Redbirds ranked 11th in Athlon Sports Preseason FCS Top 25

Posted on June 9, 2016

Coach Brock Spack has led the Redbirds to back-to-back shares of the MVFC title. (Photo courtesy GoRedbirds.com)

By Adam Studzinski

NORMAL – Illinois State football has been ranked No. 11 in the 2016 Athlon Sports Preseason FCS Top 25.

The Redbirds are coming off a 10-3 campaign in 2015, which saw the squad tie for the Missouri Valley Football Conference championship with North Dakota State. ISU’s season came to an end in the quarterfinals of the FCS Playoffs with a 39-27 defeat against Richmond.

ISU was one of six MVFC teams ranked on the list. Five-time defending national champion NDSU was ranked 1st. Others making the rankings were Northern Iowa (3), South Dakota State (8), Western Illinois (19), and Youngstown State (22).

The 2016 Illinois State football season begins Sep. 3 at Hancock Stadium against Valparaiso.

Adam Studzinski can be reached at [email protected].

Blogs

Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all

By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year. It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …

Is federal mobilization the answer?

By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city. Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…

In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans

By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…

Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life

Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University. We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk. Going to work every day for some people means…