For alumni and fans of Illinois State Athletics, 2009-2010 will go down in the books as a truly memorable year. Some of the highlights include the last-minute touchdown victory drive against Northern Iowa, the men’s basketball team win over Bradley in Peoria, and the win over Illinois in the WNIT. The softball team earned a berth to the NCAA Tournament, while the baseball team won its first-ever Valley Championship, followed by the team’s Valley Tournament title and automatic NCAA Tournament bid. Athletics also claimed its second Valley All-Sports Trophy in three seasons, while winning league championships in women’s soccer, women’s basketball, women’s golf, men’s tennis, and baseball.
Other highlights include:
- Winning the 2010 Valley All-Sports Trophy meant the Redbirds have finished in the top five of the Valley’s All-Sports race for 28-straight years, and have won the award in two of the last three seasons. ISU has finished first, second, or third in the Valley All-Sports Trophy standings in 18 of the past 20 seasons.
- ISU student-athletes setting a record with a department-wide 3.13 GPA during the spring 2009 semester and matched it in the fall 2009 semester, while posting a 3.0 mark in six of the last seven semesters.
- Finishing for the third-straight year in the top five in 16 of the 17 sports in which Illinois State sponsors a team. This marks the highest percentage of top-five finishers in league history.
- A total of 294 Redbird student-athletes earning AFNI Athletics Honor Roll designation by maintaining at least a 3.0 GPA during the fall 2009 semester, which is another school record.
- In each of the past four years, ISU student-athletes have contributed more than 2,000 hours of community service to the Bloomington-Normal area, including a school record of 3,500 hours logged in 2009-2010.
- Since joining the Missouri Valley Conference in 1982, Illinois State has won 140 team league titles. That’s more than any other league school during that period.
Did you know:
In the last three seasons, only seven NCAA Division I institutions have posted at least 22 wins in both men’s and women’s basketball: Illinois State, Duke, Gonzaga, Michigan State, Texas A&M, Virginia Commonwealth, and Xavier.
Show your support for continued success for our student-athletes by becoming a member of The Redbird Club today!
