The 2016 Illinois State Redbirds football team represented

Illinois State University Illinois State University (ISU) is a public university in Normal, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University, it is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teaching and is recognized as one of th ...

as a member of the

Missouri Valley Football Conference The Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC), formerly the Gateway Football Conference, is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I Football Championship Subdivis ...

(MVFC) during the 2016 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by eighth-year head coach

Brock Spack Brock D. Spack (born January 5, 1962) is an American football coach. He is the head football coach at Illinois State University, position he has held since December 2008. Previously, he was the defensive coordinator at Purdue University under J ...

, the Redbirds compiled an overall record of 6–6 with a mark of 4–4 in conference play, tying for fourth place the MVFC. For the third straight season, Illinois State received an at-large bid to the

NCAA Division I Football Championship The NCAA Division I Football Championship is an annual post-season college football game, played since 2006, used to determine a national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). From 1978 to 2005, the game was kn ...

playoffs, where the Redbirds lost in the first round to

Central Arkansas Central Arkansas, also known as the Little Rock metro, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway Metropolitan Statistical Area, is the most populous metro area in the U.S. state of ...

. The team played home games at

Hancock Stadium Hancock Stadium is a 13,391-seat multi-purpose stadium in Normal, Illinois. It opened in 1963. It is home to the Illinois State University Redbirds football team as well as University High School. Central Catholic High School also played its ...

Normal, Illinois Normal is a town in McLean County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town's population was 52,736. Normal is the smaller of two principal municipalities of the Bloomington–Normal metropolitan area, and Illinois' seventh most ...

Schedule

Game summaries

Valparaiso

@ Northwestern

The Redbirds beat the Wildcats 9–7. The win came on an Illinois State field goal as time expired. This was ISU's first-ever victory over a Big Ten team.

Eastern Illinois

@ Indiana State

@ North Dakota State

Youngstown State

Southern Illinois

@ South Dakota

South Dakota State

@ Western Illinois

Missouri State

Central Arkansas—NCAA Division I First Round

Ranking movements

References

{{2016 Division I FCS playoff navbox

Illinois State Illinois State University (ISU) is a Public university, public university in Normal, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University, it is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teaching and is reco ...

Illinois State Redbirds football seasons

Illinois State Redbirds football