# List of Ohio Valley Conference football champions

This is a list of yearly regular season champions in college football of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) FCS Ohio Valley Conference. Fifteen different teams have won a championship in the seven decade history of the OVC; every team that plays in the conference has won at least one conference championship.
After the 2022 season, the OVC effectively merged its football league with that of the Big South Conference as the Big South–OVC Football Association.

## Champions by year

| Season | Champion | Record |
| 1948 | Murray State | 3–1 |
| 1949 | Evansville | 3–1–1 |
| 1950 | Murray State | 5–0–1 |
| 1951 | Murray State | 5–1 |
| 1952 | Tennessee Tech | 4–1 |
| 1952 | Western Kentucky | 4–1 |
| 1953 | Tennessee Tech | 5–0 |
| 1954 | Eastern Kentucky | 5–0 |
| 1955 | Tennessee Tech | 5–0 |
| 1956 | Middle Tennessee | 5–0 |
| 1957 | Middle Tennessee | 5–0 |
| 1958 | Middle Tennessee | 5–1 |
| 1958 | Tennessee Tech | 5–1 |
| 1959 | Middle Tennessee | 5–0–1 |
| 1959 | Tennessee Tech | 5–0–1 |
| 1960 | Tennessee Tech | 6–0 |
| 1961 | Tennessee Tech | 6–0 |
| 1962 | East Tennessee State | 4–2 |
| 1962 | Eastern Kentucky | 4–2 |
| 1962 | Middle Tennessee | 4–2 |
| 1962 | Morehead State | 4–2 |
| 1963 | Western Kentucky | 7–0 |
| 1964 | Middle Tennessee | 6–1 |
| 1965 | Middle Tennessee | 7–0 |
| 1966 | Morehead State | 6–1 |
| 1967 | Eastern Kentucky | 5–0–2 |
| 1968 | Eastern Kentucky | 7–0 |
| 1969 | East Tennessee State | 6–0–1 |
| 1970 | Western Kentucky | 5–1–1 |
| 1971 | Western Kentucky | 5–2 |
| 1972 | Tennessee Tech | 7–0 |
| 1973 | Western Kentucky | 7–0 |
| 1974 | Eastern Kentucky | 6–1 |
| 1975 | Tennessee Tech † | 6–1 |
| 1976 | Eastern Kentucky | 6–1 |
| 1977 | Austin Peay State | 6–1 |
| 1978 | Western Kentucky | 6–0 |
| 1979 | Murray State | 6–0 |
| 1980 | Western Kentucky | 6–1 |
| 1981 | Eastern Kentucky | 8–0 |
| 1982 | Eastern Kentucky | 7–0 |
| 1983 | Eastern Kentucky | 6–1 |
| 1984 | Eastern Kentucky | 6–1 |
| 1985 | Middle Tennessee | 7–0 |
| 1986 | Eastern Kentucky | 6–1 |
| 1986 | Murray State | 6–1 |
| 1987 | Eastern Kentucky | 5–1 |
| 1987 | Youngstown State | 5–1 |
| 1988 | Eastern Kentucky | 6–0 |
| 1989 | Middle Tennessee | 6–0 |
| 1990 | Eastern Kentucky | 5–1 |
| 1990 | Middle Tennessee | 5–1 |
| 1991 | Eastern Kentucky | 7–0 |
| 1992 | Middle Tennessee | 8–0 |
| 1993 | Eastern Kentucky | 8–0 |
| 1994 | Eastern Kentucky | 8–0 |
| 1995 | Murray State | 8–0 |
| 1996 | Murray State | 8–0 |
| 1997 | Eastern Kentucky | 7–0 |
| 1998 | Tennessee State | 6–1 |
| 1999 | Tennessee State | 7–0 |
| 2000 | Western Kentucky | 7–0 |
| 2001 | Eastern Illinois | 6–1 |
| 2002 | Eastern Illinois | 5–1 |
| 2002 | Murray State | 5–1 |
| 2003 | Jacksonville State | 7–1 |
| 2004 | Jacksonville State | 7–1 |
| 2005 | Eastern Illinois | 8–0 |
| 2006 | Eastern Illinois | 7–1 |
| 2006 | UT Martin | 6–1 |
| 2007 | Eastern Kentucky | 8–0 |
| 2008 | Eastern Kentucky | 7–1 |
| 2009 | Eastern Illinois | 6–2 |
| 2010 | Southeast Missouri State | 7–1 |
| 2011 | Tennessee Tech | 6–2 |
| 2011 | Eastern Kentucky | 6–2 |
| 2011 | Jacksonville State | 6–2 |
| 2012 | Eastern Illinois | 6–1 |
| 2013 | Eastern Illinois | 8–0 |
| 2014 | Jacksonville State | 8–0 |
| 2015 | Jacksonville State | 8–0 |
| 2016 | Jacksonville State | 8-0 |
| 2017 | Jacksonville State | 8-0 |
| 2018 | Jacksonville State | 7-1 |
| 2019 | Austin Peay | 7-1 |
| 2019 | Southeast Missouri State | 7-1 |
| 2020/21 †† | Jacksonville State | 6-1 |
| 2021 | UT Martin | 5-1 |
| 2022 | UT Martin | 5-0 |
| 2022 | Southeast Missouri State | 5-0 |
| 2023 | UT Martin | 5-1 |
| 2023 | Gardner-Webb | 5-1 |
| 2024 | UT Martin | 6-2 |
| 2024 | Tennessee Tech | 6-2 |
| 2024 | Tennessee State | 6-2 |
| 2024 | Southeast Missouri State | 6-2 |
† Both the OVC$^{:82}$ and Tennessee Tech list Tennessee Tech (6–1) as champion, while Western Kentucky (6–1) with a head-to-head victory over Tennessee Tech claims this as a co-championship.
†† Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 OVC season was postponed until the Spring of 2021. Some teams played in the Fall. However, all conference games were played as per normal and the champions were crowned on April 11, 2021.

## Championships by team

| Team | Ohio Valley Championships | Years |
| Eastern Kentucky | 21 | 1954, 1962, 1967, 1968, 1974, 1976, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1997, 2007, 2008, 2011 |
| Tennessee Tech | 11 | 1952, 1953, 1955, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1972, 1975, 2011, 2024 |
| Middle Tennessee State | 11 | 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1985, 1989, 1990, 1992 |
| Jacksonville State | 9 | 2003, 2004, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020/21 |
| Western Kentucky | 9 | 1952, 1963, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1975†,1978, 1980, 2000 |
| Murray State | 8 | 1948, 1950, 1951, 1979, 1986, 1995, 1996, 2002 |
| Eastern Illinois | 7 | 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2012, 2013 |
| UT Martin | 5 | 2006, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 |
| Southeast Missouri State | 4 | 2010, 2019, 2022, 2024 |
| Tennessee State | 3 | 1998, 1999, 2024 |
| East Tennessee State | 2 | 1962, 1969 |
| Morehead State | 2 | 1962, 1966 |
| Evansville | 2 | 1948, 1949 |
| Austin Peay | 2 | 1977, 2019 |
| Youngstown State | 1 | 1987 |
| Gardner-Webb | 1 | 2023 |
Bold indicates an outright conference championship.
Italics indicates a school not competing in the Big South–OVC Football Association.
† Claimed as a co-championship by WKU, but not recognized by the Ohio Valley Conference.