ST. LOUIS – For the first time in program history, Illinois State University has been awarded the 2025-26 Missouri Valley Conference All-Academic Award, as announced Wednesday by the league office.
During the 2025-26 academic year, Redbird student-athletes posted a 3.535 grade-point average, placing ahead of Drake and Indiana State. Every year since 2002-03, the MVC All-Academic Award has been presented to the member institution that finishes the school year with the best grade-point average among its student-athletes who participate in a Valley-sponsored sport.
"This recognition is a testament to the dedication, discipline, and excellence of our student-athletes, coaches, and academic support staff," Illinois State University President Aondover Tarhule said. "To earn the Missouri Valley Conference All-Academic Award for the first time is a proud milestone for the University, made even more remarkable by the breadth of our athletics program. With 16 of our 19 varsity teams competing within the MVC at a high level this year, our Redbirds have demonstrated that academic achievement and athletic success are mutually reinforcing pursuits."
During the 2025-26 school year, 87.5 percent of eligible Redbird student-athletes posted a 3.0 grade-point average (GPA) or higher, and 165 posted perfect 4.0 GPAs during the fall or spring semester.
"I could not be prouder of our student-athletes for everything they have achieved this past year in the classroom," Illinois State Director of Athletics Dr. Jeri Beggs stated. "As former faculty member myself, I've always been amazed at the success of our student-athletes in the classroom, but over the past academic year, Redbirds have shattered academic records with their hard work and dedication in the classroom. Winning the Missouri Valley Conference All-Academic Award for the first time in school history is yet another milestone for this impressive group of men and women who strive every day to be the best versions of themselves. The support they receive from our academic staff, University College, faculty, coaches, and our administration is tremendous. This has been a special year, in the classroom and in competition, for Redbird Athletics and the future is very bright."
Following the 2026 spring semester, Redbird student-athletes combined for a GPA of a 3.48 which set a new departmental record. There were 111 Redbirds that earned perfect 4.0 GPAs and 320 total student-athletes made the ISU Student-Athlete Honor Roll this past spring. The women's tennis team was the top women's team GPA winner with a perfect 4.0 and the men's program winner was the men's basketball team with a new team record of 3.71.Â
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Illinois State also performed well academically at a national level, in recent announcements made by the NCAA. ISU Athletics earned a new record high single-year Academic Progress Rate score of 996 in the NCAA's latest Division I APR report and the Redbirds' four-year APR score of 991 exceeds the national average of 986 and is a two-point increase from last year. Thirteen Redbird teams achieved perfect APR single-year scores of 1,000 academic year, and five of those also achieved a 1,000 in the multi-year rate.
This past December, Illinois State student-athletes earned an all-time high 92 percent Graduation Success Rate (GSR) as announced by the NCAA, marking the seventh-consecutive year that the Redbirds have earned a 90 percent or higher. In total, the department saw over 100 current and former Redbird student-athletes earn their degrees during the winter and spring commencement ceremonies.
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