Indiana State Sycamores football

The Indiana State Sycamores football team is the NCAA Division I men's football program of Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Indiana. They currently compete in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. The team last played in the NCAA Playoffs in the 1984 NCAA Division I Football Championship. Their first season was 1896. The Sycamores boast of 8 Conference Player(s) of the Year; 14 First Team All-Americans, and 90+ First Team All-Conference players. The Sycamore's greatest season was 1983, when coach Dennis Raetz led them to the 2nd round of the 1983 NCAA Division I Football Championship versus the Southern Illinois Salukis and ended the season with a record of 9–4. The Sycamores also appeared in 1984 NCAA Division I Football Championship. Past coaches include Dennis Raetz; Jerry Huntsman, George Ashworth and Wally Marks. The Indiana State Sycamores play their home games at Memorial Stadium, which seats 12,764. A search to find a new head coach is underway. There have been recent discussions on replacing venerable Memorial Stadium; according to the new ISU Master Plan, a new football-only stadium in downtown Terre Haute, could be realized in the next 10 years.

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.

Div I NCAA Playoffs
The Sycamores have appeared in 2 NCAA Division I Football Championships. Their combined record is 1–2.

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.

Conference (9)

 * 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)
 * 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)http://tribstar.com/sports/x1303512623/ISUs-Towalid-named-top-FCS-defensive-back

All-Americans (16)

 * 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
 * Mike Simmonds, OT – 1986 American Football Coaches Association
 * 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

Academic All-American (3)

 * 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

All-Indiana Collegiate Conference (7+)

 * Wally Geib, OL, 1962
 * Joe Beach, DC, 1962
 * Wally Geib, OL, 1963
 * Rolland Beckham, OL, 1964
 * Bob Pychinka, LB, 1965
 * Stan Worrall, DL, 1967

Scoring
Career leaders in bold

Coaching Leaders (by wins)
The current coach is Trent Miles

Career leaders in bold

District (3)

 * 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 (29–32–2) 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, 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; the 2009 game was the last for the foreseeable future. As of 2010, it is unknown when the series will resume as Indiana State's schedules are complete for the next 4 seasons (2013).

Ball State
From 1924–2003, the Sycamores played Ball State (Ind.) University 62 times; the series stands at 23–38–1 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 2010; Indiana State owns a 48-36-2 record in Homecoming games; the outcomes of the remaining 5 games are unknown.

Victory Bell
Victory Bell- A symbol of the traditional athletic rivalry in football between Indiana State and Ball State. 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 17-34 in favor of Ball State.