The Illinois State Redbirds football program is the intercollegiate

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

team for the

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 ...

located in the U.S. state of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and are members 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 ...

. The school's first football team was fielded in 1887. The team plays its home games at the 13,391 seat

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 ...

. They are coached by

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 ...

History

Prior to 1923, the Illinois State football team was known as the Teachers or Fighting Teachers. When Clifford E. Horton began coaching the team in 1923, he proposed the Cardinals as the team's new nickname, after its red and white colors. ''

The Pantagraph ''The Pantagraph'' is a daily newspaper that serves Bloomington–Normal, Illinois, along with 60 communities and eight counties in the Central Illinois area. Its headquarters are in Bloomington and it is owned by Lee Enterprises. The name is d ...

'' sports editor Fred Young changed the name to the Redbirds to distinguish the team from the nearby

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

Classifications

*1906–1956: None *1956–1972: NCAA College Division (Small College) *1973–1975: NCAA Division II *1976–1977: NCAA Division I *1978–1981: NCAA Division I–A *1982–2006: NCAA Division I–AA *2006–present: NCAA Division I FCS

Conference memberships

*1887–1907: Independent *1908–1949:

Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference The Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) was a college athletic conference that existed from 1908 to 1970 in the United States. At one time the Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, or IIAC, was a robust league that clai ...

*1950–1969:

Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference The Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) was a college athletic conference that existed from 1908 to 1970 in the United States. At one time the Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, or IIAC, was a robust league that clai ...

*1970–1972: Independent *1973–1975: Division II Independent *1976–1977: Division I Independent *1978–1980: Division I–A Independent *1981–1985:

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the third-oldest collegiate athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the midwest. History The MVC was established ...

*1986–present: Gateway Football Conference/

Conference championships

Illinois State has won 10 conference titles, four outright. † Co-championship

Postseason appearances

Illinois State has made eight appearances in the Division I–AA/FCS playoffs, garnering a record of 10–8.

Bowl games

Illinois State has one bowl appearance, going 0-1.

Wins Over FBS Teams

Head coaches

Rivalries

Eastern Illinois

The Mid-America Classic is the rivalry game between Illinois State and

Eastern Illinois Eastern Illinois University is a public university in Charleston, Illinois. Established in 1895 as the Eastern Illinois State Normal School, a teacher's college offering a two-year degree, Eastern Illinois University gradually expanded into a co ...

. The rivalry began in 1901 and is the oldest in the state of Illinois. With the 100th game in the series, representatives from both schools met and developed the Mid-America Classic renaming for the rivalry. The two schools also collaborated on a traveling trophy, which holds plaques with the results of the previous 100 games in the series and has room for results of future games in the series. The two teams have played 108 times in total, with Illinois State holding a 57–42–9 advantage in the all-time series as of the end of the 2019 season.

Notable former players

Notable alumni include: * B. J. Bello *

Duane Butler Duane Butler (born November 9, 1973) is a former gridiron football linebacker / defensive back. He played college football at Illinois State. College career Duane Butler attended Illinois State University. While there, he was a three time All- ...

Aveion Cason Aveion Marquel Cason (born July 12, 1979) is a former American football running back and kick returner in the National Football League for the St. Louis Rams, Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys. He also was a member of the Florida Tuskers in the ...

Luke Drone Luke Drone (born December 18, 1984) is a former American football quarterback. He was signed by the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent in 2008. He played college football at Illinois State. Early years Drone attended Mt. Carmel High ...

Kevin Glenn Kevin Glenn, Jr. (born June 12, 1979) is a former American professional Canadian football quarterback. He was originally signed by the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL) as an undrafted free agent in 2001. He played co ...

* Boomer Grigsby * Jim Fitzpatrick * Larry Fitzpatrick *

Davontae Harris Davontae Harris (born January 21, 1995) is an American football cornerback who is a free agent. He attended high school at Wichita South High School in Wichita, Kansas. He played college football at Illinois State Redbirds football, Illinois St ...

Shelby Harris Shelby Harris (born August 11, 1991) is an American football defensive end for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Illinois State and was selected in the seventh round of the 2014 NFL Draf ...

Brent Hawkins Brent Lee Hawkins (born September 1, 1983) is a former American football defensive end who played 2 years in the National Football League and 2 years in the Canadian Football League, until retiring from football in May 2013. He was most recently ...

Estus Hood Estus Hood III (born November 14, 1955) is a former American football cornerback in the National Football League for the Green Bay Packers. He played college football at Illinois State University Illinois State University (ISU) is a publ ...

* Jason Johnson *

Andy King Andrew or Andy King may refer to: * Andrew King (astrophysicist) (born 1947), British astrophysicist * Andrew King (architect), Canadian architect and cross-disciplinary artist * Andrew King (mayor) (born 1960 or 1961), former mayor of Hamilton, Ne ...

John Kropke John Kropke (born January 3, 1966) is a former American football defensive tackle who played nine seasons in the Canadian Football League (CFL) with the Ottawa Rough Riders, Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Saskatchewan Roughriders. He played college foo ...

Cameron Meredith Cameron Meredith (born September 21, 1992) is a former American football wide receiver. He was signed by the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2015. He played college football at Illinois State. He also played for the New Orleans Saint ...

* Jim Meyer * Tom Nelson * James O'Shaughnessy *

Nate Palmer Nathan Palmer Jr. (born September 23, 1989) is a former American football linebacker. He played college football at Illinois State. Palmer was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the sixth round of the 2013 NFL Draft. Early life Palmer was b ...

Mike Prior Michael Robert Prior (born November 14, 1963) is a former American football safety who played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Indianapolis Colts and Green Bay Packers in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Illinois St ...

Tre Roberson Trerein "Tre" E. Roberson (born October 22, 1992) is a professional gridiron football defensive back for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent following the ...

* James Robinson *

Laurent Robinson Laurent Robinson (born May 20, 1985) is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League for the Atlanta Falcons, St. Louis Rams, Dallas Cowboys and Jacksonville Jaguars. He was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the thir ...

Joe Vodicka Joseph J. Vodicka (March 4, 1921 – February 28, 1995) was an American football halfback who played two seasons in the National Football League with the Chicago Bears and Chicago Cardinals. He played college football at Illinois State University ...

* Cody White *

Mike Zimmer Michael Zimmer (born June 5, 1956) is an American football coach for the Colorado Buffaloes. Prior to this, Zimmer was with Jackson State, both college programs being led by Deion Sanders. He previously also served as the head coach of the Minn ...

Colton Underwood Colton Scott Brown-Underwood (born January 26, 1992) is an American reality television personality and former professional football player. He played defensive end at Illinois State and was signed by the San Diego Chargers as an undrafted free ...

* Michael Liedtke

Redbirds drafted into the NFL

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Illinois State Redbirds Football American football teams established in 1887 1887 establishments in Illinois