Pro Bowl tight end Jack Doyle (Colts) who retired in 2022. Former Florida State and Oregon head coach Willie Taggert, now an assistant head coach with the Baltimore Ravens, was a WKU quarterback in the 1990s.
Missouri State plays Western Kentucky on Wednesday, Sept. 27 in Springfield. MSU head coach Ryan Beard was a defensive back for the Hilltoppers before graduating in 2011 and MSU athletic director Patrick Ransdell, a former WKU baseball player, is the son of ex-WKU president Dr. Gary Randsell.
Beard’s father in law, Bobby Petrino, was WKU’s head coach in 2013.
Liberty: Eric Green
The Pittsburgh Steelers once had a ‘Gronk’ of their own https://t.co/h3WcVMfo2j pic.twitter.com/8wanuB1VJi
— Zesty NFL Steelers (@zesty_steelers) July 30, 2018
One of the NFL’s great tight ends of 1990s, the 6-foot-5, 275-pound Eric Green was an athletic and physical force for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Green’s career included 362 receptions for 4,390 yards and 36 touchdowns. He was named to NFL’s All-Rookie Team in 1990 and was selected to the Pro Bowl in 1993 and 1994.
As a senior at Liberty in 1989, Green, the Virginia school’s first Associated Press All-American for football, had 62 catches for 905 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns. He was taken with No. 21 overall pick in the 1990 NFL Draft and his No. 81 jersey has since been retired.
Current Green Bay Packers backup quarterback and 2022 NFL Draft pick Malik Willis, who has started five NFL games and appeared in 18, is also a Liberty alum.
Missouri State travels to Liberty on Nov. 8, seven years after the Flames transitioned from FCS to FBS.
New Mexico State: Fredd Young
The AFC Special Teams Player of the Year in 1984 and his two blocked punts rank second in franchise history.
Seahawks Top 50 Player: Fredd Young
📰 https://t.co/ApJZkuSSMR pic.twitter.com/8h1p5Xp172
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) June 4, 2025
Considering how long NMSU has been a FBS program, it has a lean history of producing prominent NFL players.
Hard-hitting linebacker and special teams assassin Fredd Young is widely considered the best Aggie of them all. The Seattle Seahawks’ media team recently named Young a top-50 all-time player in the organization for his efforts in the 1980s. He was four-time Pro Bowl selection from 1984-1987.
Young was an All-American honorable mention in 1983 at New Mexico State and was first-team all-conference when NMSU was a Missouri Valley Conference member.
Missouri State travels to New Mexico State on Oct. 22, a Wednesday night game.
Middle Tennessee: Kelly Holcomb
Kelly Holcomb at his MTSU Hall of Fame induction (Middle Tennessee State photo).
The most ardent or provincial NFL fans of the 2000s were quite aware of Kelly Holcomb, a journeyman quarterback who played for six NFL teams including the Cleveland Browns and Buffalo Bills.
Holcomb’s pro career included 5,916 passing yards, 39 touchdowns and 38 interceptions before retiring in 2007.
At Middle Tennessee, Holcomb was a four-year starter a two-time All-Ohio Valley Conference selection when the Blue Raiders were an FCS program. Despite orchestrating a run-first offense, Holcomb totaled 7,064 career passing yards.
Missouri State travels to Middle Tennessee on Oct. 8, a Wednesday night game that will also serve as the Bears’ ESPN2 debut.
Kennesaw State: Bronson Rechsteiner
Bronson Rechsteiner played at Kennesaw State before becoming a proffesional wrestler. (Kennesaw State photo)
While Bronson Rechsteiner had a decent college career at then-FCS power Kennesaw State from 2016-2018 rushing for a combined 1,496 yards and nine touchdowns, another pursuit put him the limelight: professional wrestling.
He is known in World Wrestling Entertaiment (WWE) as Bron Breakker, now in his fifth year. He recently joined WWE’s Smackdown team.
Bron Breaker entrance tonight on #WWERaw #RawOnNetflix pic.twitter.com/9hUwwEMgaV
— WrestleBrock (@WrestleBrock) May 20, 2025
Kennesaw State, a northwest Georgia school, enters its second season of FBS football and will host Missouri State on Nov. 22.
Sam Houston State: Josh McCown
Josh McCown played 19 years in the NFL before retiring after the 2020 season and is currently an assistant coach for the Minnesota Vikings. The journeyman quarterback passed for nearly 18,000 yards and totaled 98 touchdowns.
Josh McCown (Sam Houston State photo).
McCown transferred from SMU to Sam Houston State for his senior season in 2001. He led the Bearkats to the FCS quarterfinals in a season that included 3,481 passing yards, 32 touchdowns and 12 interceptions
Sam Houston State left the FCS for the FCS in 2023. The Bearkats of Huntsville, Texas (Houston area) do not play Missouri State in 2025
Missouri State: Clay Harbor
After being selected in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL draft by the Philadelphia Eagles, Clay Harbor went on to play in 98 career NFL games for the Eagles, Jaguars, Lions and Patriots. (Photo: Missouri State Athletics)
A fourth-round NFL Draft pick in 2010, Harbor carved out an eight-year career in the NFL that included stops at five organizations, including a three-year stint with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
His career totals of 114 catches for 1,170 and eight touchdowns were steady, but nothing that him put in the national spotlight. His time on a reality TV show made Harbor a more familiar name.
Harbor, a First-Team FCS All-American tight end at Missouri State in 2009, was a contestant on the 14th season of “The Bachelorette” in 2018. In 2019, he was featured on the show “Bachelor in Paradise.”
Ryan Collingwood covers college and high school sports in the Springfield metropolitan area for the Daily Citizen. Have a story idea or gripe? Send an email to rcollingwood@sgfcitizen.org, call or 417-837-3660, or follow Ryan on social media at X.com/rwcollingwood. More by Ryan Collingwood