NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State football players and coaches had a lot to cheer about Sunday inside the Hancock Stadium Club, as the team was selected as the No. 2 national seed, given a first-round bye and a second-round home game on Dec. 5, as announced during an hour-long FCS Selection Show Special on ESPNU.
The Redbirds (9-2, 7-1 Missouri Valley Football Conference) will be making their sixth appearance in the FCS playoffs (1998, 1999, 2006, 2012, 2014) and hosting a playoff game at Hancock Stadium for the second season in a row. ISU will host the winner of the first-round contest between Dayton and Western Illinois at 1 p.m. on Dec. 5.
For the second-straight year, the MVFC earned five playoff berths as Illinois State, North Dakota State, UNI, South Dakota State and Western Illinois represent the league this year. ISU, NDSU, UNI and SDSU were part of the league-record group last year, and Western Illinois is back in the playoffs for the first time since 2010. Last season Illinois State and North Dakota State became the first FCS pair from the same conference to meet in the championship game, and NDSU won 29-27.
ISU, which was ranked No. 4 in the final STATS FCS Top 25 regular-season poll, is 7-5 all-time in playoff games and will be making its third appearance in the FCS playoffs in the last four seasons. The Redbirds earned a share of the MVFC championship for the second year in a row, after they shut out South Dakota by a score of 46-0 in the regular-season finale. The win gave the Redbirds their first 10-win regular season in school history and tied them with NDSU atop the MVFC standings.
Tickets for the contest will go on sale at GoRedbirds.com/tickets beginning at 9 a.m., Monday morning. Fans can also purchase tickets by phone at (309) 438-8000 or at the Redbird Arena ticket office Monday morning starting at 9 a.m. Ticket prices will be $25 for adults (reserved and general admission) and $15 for youth ages three to 12 (ages two and under free). The first 1,000 ISU students to request tickets can get one for free, with tickets $5 after that allotment is distributed.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics, tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
