Northern Iowa Panthers football

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.

Division I-AA/FCS playoff games

The Panthers have made twenty-two appearances in the Division I-AA/FCS playoffs, with an overall 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 12,200. 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 2025 season, the Panthers have a home record of 233–68–1 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)
• Eric Harris, LB, 1999 (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 (AP)
• Matthew Cook, 2023, K (AP)

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

Notable players

• Willie Beamon
• Eddie Berlin
• Khristian Boyd
• Spencer Brown
• Mark Farley
• L. J. Fort
• Daurice Fountain
• Derrick Frost
• Joe Fuller
• Mike Furrey
• Deiondre' Hall
• Ryan Hannam
• Austin Howard
• David Johnson
• James Jones
• Brandon Keith
• Chris Klieman
• Joshua Mahoney
• Brad Meester
• Larry Miller
• Brian Mitchell
• Bryce Paup
• Trevor Penning
• Chad Rinehart
• Eric Sanders
• Benny Sapp
• Randy Schultz
• Terrell Sinkfield
• Varmah Sonie
• Justin Surrency
• Tanner Varner
• Dedric Ward
• Kurt Warner–Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2017
• Xavier Williams
• Mike Woodley
• Steve Wright

Future non–conference opponents

Announced schedules as of October 23, 2025.

References

References

1. "UNI Championship Seasons".
2. "Northern Iowa Panthers". College Football Data Warehouse.
3. "Northern Iowa Bowl History". College Football Data Warehouse.
4. "2025 UNI Panther Football Media Guide".
5. "2016 Northern Iowa Football Media Guide".
6. "FCS Football: AP releases 2016 FCS All-America Team".
7. "2020-21 Associated Press FCS All-America Team".
8. "Jared Brinkman, Trevor Penning earn 2021 AP All-America Football Team honors".
9. "South Dakota State QB Mark Gronowski and Monmouth RB Jaden Shirden lead AP FCS All-America team".
10. "Northern Iowa Panthers Football Future Schedules". FBSchedules.com.