The Northern Iowa Panthers football represents the University of Northern Iowa in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level as member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC). The program began in 1895 and has fielded a team every year since with the exceptions of 1906–1907 and 1943–1944. The Panthers play their home games at the UNI-Dome on the campus of the University of Northern Iowa, in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
History
Classifications
NCAA College Division (1956–1972) NCAA Division II (1973–1980) NCAA Division I-AA/FCS (1981–present)
Conference memberships
Independent (1895–1922) Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (1923–1934) North Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (1935–1977) Mid-Continent Conference (1978–1984) Gateway Football Conference/Missouri Valley Football Conference (1985–present)
Championship and postseason history
Conference championships
Northern Iowa has won thirty-three conference titles, the most out of the four Iowa Division I institutions. The Panthers have won two Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championships, twelve North Central Conference championships, three Association of Mid-Continent Universities football championships and sixteen Missouri Valley Football Conference championships.
College Division bowl games
Northern Iowa played in the NCAA's College Division from 1937–1972. Twice in those years they qualified for a College Division bowl game.
FCS playoff games
The Panthers have reached the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs 22 times, with a record of 24–22.
FCS National Championship games
UNI-Dome
The UNI-Dome opened in 1976, as the home of the UNI Panthers football team. The facility's capacity for football is 16,324. At football games, where cold temperatures are frequently an issue for fans, the UNI-Dome announcers will announce "conditions at game time" prior to each game. The announcers will announce the weather in the town where the visiting team is from, the current weather conditions outside the Dome, and then say "Inside - 72 degrees, no wind, welcome to the Dome!" to emphasize the fact that a domed stadium is not affected by the weather. Heading into the 2021 Fall season, the Panthers have a home record of 221-59-1 in the UNI-Dome, having won nearly 80 percent of their games in the UNI-Dome.
All-Americans
First Team Selections
Paul Jones, E, 1937 (WR) Paul DeVan, HB, 1949 (AP) Lou Bohnsack, C, 1952 (AP) LeRoy Dunn, T, 1955 (WR) Dick Formanek, T, 1956 (WR) George Asleson, G, 1960 (AP) Jerry Morgan, QB, 1960 (WR) Wendell Williams, G, 1961 (AP) Dan Boals, FB, 1962 (WR) Randy Schultz, FB, 1964 and 1965 (AP) Ray Pedersen, G, 1967 (AP) Mike Timmermans, T, 1975 (AP) Brian Mitchell, PK, 1990 and 1991 (AP) Kenny Shedd, AP, 1992 (AP) William Freeney, LB, 1992 (AP) Andre Allen, LB, 1994 (AP) Dedric Ward, WR, 1995 and 1996 (AP) Brad Meester, C, 1999 (AP) Adam Vogt, LB, 2001 (AP) Mackenzie Hoambrecker, PK, 2002 (AP) Dre Dokes, DB, 2006 (AP) Brannon Carter, LB, 2007 (AP) Chad Rinehart, OL, 2007 (AP) James Ruffin, DL, 2009 (AP) Ben Boothby, DL, 2011 (AP) Michael Schmadeke, PK, 2014 (AP) Jack Rummells, OL, 2014 (AP) Deiondre' Hall, DB, 2015 (AP) Karter Schult, DL, 2016 (AP) Jared Brinkman, DL, 2020-21c and 2021 (AP) Trevor Penning, OL, 2021
WR=Williamson Ratings; AP=Associated Press;
c - 2020-21 selections include players who played Fall 2020 and teams (such as Northern Iowa) which moved their schedule to Spring 2021 due to COVID