Led by fifth-year head coach Archie Cooley, the Delta Devils played their home games at Magnolia Stadium—now known as Rice–Totten Stadium—in Itta Bena, Mississippi.
Mississippi Valley State finished the season with an overall record of 9–2 and a mark of 6–1 in conference play, placing second in the SWAC.
As a senior in 1984, Jerry Rice broke his own NCAA Division I-AA records for receptions (112) and receiving yards (1,845).
Rice was named to every 1984 College Football All-America Team, including the Associated Press squad, and finished ninth in Heisman Trophy balloting.
In the Blue–Gray Football Classic all-star game played on Christmas Day, he earned MVP honors.