40 years will be enough for Missouri Valley Football comissioner

FARGO — It started as the Gateway Football Conference 40 years ago, with a young administrator assuming the role of commissioner. On Tuesday, in her annual state of the address of what is now the Missouri Valley Football Conference, Patty Viverito announced her retirement.

It’s time, she said. She’s a grandmother. She’s been through the wars of NCAA regulations and legislation and perhaps that’s enough, too. Certainly, it will end one of the most long-standing and fruitful administrative runs in Division I football history.

“I have different priorities,” Viverito said. “It’s like a Biden decision, I decided it was time to step aside.”

The plan for succession has been in the works since Viverito signed her last three-year contract starting with a group of athletic directors and college presidents called the Strategic Vision and Planning Subcommittee.

“We’ve already talked about some non-negotiables and what we want to make sure happens moving forward,” Viverito said. “I think it’s safe to say the group is pretty well set on maintaining a single-sport league where we are all equal members within that structure.”

She expects a few preliminary decisions to be made this fall with a successor to be named next winter or spring.

She stands to go out on top. Under her leadership, the Valley has been one of the most stable and successful leagues at the Division I-AA /FCS level. It’s ridden the backs of the likes of North Dakota State, South Dakota State, Youngstown State, Northern Iowa, Southern Illinois to consistent playoff success.

“I would be lying if I didn’t say I’m awfully proud of the accomplishments but I’m also smart enough to know I didn’t play a single down,” Viverito said.

The Valley has had a team reach the FCS national championship 13 straight years, with NDSU winning 10 of them, SDSU the last two and Youngstown making the title game in 2016.

The conference had six teams reach the field of 24 playoff teams last year. SDSU has won 29 straight and is a threat this year to break NDSU’s FCS record of 39 victories in a row.

“I use that as a backdrop in the year prior when some people were suggesting the Missouri Valley was down and perhaps we were a dynasty in decline,” Viverito said.

The Valley had just three playoff teams in 2022, but NDSU and SDSU reached the title game in Frisco, Texas. Viverito said the league will continue its association with ESPN, with two regular season games this year tabbed to be on one of the linear ESPN networks. That includes the SDSU at NDSU Dakota Marker game on Oct. 19 at Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome.

For one of the few times in Viverito’s 40 years, a school announced it was leaving the league with Missouri State set for FBS Conference USA next year.

“Conference realignment is absolutely not over at FCS or FBS,” she said.

With Western Illinois departing to the Ohio Valley Conference, it will take the Valley back to 10 schools, which was the number for most of NDSU’s years in the conference. Viverito considers it a positive that the Valley schedule will be just one short of a full round-robin eight-game slate.

“The more Missouri Valley rivalries we can create through a full schedule is a good thing,” she said.

It’s doubtful the Valley will take a serious look at expansion to immediately replace Missouri State mainly because of the league’s geographical footprint of the Midwest.

“I don’t think we want to get too far from our time zone,” Viverito said. “I think we’ll be thoughtful and we’ll be diligent.”

Jeff would like to dispel the notion he was around when Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press, but he is on his third decade of reporting with Forum Communications. The son of a reporter and an English teacher, and the brother of a reporter, Jeff has worked at the Jamestown Sun, Bismarck Tribune and since 1990 The Forum, where he’s covered North Dakota State athletics since 1995.
Jeff has covered all nine of NDSU’s Division I FCS national football titles and has written three books: “Horns Up,” “North Dakota Tough” and “Covid Kids.” He is the radio host of “The Golf Show with Jeff Kolpack” April through August.