The Mississippi Valley State football team is months away from the first snap of the 2025 season, and they’re already ineligible for postseason participation.
The NCAA released its annual Academic Progress Rate (APR) report Tuesday for the 2023-24 academic year, dishing out punishments for programs with decreasing levels of classroom success. Of the 49 Division I teams nationally to be assessed punishment, three were in Mississippi. MVSU’s football and men’s track programs were handed one-year postseason bans, while Jackson State’s women’s cross-country team received a reduction in practice hours.
Punishments for all three teams will be carried out during the 2025-26 athletic year.
According to the report, MVSU’s multiyear football APR was tabulated at 904, 26 points below the required 930. MVSU men’s track had a 905, and JSU’s women’s cross country had an 849.
MVSU was one of only three football programs to hit a multi-year APR low enough to miss the postseason. Akron and the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff were the others. Florida A&M, Missouri State, Murray State, and Utah Tech all received practice time reductions.
The Delta Devils’ struggles in the classroom have not translated to success on the gridiron. Last fall, MVSU football went 1-11 to round out the 19th season in a row with less than five wins. In January, the university announced former Super Bowl champion Terrel Buckley as the new head coach. It’s unclear if he was informed of a potential postseason ban before accepting the position.
MVSU football was forced to reduce practice hours a year ago after being flagged for subpar APR marks. The same resulted in postseason bans for the program in 2013 and 2014.
