NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State men's golf head coach Ray Kralis has announced his program's 2021-22 schedule, which includes a dozen tournaments, including the MVC Championship at Paducah Country Club.
The season opens on September 5-6 at the Hoosier Collegiate Invitational, hosted at the Pfau Course in Bloomington, Indiana. The tournament is the Redbirds' first on the Indiana University golf course since the 2016-17 team took seventh at the Hoosier Invitational. In 2015-16 the Redbirds took second of 15 teams in the two-round event, while the 2012-13 squad was also the runner-up on the course of 17 teams at the NYX Hoosier Invitational.
Two weeks later the Redbirds travel to Fort Collins, Colorado, to compete at the Ram Masters Invitational on September 20-21. The Redbirds return to the tournament after a two-year hiatus, as the 'Birds took second out of 17 teams in the 2018 event.
On Sunday, September 26, Illinois State travels north for the first of three days at the Badger Invitational. The 2018-19 squad took first of 12 teams at the season-opening event, finishing with a nine-under 855 over the three rounds. This season marks the eighth consecutive full season (non-COVID-19 impacted) that the Redbirds have competed in the event.
After a weekend off competition, ISU travels to its third Big Ten foe over the first four tournaments with the team competing in the Purdue Fall Invitational – one of two events that the Redbirds will compete in at Purdue this season. The October 11-12 event is Illinois State's fourth scheduled trip to the Kampen Course over the last five seasons, including a 2017 NCAA Regional appearance by Trent Wallace, and a 2019 Boilermaker Invitational Team title. The Redbirds also travel to Purdue on April 9-10 for the Boilermaker Invitational.
The fall season closes a weekend later, on October 18-19 at the Little Rock Intercollegiate, which the Redbirds won in 2019. Since 2017-18 Illinois State has competed in the event three times, as all three events saw ISU finish inside of the top-three in the field (second of 10 teams in 2017, third of 17 teams in 2018, and first of 15 teams in 2019).
The spring season opens with an exhibition on February 5 at the Coral Creek Club in the yearly Tinervin Cup between the Redbirds and Illinois in Placida, Florida.
On February 14-15 the squad opens its spring tournament schedule at the Border Olympics, hosted by the University of Houston at the Laredo Country Club. Last season ISU competed in the event for the first time in program history, taking eighth of 18 schools in Laredo, Texas.
Two weeks later, ISU heads back to the course at the Coral Creek Club Invitational in Placida, Florida. This season is the Redbirds' first appearance at the event, which is hosted by Florida Gulf Coast.
On March 14, Illinois State travels to Lafayette, Louisiana, to compete in the Louisiana Classics Invitational, hosted by the University of Louisiana. Last season the Redbirds returned to the long-standing event with a ninth-place finish, after a four-year hiatus.
For the third consecutive year, the Redbirds are scheduled at the Craft Farms Intercollegiate, co-hosted by Eastern Michigan and South Alabama. Last season, the Redbirds took eighth place at the event, while the 2020 event was cancelled because of the pandemic.
A week after the spring Boilermaker Invitational, ISU travels to its second Big 10 host school in as many weeks, and the fifth total tournament hosted by a Big 10 school – at the Hawkeye Invitational at Finkbine Golf Club in Iowa City, Iowa.
The following weekend, the squad travels to Paducah, Kentucky, to compete at the 2021 MVC Championship, after finishing as the runner-up at the event a season ago, which was also the fifth top-four finish over the last five seasons at the yearly championship.
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