The UIS Prairie Stars (also Illinois–Springfield Prairie Stars and formerly Sangamon State Prairie Stars) are the athletic teams that represent the

University of Illinois Springfield The University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) is a public university in Springfield, Illinois. The university was established in 1969 as Sangamon State University by the Illinois General Assembly and became a part of the University of Illinois ...

, located in

Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the capital of the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat and largest city of Sangamon County. The city's population was 114,394 at the 2020 census, which makes it the state's seventh most-populous city, the second largest o ...

, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the Division II level of the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

(NCAA), primarily competing in the

Great Lakes Valley Conference The Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) is a List of NCAA conferences, college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the NCAA Division II, Division II level. Its thirteen member institutions a ...

(GLVC) since the 2009–10 academic year, which they became a full-fledged Division II member on Aug. 1, 2010. The Prairie Stars previously competed in the

American Midwest Conference The American Midwest Conference (AMC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) with 10 member institutions located in Arkansas and Missouri in the United States. History The c ...

(AMC) of the

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic scholarships to its stu ...

(NAIA) from 2003–04 to 2008–09.

Varsity teams

UIS competes in 15 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, tennis and track & field (indoor and outdoor); while women's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, tennis, track & field (indoor and outdoor) and volleyball.

Accomplishments

In 2018, both the baseball and softball programs won GLVC Conference Championships and hosted NCAA Regionals. The UIS Baseball team has earned the number one seed in the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional in three straight seasons.

Championships

While a member of the NAIA, the Prairie Stars won the

NAIA national men's soccer championship The NAIA Men's Soccer Championship is the annual tournament to determine the national champions of NAIA men's collegiate soccer in the United States and Canada. It has been held annually since 1959. The most successful program is Quincy (IL), w ...

in 1986, 1988, and 1993 and were runner-up in 1998.

References

External links

* {{Illinois Sports University of Illinois at Springfield