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Illinois State Redbirds

{{Short description|Collegiate sports club in the United States}}

{{Infobox college athletics

| name = Illinois State Redbirds

| logo = Illinois State Athletics logo.svg

| logo_width = 200

| university = Illinois State University

| association = NCAA

| conference = Missouri Valley Conference (primary)
Midwest Independent Conference (women's gymnastics)
Missouri Valley Football Conference (football)
Summit League (men's tennis)

| division = Division I (FCS)

| director = Jeri Beggs (Interim)

| location = Normal, Illinois

| teams = 19 (8 men's, 11 women's)

| fightsong = Go, You Redbirds

| baseballfield = Duffy Bass Field

| basketballarena = CEFCU Arena

| stadium = Hancock Stadium

| soccerfield = Adelaide Street Field

| softballstadium = Marian Kneer Softball Stadium

| arena2 = Evergreen Racquet Club
McCormick Courts
Weibring Golf Club

| mascot = Reggie Redbird

| nickname = Redbirds

| pageurl = https://goredbirds.com/

| altlogo = 150px

}}

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 gymanstics (Midwest Independent Conference) and men's tennis (Summit League). The fight song is Go, You Redbirds.{{Cite web |url=http://goredbirds.cstv.com/trads/ilsu-trads-school-songs.html |title=Redbird Athletics - Home of Champions @ Illinois State |access-date=2006-12-01 |archive-date=2006-12-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061208050409/http://goredbirds.cstv.com/trads/ilsu-trads-school-songs.html |url-status=dead }}

History

Athletics at Illinois State consists of 19 sports, having won 160 MVC league titles.{{Cite news|url=https://illinoisstate.edu/athletics/|title=Redbird Athletics|last=State|first=Illinois|date=2021-12-20|work=CP24|access-date=2021-12-20|language=en-CA}}

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|date=December 2019}} 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.{{Cite web|url=http://goredbirds.com/news/2015/4/7/GEN_0407155129.aspx|title=Statement From Illinois State Athletics - Illinois State University|website=Illinois State University|language=en|access-date=2018-06-02}} 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.{{Cite news|url=http://www.cp24.com/sports/plane-returning-from-ncaa-title-game-crashes-killing-7-including-illinois-state-coach-1.2316456|title=Plane returning from NCAA title game crashes, killing 7 including Illinois State coach|last=Keyser|first=David Mercer and Jason|date=2015-04-07|work=CP24|access-date=2018-06-02|language=en-CA}} 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.{{Cite web|url=http://remembrance.goredbirds.com/memorial/|title=Illinois State Redbird Remembrance {{!}} Memorial|website=remembrance.goredbirds.com|language=en-US|access-date=2018-06-02}}

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:{{cite web |url=http://www.goredbirds.com/|title=Illinois State Athletics|access-date=19 September 2014}}

class="wikitable" style=" "
{{CollegePrimaryHeader|team=Illinois State Redbirds|Men's sports|Women's sports}}
BaseballBasketball
BasketballCross country
Cross countryGolf
FootballGymnastics
GolfSoccer
TennisSoftball
Track and field †Swimming and diving
Tennis
Track and field †
Volleyball
colspan="2" style="{{NCAA secondary color cell|Illinois State Redbirds}}" | {{small|† – Track and field includes both indoor and outdoor}}

=Men's basketball=

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

Missouri Valley Conference Titles

=Women's basketball=

  • Missouri Valley Conference Titles: 1983, 1989, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2022
  • NCAA Appearances: 1983, 1985, 1989, 2005, 2008, 2022
  • Women's National Invitation Tournament Appearances: 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2021, 2023, 2024
  • During the 2007-2008 season, former head coach Dr. Jill Hutchison 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 becomes the all-time leading scorer.
  • December 28, 2009 Kristi Cirone's No. 10 jersey was retired at Redbird Arena.{{Cite web|url=http://www.goredbirds.com/sports/w-baskbl/spec-rel/121609aaa.html|title=Kristi Cirone Night Set For Dec. 28 - Illinois State University|website=Illinois State University|language=en|access-date=2018-06-02|archive-date=2011-10-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111003135439/http://www.goredbirds.com/sports/w-baskbl/spec-rel/121609aaa.html|url-status=dead}}
  • Fell to Iowa in the first round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament, in their first appearance under head coach Kristen Gillespie.

=Football=

{{see also|Illinois State Redbirds football}}

FCS National Championship Game

class=wikitable

! Date played

Locationcolspan="2" | Championcolspan="2" | Runner-Up
January 10, 2015Toyota StadiumNDSU29Illinois State27

Bowl Games

class=wikitable

! Date played

Bowlcolspan="2" | Championcolspan="2" | Runner-Up
November 23, 1950Corn BowlMissouri-Rolla7Illinois State6
December 4, 1999Pecan BowlIllinois State37Hofstra20
December 1, 2006Pecan BowlYoungstown State28Illinois State21

  • 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/misc/div_iaa_wins.php|publisher=College Football Data Warehouse|first=David|last=DeLassus|access-date=April 12, 2011|title=Division I-AA All-Time Wins|archive-date=November 20, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101120140005/http://cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/misc/div_iaa_wins.php|url-status=dead}}

=Women's soccer=

  • Missouri Valley Conference Regular Season Titles: 1998, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016
  • Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Titles: 2003, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016
  • NCAA 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 eight times in 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1976, 1978 and 1981.{{cite book|title=A Series Of Their Own: History Of The Women's College World Series |first1=William |last1=Plummer|first2=Larry C.|last2=Floyd|year=2013|publisher= Turnkey Communications Inc.|location= Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States|isbn=978-0-9893007-0-4}} 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.{{rp|23–24}}

National Championships

=Team=

class="wikitable" width="60%"

{{CollegePrimaryHeader|team=Illinois State Redbirds|Association|Division|Sport|Year|Opponent/Runner-up|Score}}

align="center"

|rowspan="1"| NCAA

|rowspan="1"| Division II

|rowspan="1"| Baseball (1){{cite web|title=Division II Baseball Championship Results |url=http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/baseball_champs_records/2014/d2/Champs.pdf |work=NCAA|publisher=NCAA.org|access-date=January 16, 2016}}

| 1969

| Southwest Missouri State

| 12–0

Facilities

Notable former athletes

Baseball

Men's Basketball

Women's Basketball

Football

Men's Golf

Softball

  • Margie Wright – Former professional softball player, coach for 33 years. NCAA all-time winningest softball coach.{{rp|23–24}}

Track & Field

Volleyball

File:Redbird Arena.jpg|Redbird Arena

File:Redbird Starting Lineup.jpg|Basketball starters introduced

File:Dyer Free Throw.jpg|Free throw

File:Osiris for 3.jpg|Three Pointer

References

{{reflist}}

External links

{{commons category}}

  • {{Official website}}

{{Illinois State University}}

{{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}}

}}

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