Brian Reese, who won a national championship as a player with North Carolina and was the head coach at Division II Georgian Court University last season, has been hired as an assistant coach at Illinois State, head coach Dan Muller announced Tuesday.… MORE
Boomer Synek hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10th inning, lifting the Evansville Purple Aces to a 4-3 win and eliminating Illinois State from the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Thursday at Bob Warn Field.… MORE
The Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of the Year kept the Redbirds off the scoreboard for eight innings and the Valley Player of the Year staked the league’s regular-season champs to an early lead as top-seeded Dallas Baptist earned a 9-5 win over No. 8 seed Illinois State Wednesday at the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament at Bob Warn Field.… MORE
The Illinois State baseball team landed two players on the All-Missouri Valley Conference Team, as both Steve Heilenbach and Owen Miller were recognized when the league announced its all-conference team Tuesday.… MORE
Illinois State continued its streak by finishing in the top three of the Missouri Valley Conference All-Sports standings, as the Redbirds placed third behind Wichita State and Southern Illinois in the final ranking announced Monday by the league office.… MORE
The Illinois State baseball team gave up 18 hits in six innings as Missouri State earned a 17-5 run-rule win over the Redbirds Friday night at Hammons Field.… MORE
The Illinois State women’s basketball program will welcome Deja Turner to the team starting next season, as she signed her National Letter of Intent, it was announced Friday by head coach Barb Smith.… MORE
The Illinois State baseball team tallied 13 hits but couldn’t overcome 19 runners left on base and eight walks issued in a 9-2 loss to Missouri State Thursday afternoon at Hammons Field.… MORE
Illinois State softball’s Riley Strandgard and Jordan de los Reyes have been named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Mideast Region teams, as announced by the NFCA Thursday.… MORE
Illinois State men’s golfer Trent Wallace wrapped up a very successful freshman campaign Wednesday at the NCAA Kohler Regional.… MORE
By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year. It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …
By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city. Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…
By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…
Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University. We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk. Going to work every day for some people means…