Indiana State Sycamores football

Indiana State Sycamores football
2016 Indiana State Sycamores football team
First season	1896
Athletic director	Sherard Clinkscales[1]
Head coach	Mike Sanford 4th year, 18–27 (.400)
Stadium	Indiana State University Memorial Stadium
Seating capacity	12,764
Field surface	Field Turf
Location	Terre Haute, Indiana
Conference	Missouri Valley Football Conference
All-time record	384–511–24 (.431)
Bowl record	0–3 (.000)
Conference titles	1
Consensus All-Americans	16
Colors	Royal Blue and White[2]
Fight song	March On!
Mascot	Sycamore Sam
Marching band	Marching Sycamores
Rivals	Illinois State Redbirds Southern Illinois Salukis Eastern Illinois Panthers Ball State Cardinals
Website	GoSycamores.com

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 2014 NCAA Division I Football Championship. Their first season was 1896. The Sycamores boast of 8 Conference Player(s) of the Year; 19 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 playoffs. 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. 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.^[3]

History

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
• 1986–2007: Gateway Football Conference
• 2008–present: Missouri Valley Football Conference

Bowl games

Bowl Games

Year	Bowl	Champion		Runner-Up
1949	Shrine Bowl	Southern Illinois	41	Indiana State	14
1983	Pecan Bowl	Southern Illinois	23	Indiana State	7
1984	Pecan Bowl	Middle Tennessee State	42	Indiana State	41

• 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

Date played	Round	Winner		Runner-Up
1983	NCAA Division I First Round	Indiana State	16	Eastern Illinois	13
1983	Pecan Bowl	Southern Illinois	23	Indiana State	7
1984	Pecan Bowl	Middle Tennessee State	42	Indiana State	41
2014	NCAA Division I First Round	Indiana State	36	Eastern Kentucky	16
2014	NCAA Division I Second Round	Chattanooga	14	Indiana State	35

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.^[4] At the time, the Heartland Collegiate Conference was known by its more recognizable name, the Indiana Collegiate Conference.

Stadiums

Year	Home
1949–Present	Memorial Stadium (Terre Haute), constructed in 1924.
1896 - 1948	Multiple Venues, including Parsons Field.

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.

Player of the year

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)^[5]

Conference (10)

• Edgar Freese - 1965 Indiana Collegiate Conference DT (Lineman)^[6]
• 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,^[7] The Sports Network
• Ben Obaseki, DL - 2011 Associated Press^[8]
• Joshua Appel, LS - 2015 STATS All-American^[9]

Academic All-American (5)

• Gary Brown, E - 1971
• Michael Eads, E - 1972
• Mark Maley E -1973
• Daniel Millington, DE - 2009
• Alex Sewall, DB - 2011^[10]

NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship (1)

• Jeffrey Miller, QB - 1986

All-Conference (125+)

All-Indiana Collegiate Conference (20+)^[11][12][13]

Bob Masulovich, Offensive Line, 1952 Jack Griffith, Offensive Line, 1953 Bob Masulovich, Offensive Line, 1953 Jack Griffith, End, 1954 Bob Masulovich, Offensive Line, 1954 Wally Geib, Offensive Line, 1962 Joe Beach, Defensive Line, 1962 Wally Geib, Offensive Line, 1963 Rolland Beckham, Offensive Line, 1964 Emmitt "Tank" Tyler, Fullback, 1964

Edgar Freese, Offensive Line, 1965 Bernard Heins, Offensive Line, 1965 John Newbitt, Halfback, 1965 Bob Pychinka, Linebacker, 1965 John Truitt, End, 1965 John Truitt, End, 1966 Joe Fiedler, Center, 1966 Randy Payne, Halfback, 1966 Bob Pychinka, Linebacker, 1966 Timon Kendall, Offensive Line, 1967

Rich Attonito, Defensive Back, 1967 Stan Worrall, Defensive Line, 1967

All-Missouri Valley Conference (42)

Vincent Allen, RB, 1977 Don Jackson, DB, 1977 Gary Gamen, DT, 1978 John Allman, DB, 1978 Kirk Wilson, WR, 1979 Eddie Ruffin, WR, 1979 George DeTella, OT, 1979 Reggie Allen, QB, 1979 Gerry Gluscic, DE, 1979 John Allman, DB, 1979 Hubert Moore, TE, 1980

Eddie Ruffin, WR, 1980 Mark Gradkowski, OG, 1980 John Gaunt, DT, 1980 Craig Shaffer, LB, 1980 John Allman, DB, 1980 Hubert Moore, TE 1981 Kirk Wilson, WR, 1981 Craig Shaffer, LB, 1981 Walter Seaphus, NG, 1982 Ed Martin, DE, 1982

Dan Maher, LB, 1982 Bob Koehne, OT, 1983 Rich Dawson, C, 1983 Jeff Miller, QB, 1983 Ed Martin, DE, 1983 Quintin Mikell, LB, 1983 Kevin Ramsey, DB, 1983 Wayne Davis, DB, 1984 Steve Buxton, OG, 1984 Rich Dawson, C, 1984

Jeff Miller, QB, 1984 Darrold Clardy, RB, 1984 Scott Bridges, PK, 1984 Doug Arnold, NG, 1984 Brad Verdun, DT, 1984 Jeff Miller, QB, 1985 Doug Arnold, NG, 1985 Terry Bell, WR, 1985 Vencie Glenn, DB, 1985 Mike Simmonds, OG, 1985 Kurt Bell, DE, 1985

All-Missouri Valley Football Conference (66)

Mike Simmonds, OT, 1986 Steve McKeel, DB, 1986 Troy Johnson, LB, 1986 Tim Cunningham, LB, 1986 Chuck Standiford, P, 1986 Pete Endre, OT, 1987 Steve McKeel, DB, 1987 Gary Cannon, WR, 1987 Steve Elmlinger, WR, 1988 Tori Vactor, RB, 1988 Ken Hopp, LB, 1988 Troy Mickens, DB, 1988 Rodney Porter, TE, 1989 Mark Bertram, DT, 1989 Derrick Franklin, RB, 1990 Charles Swann, WR, 1990 Eric Christensen, LB, 1991 Derrick Franklin, RB, 1991 Charles Swann, WR, 1991 Dyrrah Christon, NG, 1992

David Wright, RB, 1992 Dan Brandenburg, DT, 1993 Von Ganaway, FS, 1993 Tim Giebels, OT, 1993 Shawn Moore, OG, 1993 David Wright, RB, 1993 Dan Brandenburg, DT, 1994 Dustin Rusch, DT, 1994 Dan Brandenburg, DT, 1995 Dre Knox, DB, 1996 Richard Moss, LB, 1996 Robert High, FS, 1997 Shannon Jackson, DT, 1997 DeJuan Alfonzo, DB, 1998 Troy Lefevra, DE, 1998 DeJuan Alfonzo, DB, 1999 Nathan Al-Ghetta, FB, 1999 Shannon Jackson, DE, 1999 Troy Lefevra, DE, 1999 Richard Harris, DE, 2001 Richard Harris, DE, 2002

Dietrich Lapsley, LB, 2002 Soso Dede, KR, 2002 Ryan King, TE, 2003 Kyle Mitchell, DE, 2003 Kyle Mitchell, DE, 2004 Sam Logan, WR, 2005 Kyle Mitchell, DE, 2005 Jamie Petrowski, TE, 2005 Shonda Faulkner, LB, 2007 Darrius Gates, RB, 2010 Brock Lough, FB, 2010 Ben Obaseki, DE, 2010 Alex Sewall, DB, 2010 Aaron Archie, LB, 2011 Shakir Bell, RB, 2011 Alex Jones, TE, 2011 Brock Lough, FB, 2011 FN Lutz, OL, 2011 Ben Obaseki, DE, 2011 Alex Sewall, DB, 2011

Shakir Bell, RB, 2012 Aaron Archie, LB, 2012 Ben Obaseski, DE, 2012 Johnny Towalid, DB, 2012 Lucas Hileman, P, 2012 Connor Underwood, DL, 2013 Connor Underwood, DL, 2014

Career leaders

Passing

Player	Years	Comp	Att	TD	Yds	Pct.	Int
Mike Perish	2012-2014	620	1,051	42	6,696	.590	28
Jeff Miller	1982–1985	555	1,066	40	6,448	.552	33
John Sahm	1986–1989	341	668	30	5,139	.496	38
Reggie Allen	1978–1981	367	782	29	5,094	.469	46
Ronnie Fouch	2010–2011	322	544	38	4,316	.592	15
Kip Hennelly	1991–1993	249	490	19	3,158	.508	27
Julian Reese	2001–2002	267	499	20	2,961	.535	21
Kevin Cox	1993–1996	238	528	20	2,885	.45	22
Kyle Frondorf	1986–1988	208	391	8	2,778	.532	24
Blayne Baggett	2005	284	473	15	2,741	.600	13

Rushing

Player	Years	Att	Yds	Avg.	TD
Vincent Allen	1973–1977	832	4,335	5.21	31
Shakir Bell	2010–2013	672	4,214	6.3	28
David Wright	1992–1995	784	4,181	5.33	22
Derrick Franklin	1989–1991	710	3,231	4.55	23
Eric Robinson	1979–1982	443	2,169	4.90	22
Jake Shields	2001–2004	521	2,119	4.07	19
Darrius Gates	2006–2010	396	2,010	5.08	20
Jim Brumfield	1967–1969	448	1,998	4.46	23
Darrold Clardy	1981–1984	355	1,594	4.49	19
Tori Vactor	1987–1988	312	1,545	4.95	12

Receiving

Player	Years	Rcpt	Yds	Avg.	TD
Sam Logan	2003–2006	196	2,385	12.2	9
Robert Tonyan, Jr	2013–2016	147	2,029	13.8	20
Carl Berman	2003–2006	136	1,666	12.1	11
Rodney Porter	1986–1989	135	1,906	14.1	9
Terry Bell	1982–1985	132	2,048	15.5	13
Joe Downing	1982–1985	115	1,608	14.0	15
Eddie Ruffin	1978–1981	110	1,831	16.6	11
Gary Owens	2013–2015	105	1,373	13.1	13
Larry Brown	1993–1996	105	1,197	11.4	6
Steve Elminger	1987–1989	102	1,823	17.9	10
Steve Schmid	1967–1969	100	1,394	13.9	11

Scoring

Player	Years	TD	FG	PAT1	PAT2	PTS
Kyle Hooper	2003–2007	0	42	85	0	221
Vincent Allen	1973–1977	33	0	0	1	200
Tom Allison	1992–1995	0	38	82	0	196
Scott Bridges	1983–1985	0	31	87	0	180
Shakir Bell	2010–2013	28	0	0	0	168
Mike Megyesi	1999–2002	0	27	83	0	164
Jim Brumfield	1967–1969	26	0	0	0	156
David Wright	1992–1995	23	0	0	1	140
Eric Robinson	1979–1982	22	0	0	0	132
Darrius Gates	2006–2010	22	0	0	0	132

Career leaders in bold

Coaching leaders (by wins)

The current coach is Mike Sanford

Coach (Alma Mater)	Seasons	Years	Games	W	L	T	Pct.
Dennis Raetz (Nebraska, 1968)	18	1980–1997	200	94	105	1	.473
Wally Marks (Chicago, 1927)	16	1927-30, 33-41, 46-48	125	62	56	7	.524
Jerry Huntsman (Wabash, 1952)	7	1966–1972	68	43	24	1	.639
Bill Jones (Ohio Wesleyan, 1939)	9	1957–1965	70	32	37	1	.464
Tim McGuire (Nebraska, 1975)	7	1998–2004	79	24	55	0	.304
Art Strum (Wisconsin-LaCrosse, 1916)	6	1923-26, 32, 42	43	21	20	2	.488
Tom Harp (Muskingum, 1951)	5	1973–1977	51	20	31	0	.392
Trent Miles (Indiana State, 1987)	5	2008–2012	56	20	36	0	.357
Mike Sanford (Southern California, 1976)	4	2013–present	47	18	29	0	.383
Mark Dean (Northern Illinois, 1938)	5	1951-54, 56	39	15	20	4	.436
Dick Jamieson (Bradley, 1961)	2	1978–1979	22	11	11	0	.500
Phil Brown (Butler, 1923)	1	1945	8	5	2	1	.625
J. Roy Goodlad (Wisconsin, 1929)	1	1931	7	4	3	0	.571
CPO Bob LeCroy^ (SE Okla St, 19--)	1	1944	6	2	4	0	.333
Paul Selge (Indiana State, 1943)	1	1955	9	2	7	0	.222
George Ashworth (Indiana State, 1935)	2	1949–1950	19	2	16	1	.132
Lou West (Cincinnati, 1976)	3	2005–2007	33	1	32	0	.030
various (7 others)	13	1896-09,1920,1943	42	9	28	5	.214

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

Coach of the Year (11)

District (4)

• Mike Sanford - 2014 AFCA Region #4^[14]
• Trent Miles - 2010 AFCA Region #4^[15]
• Jerry Huntsman - 1968 NCAA District #2^[16]
• 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

Notable alumni

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:

Player	Class Year	Position	Primary Team(s)	Career	Highlight(s)
Shakir Bell	2012	Running Back	Edmonton Eskimos	2014-Present	Grey Cup Champion, All-American
Jamie Petrowski	2006	Tight End	Carolina Panthers	2006–2010	3rd Team All-American
Dan Brandenburg	1996	Defensive Tackle	Buffalo Bills	1996–1999	42 Career Games
John Bock	1994	Offensive Line	Miami Dolphins	1995–2000	17 Career Starts
Vencie Glenn	1986	Defensive Back	San Diego Chargers	1986–1995	35 Career INTs
Wayne Davis	1985	Defensive Back	San Diego Chargers	1985–1990	5 Career INTs
Craig Shaffer	1982	Line Backer	St. Louis Cardinals	1982–1984	18 Career Games
Tunch Ilkin	1980	Offensive Line	Pittsburgh Steelers	1980–1993	2x Pro Bowl Lineman

All-Star Game participants (14)

Indiana Football Hall of Fame (34)

Vincent Allen - 2000[17] Max Andress - 1976[18] George Ashworth - 1979[19] Steve Balash - 2009[20] Paul Beck - 1979[21] Phil Brown - 1985[22] Charles "Cocky" Bush - 1976[23] Bob Clayton - 2012[24] Robert Clements - 1988 Jim Conover - 1976[25] Rich Dodson - 2003 Stewart "Red" Faught - 1981[26]

Wayne Fuson - 1974 Joe Goodman - 1998 Delby Humphrey - 1974 Jerry Huntsman - 1985[16] Bill Jones - 1981[27] Charlie Karazsia - 2006[28] Walter "Wally" Marks - 1974 Dick Martin - 1976 Bob Nesbit - 1976 Steve Purichia - 2014[29] R. Douglas Reeser - 2006

Ed Robertson - 1996 Tim Roth - 2014[30] Van "Rusty" Rutherford - 1976 Thomas Stirling - 1988 Kenneth "Zip" Sypult - 1987 Phil Teegarden - 2001 N.E. "Gene" Wernz - 1977 Mark Wildman - 2007 Roy Lee Williams - 1976 Ernie Zeller - 1979 Maurey Zlotnik - 2003

Rivalries

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.^[31]

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.

Traditions

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.^[32] 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.^[33] The Victory Bell series is 19-34-1 in favor of Indiana State - Muncee.

References

External links

• Official website