It will be the end of long-standing rivalry on Saturday when Northern Iowa hosts Missouri State. The Bears are moving to the FBS level and Conference USA next season. UNI and Missouri State have been conference rivals since both were part of the Mid-Continent Conference beginning in 1981.

That’s UNI coach Mark Farley who says Missouri State’s move to FBS shows just how important college football has become.

Missouri State is 3-0 in the Valley and ranked 18th. Farley says their roster reflects the coming move to Conference USA.

At 2-5, the Panthers are in a spot they have not been in for several years. The last time UNI lost more than six games in a season was the first season of division-one football back in 1978.

Entering week eight this will be UNI’s third home game and Farley believes similar situations will be avoided in the future.

Farley believes down the road the Panthers won’t be required to play as many road games.