ST. LOUIS - In commemoration of its 25th anniversary, the Missouri Valley Football Conference (formerly the Gateway Football Conference) paid tribute to its all-time greats by selecting a Silver Anniversary Team Tuesday. Former Illinois State linebacker Boomer Grigsby remains the only player in league history to win the MVFC Defensive Player of the Year award three times, and headlines a list of four Redbirds on the Silver Anniversary Team.
Also included in the list on defense was defensive back Jeff Smith, who starred for the Redbirds from 1985-88. ISU was also well-represented on the offensive side of the ball by wide receiver Laurént Robinson (2003-06) and offensive lineman Stafford Davis (2003-05).
Team composition for the league's Silver Anniversary Team was determined by a committee and fan voting. Nearly 2,500 votes were cast online from July through mid-October. The conference office, with consultation from institutional personnel, compiled the list of honorees on the ballot. Among the 67 players selected to the Silver Anniversary Team are 24 who earned first-team honors three times and eight student-athletes who won back-to-back offensive or defensive player of the year plaudits.
Grigsby was a four-time all-league selection (HM-2001, 1st-2002, 1st-2003, 1st-2004) and a three-time first-team All-American selection at linebacker for the Redbirds from 2001-04. A 3-time MVFC Defensive Player of the Year (2002, 2003, 2004), Grigsby is the Illinois State and Missouri Valley Football Conference career leader with 580 tackles and was a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award three times, finishing second in 2003.
Smith was a three-time first-team all-conference selection and was twice named an All-American (HM-1986, 2nd-1987) while playing for the Redbirds. Smith ranks No. 2 all-time at Illinois State and in the MVFC in career interceptions (21).
Robinson holds nearly every ISU career receiving record, including yards (3,007), receptions (192) and touchdowns (29), and ranks No. 5 all-time in the MVFC in receptions and yards. Robinson was a two-time all-league selection (1st-2005, 2nd-2006) and was named the MVFC Offensive Player of the Year in 2005; the same year he was named a consensus first-team All-American and Walter Payton Award finalist after setting school and league records with 1,465 receiving yards.
Rounding out the list is Davis, who was four-time all-conference pick (2nd-2002, 2nd-2003, 1st-2004, 1st-2005) for the Redbirds in his four-year career on the offensive line. Davis was part of the most prolific offense in school history in 2005 (477.5 ypg), which led him to being named a first-team All-American in his final season at Illinois State.
UNI, which has more conference championships (14) and playoff appearances (14) than any other team in league history, has the most players on the Silver Anniversary Team, with 19. Western Illinois, which has the second-most in both categories, also has the second-most honorees on the team (16). All nine current members, plus two past members, have representation on the team.
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