Nine days after the Illinois State University football team fell two points short of the FCS national championship, hundreds of fans gathered in CEFCU Arena to show their appreciation for the Redbirds’ historic playoff run.
During Wednesday night’s Redbird Football Celebration, Illinois State radio network sideline reporter Craig Bertsche ’92 interviewed head coach Brock Spack, senior quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse ’25, and junior linebacker Tye Niekamp on Doug Collins Court in front of a red and white-clad crowd eager for one more glimpse of the 2025-26 Redbirds.
“Thank you to the fans,” Spack said with a smile. “Appreciate you. You guys are awesome. We couldn’t do it without you.”
Spack says team was ‘resilient’
After Illinois State dropped to 4-3 overall and 1-2 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) with a Homecoming loss to No. 25 Youngstown State October 18, the Redbirds’ season could have entered a downward spiral.
Spack credits his players for refocusing and bouncing back with a hard-fought win at No. 21 South Dakota the following Saturday. Illinois State went on a four-game winning streak, including another tough road victory at No. 15 South Dakota State November 15.
“We had really good leadership within our team,” Spack said. “This group was easy to let them take over. I took advantage of how good of leaders they were. It’s a very special group.”
Tied for third place in the MVFC at the end of the regular season, the Redbirds earned an at-large bid to the FCS playoffs where they won a record-setting four road games en route to a spot in the national championship.
During a national title game in front of more than 24,000 in Vanderbilt’s FirstBank Stadium and watched by up to 3 million viewers on ESPN, the Redbirds overcame a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit to force overtime before falling short to No. 2 Montana State, 35-34, January 5, in Nashville, Tennessee.
Spack said his personal highlight of the playoffs was watching Scotty Presson Jr.’s two-point conversion catch from Rittenhouse to seal Illinois State’s one-point, second-round upset win at defending national champion and top-ranked North Dakota State December 6.
“That ball came zinging off Tommy’s hand,” Spack said. “I thought, ‘Oh my God, he threw it way too hard. He’s not going to come up with this pass.’ We have a picture of the catch in our football facility where (Scotty) is on his tiptoes, and the ball is on the tips of his fingers. It’s just amazing how smooth he made that catch look live, but how close it was to being incomplete. But it was an amazing catch.”
Spack said his team was “resilient” in the North Dakota State game after falling behind by two touchdowns early.
“Being able to pull ourselves out of a tailspin like that—the defense not giving up, not pointing fingers—that takes a lot,” Spack said.
He and his assistant coaches are already preparing for next season. As soon as the team returned from Nashville, the coaches reported to the football office to resume recruiting and making winter workout plans.
“We’ll get back in the weight room on Monday,” Spack said. “We’re going to meet on Saturday morning as a team, and we’re going to go through a few things—like how we’re going to lift … and score two more points.”
Rittenhouse ‘grateful’ for Redbird experience
An All-MVFC honorable mention selection and MVFC All-Academic team selection, Rittenhouse said he appreciates the “support and love” he’s received during his five years as a Redbird.
“I’m super grateful for my opportunities here in Bloomington-Normal,” Rittenhouse said. “This year, specifically, has been truly special just to see all the hard work that most of us have put in coming to fruition.”
Rittenhouse said he remembers thinking in fall preseason training camp that this year’s team had the chance to do something special.
“We had a great group of seniors and a bunch of leaders that set up all of our goals that we knew we could accomplish, and it just took everyone to buy into that,” Rittenhouse said. “I credit coach Spack. He gave us a great opportunity this year to have more of a player-led team. Through all the ups and downs of the season, throughout the wins, losses, close games, we really just came together and played for each other, and I think that’s kind of what separated us from everyone else.”
Holding a commemorative football presented to her son for setting the single-season passing record, Rittenhouse’s mother, Jennifer Rittenhouse, said she felt a combination of “happiness and sadness” during Wednesday night’s celebration.
“I’m so proud. I couldn’t be prouder. But all good things must come to an end,” Jennifer Rittenhouse said. “(Tommy’s) left a great legacy here. It’s just been such a joy.”
Niekamp ready to go ‘back to work’
Among Illinois State’s key returners for the highly anticipated 2026 Redbird football season, Niekamp said a key to success—especially on the road where the Redbirds went 9-0 against FCS teams in 2025—is the team’s family mentality.
“We enjoy going on the road together,” Niekamp said. “I think some teams probably don’t want to leave—they want to stay home. But we don’t really mind it, because it’s 70 guys, and we’re just hanging out for two days. It’s awesome. It’s really cool to win and then get back on the plane or the bus.”
Niekamp, a consensus First-Team All-American, said the Redbirds clicked at the right time this season, and the returners know what it takes to experience success in the 2026 FCS playoffs.
“The big thing for us is just going back to work,” Niekamp said. “We know what it takes to get there. It’s not easy. It’s hard. We played 17 games. It’s a brutal season. But, it’s just about going back to work, and we’ve just got to get going. I think it’ll be a lot of fun. We have some young guys who are going to come a long way in this spring, in the summer, and then even fall camp. So, it’s just kind of building with those guys, figuring out where we’re at, and attacking in the fall when we get back into it.”
Fans proud of Redbirds’ playoff run
Of the thousands of Redbird fans who flocked to Nashville for the FCS Championship game, dozens attended Wednesday’s celebration, where free food and national runner-up posters were handed out.
Kathy DiCiaula ’76, M.S. ’80, who traveled to the Music City on the Redbird Athletics-organized bus trip with her husband, Guy DeCiaula ’75, said it was an amazing experience.
“To hear how loud the ISU section was—it was a very boisterous group,” Kathy DiCiaula said. “(The team has) done so amazing, and they’ve been wonderful representatives of Illinois State.”
Jack Madlicott, a senior majoring in financial accounting, watched the championship game on ESPN at his girlfriend’s house.
“I was pretty excited the whole day,” Madlicott said. “I had my ISU gear on. I had my ISU socks and everything on. It was awesome.
“You really want your team to win, and it’s unfortunate that they didn’t. But, at the end of the day, I was kind of like, ‘I can’t believe we made it that far. I can’t believe that it was the first time in NCAA history that the FCS championship game went to overtime.’ I’m just so proud of how close we were.”
Big Red Marching Machine (BRMM) members Ben Koester, David Zimmer, and Burt Jolley sat together in the front row of Wednesday’s celebration. They were also among the 300 BRMM members that traveled to Nashville where they hyped up the crowd and team on FCS Championship Monday.
“There was so much school spirit and community there. It was so fun, in that big of a stadium, seeing it all shine through in that moment,” Koester said.
Zimmer said he lost his voice from cheering so loudly. “I got into the game. Whenever you can really get immersed into the game like that—it was really fun.”
Jolley said it was the top experience of his marching band career, despite the game’s heartbreaking outcome.
“I was in tears afterward to be that close to bringing home a championship,” Jolley said. “But it’s upward from there. Seeing all the key players that are coming back—it’s going to be awesome, and I can’t wait for next season. Let’s bring it home next season.”
Tarhule says Redbirds have ‘unfinished business in Nashville’
Among the Redbird fans at Wednesday’s celebration was President Aondover Tarhule. He praised the football team for an “absolutely historic” season that pushed Illinois State into the national spotlight.
“Nothing gives you national visibility like going on to a national championship in football,” Tarhule said. “If you look at the social media and the places where we were covered, this is absolutely the kind of national visibility that helps, not just Athletics or the football team, but the University as a whole. So, for me, it was very exciting.”
Tarhule said he is amazed by the work the football team’s student-athletes put in on and off the field. Along with making it to the national championship game, they also set an in-season team GPA record during the 2025 season, Tarhule noted.
Fresh off the team’s second-ever trip to the FCS Championship game, Tarhule is eager for the Redbirds to return in 2027.
“We have unfinished business in Nashville,” Tarhule said. “We’ve got to go back to Nashville. What’s it going to take? It’s going to take a lot of the same kind of commitment and discipline from the players and coaches, but more than that, we will have some responsibility. We’ve got to support them in other ways. I hope that our fans and donors will also step up.”
Read more about the Redbird football team’s historic 2025-26 playoff run at News.IllinoisState.edu.
View photos from the FCS Championship game: Birds on Broadway Pre-Championship Party | FCS Championship pop-up spirit shop | FCS Championship pregame Bird Walk | FCS Championship fan tailgate | FCS Championship game
Bella Marello contributed to this story.
