NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State football offensive coordinator Tony Petersen has announced his retirement from the Redbird football coaching staff, after calling plays for the ISU offense for the past four seasons.
In his time coordinating the Redbirds offense, Petersen has helped guide ISU to four-straight winning seasons and back-to-back FCS playoff appearances including a run to the 2025 FCS National Championship game.
"Tony has been a key part in the success of our program over the past several years," Spack said. "He, along with the rest of our offensive coaching staff, have put us among the best in the MVFC and the country especially over the past two seasons as we advanced to the FCS playoffs. We appreciate all the time, dedication and effort he put into the program and especially his work in helping develop our quarterbacks. After being a collegiate coach for over 30 years, he is certainly deserving of this retirement, and we wish him and his family all the best."
The 2025 season was a magical one for the Redbirds, as they won 12 games and four-straight road games in the FCS playoffs to advance to the FCS National Championship game in Nashville. The ISU offense ranked No. 5 in the conference and No. 34 in the country in scoring offense with 30.8 points per game in 2025 and was No. 37 in total offense with 390.3 yards per game. The team's ability to move the chains for first downs was the best in the country, as the Birds ranked No. 1 in the FCS in offensive first downs with 392. The Redbirds were led by senior quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse, who earned MVFC Honorable Mention All-Conference for the second-straight season, as he led the country with 40 passing touchdowns while throwing for 3,568 yards. His favorite target was Daniel Sobkowicz, who earned All-America honors and First-Team All-MVFC honors after leading the country with 19 receiving touchdowns while totaling 1,141 yards. The running game was also strong, as Victor Dawson who finished the year with four-straight 100-yard rushing efforts while finishing with 1,377 yards on the ground.
The Redbird offense ranked second in the conference and No. 17 in the country in passing offense with 238.1 yards per game in 2024 and was No. 33 in the country in total offense with 402 yards per game. Much of that success was due to the team's efficiency on third down, as the Birds ranked No. 19 in the country in third-down conversion percentage at 45.6 and ranked 10th in the country with 303 first downs overall. The offense was led by junior quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse, who earned MVFC Honorable Mention All-Conference honors after he completed 66.4 percent of his passes (259-for-390) for 2,840 yards with 17 touchdown passes while combining to score 25 total touchdowns, with eight scores on the ground to rank second on the team.
The 2023 season saw a resurgence for the Redbirds offense, which featured one of the most prolific attacks in the FCS. Illinois State ranked No. 10 in the country in total offense with 434.4 yards per game and No. 12 in scoring offense with 32.8 points per contest. Much of that success was due to a top 10 efficiency on 3rd and 4th downs, and a strong offensive line that only allowed 7 sacks on the year. The offense was led by All-MVFC First-Team selections Mason King and consensus first-team All-American tight end Camp Grandy, as well as wideout Dan Sobkowicz who fell just short of the 1,000-yard receiving plateau and earned All-MVFC Second Team honors.
Petersen directed some of the nation's most exciting and prolific offenses during his 30-plus year college coaching career, serving as an offensive coordinator in the Big Ten, MAC, Conference USA, American and Sun Belt conferences before coming to Illinois State and the MVFC.
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