The Indiana State Sycamores football team is the NCAA Division I football program of Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Indiana. They compete in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. The team last played in the NCAA Playoffs in the 2014 NCAA Division I Football Championship. Their first season was 1896. 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 and ended the season with a record of 9–4. The Sycamores also appeared in the 1984 and 2014 NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs. The Indiana State Sycamores play their home games at Memorial Stadium, which seats 12,764.

History

Classifications

Conference membership

Conference championships

The 1964 Indiana State Sycamores football team shared the Indiana Collegiate Conference (ICC) title in 1964 with four other teams (Ball State,, , , with the Sycamores finishing with a 4–2 conference record and a 6–2 overall mark.

Bowls and playoffs

Bowl games

The Sycamores have participated in one bowl game, garnering a record of 0–1.

Division I NCAA Playoffs

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

Rankings

The Sycamores reached the AP and United Press International Top Ten mid-way through the 1974 season; they would not return to the Top Ten until the 1983 season. The 2018 Sycamores finished #25 in the final FCS coaches poll.

Head coaches

All Indiana State Coaching Records are available at:

Rivalries

Ball State

From 1924 to 2023, the Sycamores played Ball State (Ind.) University 66 times; the series stands at 39–24–1 in favor of Ball State. 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. The Sycamores lost the last game in Muncie. The game finished with a 45**–**7 loss for the Sycamores

Traditions

Homecoming

The term Homecoming was first used in print announcements for the Alumni-Varsity Basketball Game on December 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 tremendous 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 (.570) record in Homecoming games; the outcomes of the remaining 5 games are unknown.

Victory Bell

A symbol of the traditional 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 34–19–1 in favor of Ball State, though the Sycamores won their last meeting in 2014.

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 Kenesaw 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.

Player of the year

National

Conference

All-Americans 1st Team

Academic All-American

NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship

All-Conference

All-Indiana Collegiate Conference

All-Missouri Valley Conference

All-Missouri Valley Football Conference

Career leaders

Passing

Rushing

Receiving

Scoring

Career leaders in bold

Coach of the Year

National (1)

District / Region (5)

Conference (8)

Notable alumni

Sycamores in professional leagues

Fifty former Sycamores have played in professional football leagues. The leagues include the National Football League (NFL), Canadian Football League (CFL), Arena Football League (AFL), the United Football League (UFL), and United States Football League (USFL). The most notable players are:

All-Star Game participants

Indiana Football Hall of Fame

Future non-conference opponents

Announced schedules as of June 6, 2024.