The Illinois State Redbirds are the athletic teams that represent

Illinois State University Illinois State University (ISU) is a public research university in Normal, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University and is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teachin ...

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

. Teams play at the

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

level ( FCS in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

). Most teams compete in the

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the fourth-oldest collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the Midwestern Unite ...

except football (

Missouri Valley Football Conference The Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC), formerly the Gateway Football Conference, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the National Collegiate A ...

), women's gymanstics (

Midwest Independent Conference The Midwest Independent Conference (MIC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I, II and III Gymnastics, women's gymnastics conference. The MIC was established in 1991 for schools that sponsor women's gymnastics teams, but ...

) and men's tennis (

Summit League The Summit League, or The Summit, is an NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletic conference with its membership mostly located in the Midwestern United States, from Minnesota in the east, to the Dakotas, Nebraska and Colorado to the West, and Mis ...

). The fight song is Go, You Redbirds.

History

Athletics at Illinois State consists of 19 sports, having won 160 MVC league titles. 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 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

. 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 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 cla ...

and were charter members. The school, which had already been an

competitor for a decade, left behind its independent status in 1980 and affiliated itself with the

. From 1981 to 1992, Redbird women's teams competed under the

Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference The Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference was a women's-only college athletic conference which operated in the midwestern United States from its inception in 1982 to its absorption by the Missouri Valley Conference in 1992. History The Gateway C ...

banner before women's sports were absorbed into the Missouri Valley Conference. Today, 14 of the 17 Redbird sports compete in the Missouri Valley Conference, with the football team playing in the

, formerly known as the

Gateway 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 Subdiv ...

Redbird 7

On 7 April 2015, seven men died when a privately owned

Cessna 414 The Cessna 414 is an American light, pressurized, twin-engine transport aircraft built by Cessna. It first flew in 1968 and an improved variant was introduced from 1978 as the 414A Chancellor. Design and development The pressurized 414 was dev ...

carrying Redbirds men's basketball coach

Torrey Ward Torrey Ward (July 7, 1978 – April 7, 2015) was an American assistant coach of men's college basketball. An undrafted guard from the University of Alabama-Birmingham, Ward played professionally in China for several years before starting his co ...

, Deputy Director of Athletics Aaron Leetch, and five community members and athletics supporters crashed. The group was returning from

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

, where they attended the

NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as March Madness, or The Big Dance, is a single-elimination tournament played in the United States to determine the men's college basketball national champion of the Division I level ...

Final. The plane crashed in a soybean field outside of

Central Illinois Regional Airport Central Illinois Regional Airport at Bloomington–Normal is a public airport in McLean County, Illinois, three miles east of Bloomington and southeast of Normal. Owned by the Bloomington–Normal Airport Authority, it is also known as Centra ...

in McLean County. 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. In addition, a permanent memorial called Redbird Remembrance directly in the heart of the Redbird Athletics.

Sports sponsored

A member of the

, Illinois State University sponsors eight men's and eleven women's teams in

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

sanctioned sports:

Men's basketball

150px, Missouri Valley Conference in Illinois State colors

Titles *Regular Season: 1984, 1992, 1993, 1997, 1998, 2017 *Conference Tournament: 1983, 1990, 1997, 1998 *

Appearances:

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

* NIT Appearances:

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

* CBI Appearances:

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

Women's basketball

Titles: 1983, 1989, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2022 *

Appearances: 1983, 1985, 1989, 2005, 2008, 2022 *

Women's National Invitation Tournament The Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) is a women's national college basketball tournament. It used to feature both a preseason and postseason version played every year, but the preseason tournament was last held in 2023. It is operate ...

Appearances: 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2021, 2023, 2024 * During the 2007-2008 season, former head coach Dr.

Jill Hutchison Jill Hutchison (born March 8, 1945) is an American retired women's basketball coach, having served as head coach for 28 seasons at Illinois State. Hutchison also served as the first president of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association. She was a ...

was recognized for her pioneering work in the advancement of women’s basketball. A banner was hung from the rafters at Redbird Arena in her honor. * 2009

Kristi Cirone Kristi Mary Rose Cirone (born May 19, 1987) is an American basketball coach and former player. She played collegiately for Illinois State University and led the school to three national postseason tournaments in 2007 through 2009 while also being ...

becomes the all-time leading scorer. * December 28, 2009 Kristi Cirone's No. 10 jersey was retired at Redbird Arena. *Fell to Iowa in the first round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament, in their first appearance under head coach Kristen Gillespie.

Football

Championships: 1999, 2014, 2015 *

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 ca ...

Playoffs: 1998, 1999, 2006, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2019 * 1998: Lost at

Northwestern State Northwestern State University of Louisiana (NSULA) is a public university primarily situated in Natchitoches, Louisiana, with a nursing campus in Shreveport and general campuses in Leesville/Fort Johnson and Alexandria. It is a part of the Un ...

* 1999: Defeated Colgate and

Hofstra Hofstra University is a private research university in Hempstead, New York, United States. It originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University and became an independent college in 1939. Comprising ten schools, including the Zucker Scho ...

before losing at eventual national champion

Georgia Southern Georgia Southern University (informally known as Southern or Georgia Southern) is a public research university in the U.S. state of Georgia. The largest campus is in Statesboro, with additional campuses in Savannah ( Armstrong Campus) and Hine ...

* 2006: Lost at Youngstown State * 2012: Defeated App State in overtime before losing at

Eastern Washington Eastern Washington is the region of the U.S. state of Washington located east of the Cascade Range. It contains the city of Spokane (the second largest city in the state), the Tri-Cities, the Columbia River and the Grand Coulee Dam, the H ...

* 2014: Defeated UNI,

, and

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

before losing to

NDSU North Dakota State University (NDSU, formally North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences) is a public land-grant research university in Fargo, North Dakota, United States. It was founded as North Dakota Agricultural Colle ...

in the FCS National Championship Game * 2015: Defeated UNI before losing to

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

* 2016: Lost at

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 ...

* 2019: Defeated Southeast Missouri State,

, before losing to

* 2024: Defeated Southeast Missouri State before losing to

UC Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Davis, California, United States. It is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University ...

FCS National Championship Game Bowl Games *The 1999 & 2006 the Midwest Region Championship (FCS Quarterfinal) was referred to as the Pecan Bowl *In 1999 the Redbirds football team advanced to the Final Four and finished 3rd in the AP poll. *Illinois State holds the NCAA Division I FCS record for the most tied football games with 66.

Women's soccer

Regular Season Titles: 1998, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016 *

Tournament Titles: 2003, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016 *

Appearances: 2003, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016 * 2016: W vs. Michigan (PKs), L vs. #3 Duke (1-3) * First season: 1996 * All-Time Record: 225-145-37 (.600) * All-Time Missouri Valley Conference Record: 82-25-11 (.746) * 10 Missouri Valley Conference Players of the Year

Softball

Illinois State's softball team played in the

Women's College World Series The Women's College World Series (WCWS) is the final portion of the NCAA Division I softball tournament for college softball in the United States and is held annually in Oklahoma City, OK. The event is held at Devon Park (stadium), Devon Park loca ...

eight times in 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1976, 1978 and 1981. 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 Marjorie Ann Wright (born December 28, 1952) is an American former college softball coach. She was the head softball coach at California State University, Fresno—more commonly known as Fresno State—from 1986 to 2012. She led the Fresno Stat ...

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.

National Championships

Team

Facilities

Adelaide Street Field Adelaide ( , ; ) is the capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city cen ...

– soccer field. *

Duffy Bass Field Duffy Bass Field is a baseball venue in Normal, Illinois, USA. It is home to the Illinois State Redbirds baseball team of the Division I Missouri Valley Conference. It was built in 1988 and has a capacity of 1,200 spectators, 1,000 of which ...

– baseball field. *Doug Collins Court at

CEFCU Arena CEFCU Arena, formerly known as Redbird Arena, is a 10,200-seat multi-purpose arena located in Normal, Illinois, on the campus of Illinois State University. Built in 1989, the building is notable for its use of a Teflon-coated roof that gives off ...

– main indoor arena. * Evergreen Racquet Club – indoor tennis court. *

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 ...

– football stadium. *

Horton Field House Horton may refer to: Places Antarctica * Horton Glacier, Adelaide Island, Antarctica * Horton Ledge, Queen Elizabeth Land, Antarctica Australia * Horton, Queensland, a town and locality in the Bundaberg Region * Horton River (Australia), i ...

* Marian Kneer Softball Stadium – softball field. * McCormick Courts – outdoor tennis courts. * Weibring Golf Club – golf course.

Notable former athletes

Baseball * Lee "Buzz" Capra – former

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

pitcher who led the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

. *

Dave Bergman David Bruce Bergman (June 6, 1953 – February 2, 2015) was an American Major League Baseball first baseman, designated hitter and left fielder who played between 1975 and 1992. Early life Born in Evanston, Illinois, Bergman was an alumnus of M ...

– Retired MLB player and

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

Champion (1984). *

Matt Herges Matthew Tyler Herges (born April 1, 1970) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1999 to 2009, and is the former pitching coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Herges played in ML ...

– Former MLB pitcher for the

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. The team plays its home games at LoanDepot Park. The ...

and

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

. *

Dan Kolb Daniel Lee Kolb (born March 29, 1975) is an American former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. He played for the Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers, and Pittsburgh Pirates. He batted and threw right-handed. Career Kolb graduate ...

– Retired MLB

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...

. *

Neal Cotts Neal James Cotts (born March 25, 1980) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago White Sox, Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers, Milwaukee Brewers, and Minneso ...

– Former MLB pitcher with the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

, Texas Rangers,

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

, and

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

Champion (2005). * Brock Stewart –

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

pitcher currently a Free Agent. *

Paul DeJong Paul Sterling DeJong (; born August 2, 1993) is an American professional baseball shortstop and third baseman for the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue ...

– MLB shortstop for the

. Men's Basketball * Steve Fisher – Former

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, where he won a national title in

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

and recruited the Fab Five, and

San Diego State San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system. SDSU is ...

. * Doug Collins –

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

broadcaster, player, coach, and Olympian. *

Dan Muller Daniel Cody Muller, generally known as Dan Muller (1889–1976) was a cowboy, an artist, illustrator, and writer of the American West. Having grown up on a ranch, he learned to break in horses, a skill he utilized for the United States Army duri ...

– Former Illinois State men's basketball head coach. *

Rico Hill Rico Hill (born February 14, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player. He played at the small forward and power forward (basketball), power forward positions. High school Hill attended Brother Rice High School (Chicago), Brother ...

– Was a guard for Illinois State prior to playing for the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The ...

and in Europe. * Tarise Bryson –

Harlem Globetrotters The Harlem Globetrotters is an American Exhibition game, exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, entertainment, and comedy in their style of play. Over the years, they have played more than 26,000 exhibition games in 124 ...

(1998–2002). *

Chamberlain Oguchi Chamberlain "Champ" Nnaemeka Oguchi (born April 28, 1986) is a former Nigerian-American former professional basketball player. His name "Emeka" is an abbreviation of the Igbo name "Chukwuemeka" (meaning "God has done so much"). College career O ...

– Member of Nigeria's

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

team. *

Paris Lee Paris Lee (born April 20, 1995) is an American-born naturalized Cameroonian professional basketball player for LDLC ASVEL of the French LNB Élite and the EuroLeague. He played college basketball for Illinois State University. A point guard, Lee ...

– Point guard for the French Team

LDLC ASVEL ASVEL Basket, currently known as LDLC ASVEL for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional basketball team located in the commune of Villeurbanne, a suburb of Lyon, France. The club, which is the basketball section of the ASVEL multi-sports ...

Women's Basketball *

Lorene Ramsey Lorene Ramsey, a pioneer in women's sports, is one of the most successful college coaches of all time. In 1968, Ramsey joined the staff of Illinois Central College, a community college in East Peoria, Illinois. There, before the passing of Tit ...

– Former Women's basketball coach of

Illinois Central College Illinois Central College (ICC) is a public community college with its main campus in East Peoria, Illinois. It is part of the Illinois Community College System and its district, Illinois Community College District 514, is a includes most of Peo ...

, with a career record of 887–197. *

Charlotte Lewis Charlotte Lewis (born 7 August 1967) is an English former actress. She is best known as Kee Nang in the 1986 film ''The Golden Child''. She retired from acting after an appearance in the 2003 film '' Hey DJ'', briefly returning to appear in t ...

–

1976 Summer Olympics The 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Montreal 1976 (), were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal ...

Silver Medalist for the USA. * Cathy Boswell – College Basketball All American and

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

Gold Medalist for

United States women's national basketball team The USA Basketball Women's National Team, commonly known as Team USA, is governed by USA Basketball and competes in FIBA Americas. The team is by far the most successful in international women's basketball, having won 10 out of the 12 Olympic to ...

. *

– Former WNBA point guard Football * Mike Zimmer –

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) Head Coach for the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

* Joe Woods – NFL Defensive Coordinator for the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

Nate Palmer Nathan Palmer Jr. (born September 23, 1989) is an American former professional football linebacker. He played college football for the Illinois State Redbirds. Palmer was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the sixth round of the 2013 NFL draft ...

– Former NFL

inside linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the lin ...

for the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

and

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

. * James O'Shaughnessy – NFL

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

for the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

* James Robinson- NFL

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

for the

* B. J. Bello – NFL

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

for the

* Davontae Harris – NFL

for the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

* Cameron Meredith – NFL

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

currently a Free Agent. * Cameron Lee – NFL

offensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line ( ...

currently a Free Agent. *

Michael Liedtke Michael Liedtke (born January 15, 1992) is a former American football offensive guard. He played college football at Illinois State and signed as an undrafted free agent with the Miami Dolphins in 2015. He has also been a member of several othe ...

– NFL offensive lineman for the

Washington Football Team The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

. *

Kevin Glenn Kevin Glenn, Jr. (born June 12, 1979) is an American former 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 c ...

– Former

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

. *

Colton Underwood Colton Scott Brown-Underwood (né Underwood; born January 26, 1992) is an American reality television personality and former professional American football, football player. He played defensive end at Illinois State Redbirds football, Illinois St ...

– Former NFL

for the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

and

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

and was a part of Season 14 of

The Bachelorette A bachelorette is an unmarried woman. Bachelorette may also refer to: Film, television, and related * ''The Bachelorette'', a reality television dating show part of ''The Bachelor'' franchise with numerous versions: ** ''The Bachelorette'' (Am ...

. * Shelby Harris – NFL

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

for the

* Boomer Grigsby – Retired NFL fullback and 2017

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive Tourist attraction, attraction devoted to college football, college American football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players ...

Inductee *

Mike Prior Michael Robert Prior (born November 14, 1963) is an American former professional football player who was a safety for 13 seasons in the National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, pr ...

– Former NFL player and part of

team that won

Super Bowl XXXI Super Bowl XXXI was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Green Bay Packers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champio ...

* Dennis Nelson – Former NFL player and part of

Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from 1953 to 1983, when owner Robert Irsay moved the franchise to Indianapolis. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breeding and racing. It w ...

team that won

Super Bowl V Super Bowl V was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 1970 Baltimore Colts season, Baltimore Colts and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 1970 Dallas Cowboys season, Dallas Cowboys ...

* Tom Nelson – Former NFL wide receiver with the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

and the

. *

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

– retired NFL

Running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

* Laurent Robinson – Retired NFL wide receiver. Men's Golf * D. A. Weibring –

Professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

on the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...

. Softball *

– Former professional softball player, coach for 33 years. NCAA all-time winningest softball coach. Track & Field *Tim Glover – 2011 &

2012 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships The 2012 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships were the 91st NCAA Division I Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championships and the 31st NCAA Division I Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, I ...

National Champion in Javelin Throw. * Aisha Praught – Former All-American &

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

athlete for Jamaica. Volleyball * Cathy George, women's volleyball head coach at

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the ...

File:Redbird Arena.jpg,

Redbird Arena CEFCU Arena, formerly known as Redbird Arena, is a 10,200-seat multi-purpose arena located in Normal, Illinois, on the campus of Illinois State University. Built in 1989, the building is notable for its use of a Teflon-coated roof that gives off ...

File:Redbird Starting Lineup.jpg,

Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

starters introduced File:Dyer Free Throw.jpg,

Free throw In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points by shooting from behind the free-throw line (informally known as the foul line or the charity stripe), a line situated at the end of the restricted area. Free throws ...

File:Osiris for 3.jpg, Three Pointer

References

External links

* {{Navboxes , titlestyle = {{CollegePrimaryStyle, Illinois State Redbirds, color=white , list = {{Missouri Valley Conference navbox {{Missouri Valley Football Conference navbox {{Midwest Independent Conference navbox {{Summit League navbox {{Illinois Sports de:Illinois State University no:Illinois State University