Redbirds Set To Open 2026 Campaign Against St. Francis

SETTING THE SCENE
Date: August 29, 2026
Time: 6 p.m. CT
Site: Normal, Ill.
Facility: Jay and Lori Bergman Field At Hancock Stadium
Capacity: 12,440
Series: Illinois State leads, 3-0
Last: Illinois State won 47-3 (Sept. 12, 1998)
Watch/Stream: ESPN+
Listen: WJBC 1230 AM / 102.1 FM / 98.9 FM WJEZ/ The Varsity Network

THE GAME
For the second time in program history, Illinois State advanced to the FCS National Championship game in 2025 to cap off a historic season. Illinois State will look to get off to a good start to the 2026 campaign on Saturday, when they open the season against the St. Francis Fighting Saints on Jay and Lori Bergman Field at Hancock Stadium.

THE SERIES
Illinois State and St. Francis will meet for the fourth program history, with Illinois State leading the series 3-0. The first meeting between the two teams was a close one, with Illinois State winning 19-17 over the Saints who were led by head coach Gordie Gillespie, the grandfather of ISU women's basketball head coach Kristen Gillespie. ISU won games decisively in 1995 (45-3) and 1998 (47-3) in the other two matchups between the two programs.

THE COACHES
Illinois State: Brock Spack (Purdue, 1983) is in his 18th season as the head coach at Illinois State (123-79). Spack guided the Redbirds to back-to-back shares of the MVFC title in 2014-15 and a pair of FCS Championship game appearances (2014, 2025). He has led the ISU to seven playoff appearances overall and became the program's all-time wins leader in 2021.

St. Francis: Joe Curry (St. Francis, 2001) is in his 15 season as the head coach of the Fighting Saints (74-70). Prior to being namd head coach, Curry spent eight seasons on staff at USF as a defensive line coach and defensive coordinator. He's led his teams to the share of two MSFA conference titles (2015, 2021) and is a three-time MSFA Midwest League Coach of the Year (2015, 2021, 2022).

THE REDBIRD FOOTBALL PROGRAM

• 10 FCS playoff appearances (1998, 1999, 2006, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2024, 2025)
• 7-time FCS quarterfinalists (1999, 2006, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2019, 2025)
• 3-time FCS semifinalists (1999, 2014, 2025)
• 2-time FCS Championship game qualifier (2014, 2025)
• ISU is 15-1 against FCS opponents on the road the past two seasons
• The team is 70-27 at home under Spack's guidance

THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT

• The University of St. Francis is located in Joliet, Illinois, and has an enrollment of 2,912 students. The Fighting Saints are members of the Mid-States Football Association (NAIA) and play their home games at Joliet Memorial Stadium (10,000).
• Last year, St. Francis finished the season 3-7 but boasted double-digit figures in all-conference recipients from the Mid-States Football Association.
• Returning First-Team tackle Matthew Alston helped make the Saints the No. 2 rushing team in the league at 165.3 yards per game, while finishing fourth in total offense at 384.6 yards per game.
• The defense will be paced by returing all-conference safety Michael Hackman, who finished the 2025 season ranked third in the league in interceptions (5) and sixth in pass breakups (7), while being the Saints' leading defender in both categories. 

LAST TIME AGAINST THE SAINTS (AUG. 31, 1991)
In the first meeting between Illinois State and St. Francis, the Redbirds needed a 42-yard field goal from Cameron Bair with 33 seconds left on the clock to defeat the Fighting Saints by a score of 19-17 at Hancock Stadium. A 2-yard touchdown run by ISU Percy Family Hall of Famer Toby Davis with 2:54 left in the game got the Redbirds within one, but a two-point conversion attempt failed and the Birds trailed by one needing the field goal to win.  Davis rushed for 76 yards and the score in the win and Adrian Wilson threw for 119 yards and score to Brent Hildebrand. The ISU defense was paced by Anthoine Worthman, who had seven tackles, and Joe Woods who recorded four stops with an interception.

FAMILY CONNECTIONS
The Redbirds are no stranger to family connections, with the Spack family having a strong legacy within the program and now the Niekamp brothers and their father, Travis, creating their own history alongside the Jellison brothers. However, the game against St. Francis also features some family connections to the Redbirds. The man who started the football program at St. Francis and coached the team until 1993, Gordie Gillespie, is the grandfather of current ISU women's basketball head coach Kristen Gillespie and associate head coach Scott Gillespie. Gordie coached the Saints against the Redbirds in the first game in the series between the two programs in 1991, a 19-17 narrow win for the Redbirds. Also on that St. Francis staff was Paul Thomason, the father-in-law of ISU Associate AD for Communications and longtime football sports information director Mike Williams, who is now a Redbird football season ticket holder.

BIRDS PICKED SECOND; 12 REDBIRDS LAND ON MVFC WATCH LIST
Illinois State was picked second in the annual Missouri Valley Football Conference preseason poll, at the league's media day in Sioux Falls. South Dakota State was picked as the league favorite, as the Jackrabbits received 28 of a possible 36 first-place votes and 312 total points to outdistance the 2026 national runner-up Redbirds, who received three first-place votes and 256 points. Youngstown State (235 points), North Dakota (211 points) and South Dakota (196) points rounded out the top five in the poll. In addition, the MVFC released a player "Watch List" to highlight the league's top student-athletes heading into fall camp. Running back Victor Dawson, wide receivers Luke Mailander and Dylan Lord, offensive linemen Logan Brasfield and Landon Woodard, defensive lineman Ben Harman, linebackers Tye Niekamp, Dexter Niekamp and Mason Kaplan, safety La'Shavion Brown, punter Hayden Futch and all-purpose WR/KR Mar'quan Gary were the Redbird standouts named to the list.

FIVE REDBIRDS NAMED PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS
A quartet of Illinois State standouts were tabbed as preseason FCS All-Americans by Stats Perform. Senior linebacker Tye Niekamp was named a First-Team selection, senior running back Victor Dawson and senior running earned Second-Team honors, and senior offensive lineman Landon Woodard and senior safety La'Shavion Brown garnered Third-Team plaudits. In addition, wide receiver Luke Mailander was named a fourth-team preseason All-American by Phil Steele, along with the other four in the annual list of best in the FCS.

ILLINOIS STATE NO. 4 CONSENSUS PICK IN FCS PRESEASON POLLS
After being selected the No. 4 team in the Stats Perform FCS preseason Top 25, the Illinois State football team found themselves in that same exact spot in the preseason AFCA FCS Coaches Poll. Illinois State appeared in every AFCA FCS Coaches Poll last season, finishing as high as No. 2 in the final one of the year. The AFCA FCS Coaches Poll and the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 will be released each Monday during the regular season.

NIEKAMP MAINTAINS HIS SPOT AMONG BEST FCS DEFENDERS
Already a three-time All-American in his career, Illinois State linebacker Tye Niekamp has earned a spot among the best defenders in the FCS, as he was named to the Stats Perform 30-player preseason watch list for the 2026 Buck Buchanan Award, presented annually to the national defensive player of the year in Division I FCS college football. Niekamp is one of five returning finalists from 2025 on this year's watch list, as he finished eighth in the Buck Buchanan Award voting following last season. He was a consensus First-Team All-American selection, earning honors from Stats Perform, FCS Football Central on SI, The Associated Press, the AFCA, the Walter Camp Football Foundation and Phil Steele. The Normal, Illinois, native was one of 11 players named to the 13th annual 2025 Football Championship Subdivision Athletics Directors Association's (FCS ADA) All-America Team, as the top linebacker in the country.

DAWSON ON WATCH FOR THE PAYTON 
Illinois State senior running back Victor Dawson has earned a spot among the best offensive players in the country, as he was named to the Stats Perform 30-player preseason watch list for the iconic Walter Payton Award, which is presented annually to the national offensive player of the year in Division I FCS college football and is celebrating its 40th Anniversary season. Dawson was a 2025 MVFC All-Newcomer Team selection and ranked third in the MVFC in rushing yards with 1,377. The Akron, Ohio, native ranked No. 9 in the FCS in rushing yards and tied for second on the team with five rushing touchdowns. He averaged 81.0 yards per game and 5.0 yards per carry in 17 games played, while recording six games with over 100 yards rushing, including four-straight 100-yard efforts to end the year in the FCS playoffs.

O CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN
Voted on by the team at the conclusion of fall camp, the Redbirds' senior linebacker Tye Niekamp, senior running back Victor Dawson and senior punter Hayden Futch as their captains for the 2026 season. They will be joined at midfield by selected seniors voted on each week by the coaching staff as game captains.

ILLINOIS BRAGGING RIGHTS ON THE LINE
As Route 66 celebrates its 100th anniversary this year in towns all across the state of Illinois, the Redbirds will be looking to cement themselves as one of the top programs in the state in 2026. For the first time since 2019, the Redbirds will take on Western Illinois, Eastern Illinois, Northern Illinois and Southern Illinois in the same season. That year, the Redbirds went 3-1 against the teams with the lone loss coming to the Huskies of NIU by a score of 24-10 in the season opener. This year, ISU take on WIU, EIU and NIU in three consecutive weekends to start the month of September, before they wrap up the Land of Lincoln contests on the road against Southern Illinois on national television in October.

THE STREAK CONTINUES
Redbird teams have been very successful scoring on defense under the leadership of head coach Brock Spack. Thanks to a 27-yard fumble return for a touchdown in the 2025 home opening win over Morehead State by Cam Wilson, the Redbirds extended their streak to 17 straight seasons with at least one defensive score. 

RETURN TO THE POSTSEASON
The Redbirds made their tenth appearance in the FCS playoffs and seventh under the leadership of head coach Brock Spack in 2025. ISU is 15-10 all-time in playoff games and after making a second-straight appearance. Overall, the Redbirds are 12-7 in the playoffs under Spack and are 10-4 in road contests, with national championship appearances in 2014 and 2025.

ROAD WARRIORS
Over the past two seasons, Illinois State has been very comfortable going on the road picking up key victories away from home. In the past two years, ISU is 15-3 on the road with two of those losses coming to FBS foes in Iowa (2024) and Oklahoma (2025). In 2024, the Redbirds won six-straight FCS road games before suffering a second-round playoff loss to UC Davis and in 2025, the Redbirds went 9-0 on the road against FCS foes after their 30-14 semifinal win at Villanova. In the 13-year history of the 24-team bracket (since 2013), Illinois State has more playoff road wins (9) than any other FCS team.

VIC TAKES OVER
With four-straight 100-plus yard rushing performances in the final four games of the 2025 FCS Playoffs, Victor Dawson proved he was ready for the spotlight. He shined bright in that light in the win over North Dakota State, rushing for 137 yards including a 69-yard touchdown dash to help lead the Redbirds to a stunning upset over the defending national champions. He followed that up with 148 yards on 29 carries in the quarterfinal win at UC Davis. Then, for the third-straight week, he best his previous career high with a career-best 34 carries for 155 yards and a score in the semifinal win at Villanova. He capped off the run with 126 yards on the ground against Montana State in the FCS Championship game to end the season on a high note and propel him into his sixth and final collegiate football season in 2026.

LORD RETURNS TO THE NEST 
After missing the majority of his freshman season due to injury, Dylan Lord had a resurgent year for the Redbirds in 2025 and saved his best performance of the season for the biggest stage of them all. Lord set career-highs in receptions (13), receiving yards (161) and touchdowns (2) in a breakout effort for the Redbirds in the FCS National Championship game against Montana State, scoring a go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter and a TD in the overtime period as well. Following the game, Lord dipped his toes into the transfer portal, but chose to return to the Redbirds for his third season to help the team get back to Nashville. As one of two returning starters at wideout, Lord looks to team 2025 MVFC Freshman of the Year Luke Mailander to form one of the best receiving tandems in the league and the FCS.

ROBINSON TO JOIN ILLINOIS STATE'S BEST ON HOMECOMING
One of Illinois State's football's best will take his place amongst the University's all-time greats in October, as former running back James Robinson will be inducted as part of the 2026 ISU Athletics Percy Family Hall of Fame class during Homecoming festivities. A two-time FCS All-American, Robinson finished his illustrious career ranked No. 2 in the ISU record books in rushing yards (4,444), rushing touchdowns (44), all-purpose yards (5,218) and total touchdowns scored (46). As a senior in 2019, Robinson was a consensus First-Team All-American and led the MVFC in rushing yards (1,899), yards per game (126.6) and touchdowns (18). He capped off his career with a pair of 200-plus yard efforts in the first and second round of the FCS playoffs, that included a school-record breaking 297-yard effort in the first-round with at Southeast Missouri. Following his career at ISU, he became the fourth undrafted player in NFL history to rush for 1,000 yards in his rookie season and finished with the record for most scrimmage yards of any rookie free agent in NFL history.