Illinois State Redbirds

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Illinois State Redbirds
Illinois State Athletics logo.svg
University Illinois State University
Conference Missouri Valley Conference (primary)
Midwest Independent Conference (women's gymnastics)
Missouri Valley Football Conference (football)
Summit League (men's tennis)
NCAA Division I (FCS)
Athletic directorJeri Beggs (Interim)
Location Normal, Illinois
Varsity teams19 (8 men's, 11 women's)
Football stadium Hancock Stadium
Basketball arena CEFCU Arena
Baseball stadium Duffy Bass Field
Softball stadiumMarian Kneer Softball Stadium
Soccer fieldAdelaide Street Field
Other venuesEvergreen Racquet Club
McCormick Courts
Weibring Golf Club
Mascot Reggie Redbird
NicknameRedbirds
Fight song Go, You Redbirds
ColorsRed and white [1]
   
Website goredbirds.com
Illinois State Redbirds Wordmark.png

The Illinois State Redbirds are the athletic teams that represent Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois. Teams play at the NCAA Division I level (FCS in football). Most teams compete in the Missouri Valley Conference except football (Missouri Valley Football Conference), women's gymnastics (Midwest Independent Conference) and men's tennis (Summit League). The fight song is Go, You Redbirds. [2]

Contents

History

Athletics at Illinois State consists of 19 sports, having won 160 MVC league titles. [3]

Illinois State began its athletics program more than 100 years ago. In 1923, athletics director Clifford E. "Pop" Horton and the Daily Pantagraph sports editor Fred Young collaborated to change the university's nickname from "Teachers." Horton wanted "Cardinals" because the colors were cardinal and white (set in 1895–96). Young changed the nickname to "Red Birds" to avoid confusion in the headlines with the St. Louis Cardinals. It took roughly 10 years for Red Birds to become one word.

From approximately 1908 to 1970, Illinois State was affiliated with the Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and were charter members. The school, which had already been an NCAA Division I competitor for a decade, left behind its independent status in 1980 and affiliated itself with the Missouri Valley Conference. From 1981 to 1992, Redbird women's teams competed under the Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference banner before women's sports were absorbed into the Missouri Valley Conference. Today,[ when? ] 14 of the 17 Redbird sports compete in the Missouri Valley Conference, with the football team playing in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, formerly known as the Gateway Football Conference.

Redbird 7

On 7 April 2015, seven men died when a privately owned Cessna 414 carrying Redbirds men's basketball coach Torrey Ward, Deputy Director of Athletics Aaron Leetch, and five community members and athletics supporters crashed. [4] The group was returning from Indianapolis, where they attended the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship Final. The plane crashed in a soybean field outside of Central Illinois Regional Airport in McLean County. [5] The University and Athletics Department memorialized the victims in several ways, including a uniform patch worn by all 19 teams throughout the 2015–16 sports seasons. Among other displays, the men are remembered in a permanent memorial called Redbird Remembrance, near the north entrance of Redbird Arena. [6]

Sports sponsored

A member of the Missouri Valley Conference, Illinois State University sponsors eight men's and eleven women's teams in NCAA sanctioned sports: [7]

Men's sportsWomen's sports
Baseball Basketball
Basketball Cross country
Cross countryGolf
Football Gymnastics
GolfSoccer
TennisSoftball
Track and field Swimming and diving
Tennis
Track and field
Volleyball
† – Track and field includes both indoor and outdoor

Men's basketball

Missouri Valley Conference in Illinois State colors Missouri Valley Conference in Illinois State Redbirds colors.svg
Missouri Valley Conference in Illinois State colors

Missouri Valley Conference Titles

Women's basketball

Football

FCS National Championship Game

Date playedLocationChampionRunner-Up
January 10, 2015 Toyota Stadium NDSU29Illinois State27

Bowl Games

Date playedBowlChampionRunner-Up
November 23, 1950Corn Bowl Missouri-Rolla 7Illinois State6
December 4, 1999 Pecan Bowl Illinois State37 Hofstra 20
December 1, 2006 Pecan Bowl Youngstown State 28Illinois State21

Women's soccer

Softball

Illinois State's softball team played in the Women's College World Series eight times in 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1976, 1978 and 1981. [10] The team finished as runner-up in the first WCWS in 1969, and in 1973, falling to Arizona State, 4-3, in 16 innings in the title game. On the day of the 1973 defeat, Redbirds pitcher Margie Wright heroically hurled 30 innings in three games. Ironically, for pitching too many innings in one day, a three-woman Illinois sports commission suspended her from pitching in any game in her upcoming senior season and also banned the softball team from post-season play in 1974. Wright went on to play professional softball, followed by a 33-year head coaching career. She coached the Redbirds from 1980–85, followed by 27 years at Fresno State, where she became the first NCAA Division I softball coach to reach 1000 wins and the NCAA's all-time winningest softball coach. [10] :23–24

National Championships

Team

AssociationDivisionSportYearOpponent/Runner-upScore
NCAA Division II Baseball (1) [11] 1969 Southwest Missouri State 12–0

Facilities

Notable former athletes

Baseball

Men's Basketball

Women's Basketball

Football

Men's Golf

Softball

Track & Field

Volleyball

References

  1. Redbird Athletics Identity Manual (PDF). November 29, 2018. Retrieved September 5, 2019.
  2. "Redbird Athletics - Home of Champions @ Illinois State". Archived from the original on 2006-12-08. Retrieved 2006-12-01.
  3. State, Illinois (2021-12-20). "Redbird Athletics". CP24. Retrieved 2021-12-20.
  4. "Statement From Illinois State Athletics - Illinois State University". Illinois State University. Retrieved 2018-06-02.
  5. Keyser, David Mercer and Jason (2015-04-07). "Plane returning from NCAA title game crashes, killing 7 including Illinois State coach". CP24. Retrieved 2018-06-02.
  6. "Illinois State Redbird Remembrance | Memorial". remembrance.goredbirds.com. Retrieved 2018-06-02.
  7. "Illinois State Athletics" . Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  8. "Kristi Cirone Night Set For Dec. 28 - Illinois State University". Illinois State University. Archived from the original on 2011-10-03. Retrieved 2018-06-02.
  9. DeLassus, David. "Division I-AA All-Time Wins". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on November 20, 2010. Retrieved April 12, 2011.
  10. 1 2 3 Plummer, William; Floyd, Larry C. (2013). A Series Of Their Own: History Of The Women's College World Series. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States: Turnkey Communications Inc. ISBN   978-0-9893007-0-4.
  11. "Division II Baseball Championship Results" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. Retrieved January 16, 2016.