Indiana State Sycamores football

Classifications

1952–1964: NCAA / NAIA

1965–1972: NCAA College Division

1970–1973: NAIA Division I

1973–1975: NCAA Division II

1976–1977: NCAA Division I

1978–1981: NCAA Division I–A

1982–present: NCAA Division I–AA/FCS

Conference memberships

1896–1933: Independent

1934–1947: Indiana Intercollegiate Conference

1948–1950: Independent

1951–1967: Indiana Collegiate Conference

1968–1972: Independent

1973–1975: Division II Independent

1976–1977: Division I Independent

1978–1981: Division I–A Independent

1982–1985: Division I–AA Independent

1986–present: Gateway Football Conference/Missouri Valley Football Conference

Bowl games

Bowl Games

Note: The Midwest Region Final (National Quarterfinal) in the NCAA Division I Football Championship is commonly referred to as the Pecan Bowl.

Division I NCAA Playoffs

The Sycamores have appeared in 3 NCAA Division I Football Championships. Their combined record is 2–3.

Playoff Games

Conference championships

The Sycamores shared the 1964 Heartland Collegiate Conference title with 4 schools {Ball St. (IN), Butler (IN), Evansville (IN), Valparaiso (IN)}; they finished with a 4-2 conference record and were 6-2 overall. At the time, the Heartland Collegiate Conference was known by its more recognizable name, the Indiana Collegiate Conference.

Stadiums

The Sycamores have played football at venerable Memorial Stadium since the 1949 campaign. Originally constructed in 1922-24, at a cost of $450,000; the 12,764-seat stadium remains a fixture at the intersection of Wabash and Brown Avenues in Terre Haute, IN.

Memorial Stadium’s inauguration was on May 5, 1925, as the local minor league baseball team, the Terre Haute Tots, hosted their Three-I League rivals, the Peoria Tractors, before an estimated crowd of 9,000. Among the esteemed visitors were Major League Baseball Commissioner Judge Kennesaw Mountain Landis and Charles Barnard of the Cleveland Indians.

The facility was acquired (via a 99-year lease) by Indiana State University in 1967. The installation of Astroturf made Indiana State the first university to own a football stadium with artificial turf.

National (2)

Shakir Bell - 2011 Walter Payton Award Finalist (Top 2 vote receiver)

Johnny Towalid - 2012 Co-National FCS Defensive Back of the Year (by College Football Performance)

Conference (10)

Edgar Freese - 1965 Indiana Collegiate Conference DT (Lineman)

Reggie Allen - 1979 Missouri Valley Conference QB (Offense)

Gerry Gluscic - 1979 Missouri Valley Conference DE (Defense)

Craig Shaffer - 1981 Missouri Valley Conference LB (Defense)

Jeff Miller - 1984 Missouri Valley Conference QB (Offense)

Wayne Davis - 1984 Missouri Valley Conference DB (Defense)

Jeff Miller - 1985 Missouri Valley Conference QB (Offense)

Vencie Glenn - 1985 Missouri Valley Conference DB (Defense)

Derrick Franklin - 1991 Missouri Valley Football Conference RB (Offense)

Shakir Bell - 2011 Missouri Valley Football Conference RB (Offense)

All-Americans 1st Team (19)

Jeff Keller, DE – 1967 American Football Coaches Association

Chris Hicks, OT – 1975 American Football Coaches Association

Vincent Allen, RB – 1976 American Football Coaches Association

Ed Martin, DE – 1983 American Football Coaches Association

Wayne Davis, DB – 1984 American Football Coaches Association

Vencie Glenn, DB – 1985 American Football Coaches Association

Steve Mckeel DB - 1986 Associated Press

Mike Simmonds, OT – 1986 American Football Coaches Association

Steve McKeel DB - 1987 Associated Press

Derrick Franklin, RB – 1991 Walter Camp, The Sports Network

Shawn Moore, OG – 1993 American Football Coaches Association

Dan Brandenburg, DT – 1994 American Football Coaches Association

Dan Brandenburg, DT – 1995 The Sports Network, American Football Quarterly

Tom Allison, PK – 1995 Don Hansen’s Football Gazette

Troy Lefevra, DE – 1998 Don Hansen’s Football Gazette

DeJuan Alfonzo, DB/RS – 1999 American Football Coaches Association

Shakir Bell, RB - 2011 Associated Press, American Football Coaches Association, The Sports Network

Ben Obaseki, DL - 2011 Associated Press

Joshua Appel, LS - 2015 STATS All-American

Academic All-American (5)

Gary Brown, E - 1971

Michael Eads, E - 1972

Mark Maley E -1973

Daniel Millington, DE - 2009

Alex Sewall, DB - 2011

NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship (1)

Jeffrey Miller, QB - 1986

Scoring

Career leaders in bold

Coaching leaders (by wins)

The current coach is Curt Mallory

Career leaders in bold
^ - CPO LeCroy was member of US Navy's V-12 program staff during World War II

District (4)

Mike Sanford - 2014 AFCA Region #4

Trent Miles - 2010 AFCA Region #4

Jerry Huntsman - 1968 NCAA District #2

Jerry Huntsman - 1966 NCAA District #1

Conference (7)

Trent Miles - 2010 Missouri Valley Football Conference

Dennis Raetz - 1984 Missouri Valley Conference

Jerry Huntsman - 1966 Indiana Collegiate Conference

Bill Jones - 1963 Indiana Collegiate Conference

Bill Jones - 1960 Indiana Collegiate Conference

Bill Jones - 1959 Indiana Collegiate Conference

Mark Dean - 1952 Indiana Collegiate Conference

Sycamores in Professional Leagues (50)

Fifty former Sycamores have played in professional football leagues. The leagues include the NFL, CFL, AFL. and the UFL.
The most notable players are:

Illinois State

The Sycamores have met Illinois State annually since 1969 and 48 times in the past 50 seasons. The first game in the series was in 1936, which ended in an 0–0 tie. The Redbirds hold a slight edge (30–36–2) over the Sycamores; the schools also are frequent Homecoming opponents. Indiana State leads in Homecoming games (5–2) in Terre Haute; while in Bloomington-Normal, the series is tied 2–2. The largest crowd in Illinois State football history is the 1970 match-up with Indiana State, 21,500 fans attended saw the Jerry Huntsman-led Sycamores win 28–7.

The schools have been conference rivals since 1981 as members of the Missouri Valley Conference; that rivalry continues in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.

Southern Illinois

The burgeoning rivalry with Southern Illinois (SIU) has tilted to SIU's advantage in recent seasons, though the Salukis lead the overall series record, 24–23. SIU also own a victory in the only playoff meeting between the schools (a SIU 23–7 win in the 1983 NCAA Div I-AA playoffs).

Following the 1949 season, the Sycamores were invited to the 1949 Shrine Bowl versus the Salukis. The Salukis, who earlier in the season had lost to Indiana State, won the rematch 41–14.

Eastern Illinois

From 1901–2009, the Sycamores played Eastern Illinois 83 times; the series stands at 37–42–4 in favor of Eastern Illinois. In 2017, the rivalry will resume after a 7-year hiatus; the 4-game deal was inked in April, 2016.

Ball State

From 1924 to 2014, the Sycamores played Ball State (Ind.) University 65 times; the series stands at 39–25–1 in favor of Ball State (née Indiana State University - Eastern Division).

In 1940, the respective Blue Key chapters sponsored a trophy presentation, the 'Victory Bell' to reward the winner of the annual game between Indiana State and Ball State.

Homecoming

The term Homecoming was first used in print announcements for the Alumni-Varsity Basketball Game on Dec. 9, 1916. By the year 1919, this event became known as Blue and White Day and featured dances and entertainment for alumni of the Normal School. In 1921 the events were organized around a football game scheduled earlier in the autumn. A bonfire and pep rally were added to the festivities in 1922; the Blue-and-White Parade in 1923; and in 1937, Bette Whitmore (Kappa Kappa) was elected ISUs first Homecoming Queen. The 2010 season will mark the 106th season of Sycamore football and the 91st Homecoming; the Sycamores will face conference foe, Illinois State, on October 9. This will mark the 7th time that Illinois State has been the Homecoming opponent; following a tremoundous victory (59-24) the Sycamores now own a 5-2 mark vs. Illinois State in Homecoming games.

As of 2012; Indiana State owns a 50-36-2 (.580) record in Homecoming games; the outcomes of the remaining 5 games are unknown.

Victory Bell

Victory Bell- A symbol of the traditional rivalry in football between Indiana State and Indiana State - Muncee. The Victory Bell tradition was inaugurated in 1940 when the Blue Key chapters at both schools arranged to donate a bell to be presented to the victor of the football game. The idea was to start a traditional exchange of the bell as a means of improving relationships between the two student bodies. The Victory Bell series is 19-34-1 in favor of Indiana State - Muncee.