TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State football is set to make its 2025 season debut under the lights at Memorial Stadium as the Sycamores welcome McKendree College on Thursday, August 28. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. ET with the game to be carried live on ESPN+ and 105.5 The Legend.
Tickets & Tailgating
Tailgating and Clear Bag Policies
Indiana State Athletics tailgating and clear bag policies are in effect for the 2025-26 athletic year. The policies are consistent with other members in both the Missouri Valley Conference and Missouri Valley Football Conference.
Tailgating Policies |
Clear Bag Policy
2025 Indiana State Football Single Game Tickets On Sale
For more information on single game tickets, fans can contact Assistant Manager of Athletic Ticketing
Grant Manning by phone at 812-237-8972 or via email at Grant.Manning@indstate.edu. Fans can also call 877-ISU-TIXS or email
ISU-Tickets@indstate.edu. Fans have the opportunity to also buy or renew season tickets online by clicking
HERE.
Game Day Activities and Promotions
Gates Open at 5 p.m.
New to the 2025 season will include Memorial Stadium gates opening one hour prior to kickoff. Thursday night's kickoff will feature gates opening to the general public at 5 p.m. Metal detectors?
Game Day Giveaway
Indiana State Athletics will provide light up foam sticks sponsored by U.S. Lawns and Kona Ice to the first 500 fans at Thursday night's game.
Game Day Activity
Pepsi/Radio/Kroc's Butcher Shop will host a pregame tailgate outside Memorial Stadium prior to gates opening at Memorial Stadium.
105.5 The Legend Live
Joey O'Rourke will be live outside the gates at Memorial Stadium with the 105.5 The Legend pregame show and will feature special guests throughout the evening leading up to gates opening.
Game Day Sponsor
Ford Central Indiana Dealers is Saturday's Game Day Sponsor and will bring back out the Ford Superscreen to Memorial Stadium in the tailgate area. The massive screen will be parked outside the stadium showing video, highlights, and more with a vehicle display parked out front.
Notes
About the Matchup
Thursday night marks the first matchup all-time between Indiana State and McKendree in their respective program histories. The Sycamores have not lined up against the Bearcats across any major athletic sports team, although Indiana State has welcomed McKendree to both cross country and track & field meets in the past.
McKendree, a member of the NCAA Division II's Great Lakes Valley Conference, is the first Division II program the Sycamores have faced since the 2018 season when Indiana State welcomed the GLVC's Quincy to open the year. Indiana State claimed the 49-0 win over Quincy on August 30, on their way to going 7-4 on the year, narrowly missing out on the NCAA FCS playoffs.
The Sycamores are 6-1 all-time against current members of the GLVC including the 1-0 mark against Quincy. Indiana State has also posted a 5-1 record all-time against Indianapolis, however, records are currently unavailable in the all-time series against the program.
Sycamores in Openers
Indiana State is 4-3 all-time in their home openers under head coach
Curt Mallory dating back to his first season in 2017. The Sycamores won last year's home opener against Dayton and have won three of their last four home opening games dating back to the 2021 season. Indiana State has picked up wins over Quincy (49-0, 2018), Eastern Illinois (26-21, 2021), North Alabama (17-14 (OT), 2022), and Dayton (24-13, 2024) in their home opening contests over Mallory's tenure.
The Sycamores have also posted a 3-4 record in true season openers over Mallory's tenure and have dropped each of the last two seasons after falling to both Purdue (49-0, 2024) and Eastern Illinois (27-0, 2023). The Sycamores' wins over Quincy, Eastern Illinois (2021), and North Alabama all came in their true opening games to kick off the year.
2025 Team Captains Announced
Indiana State football announced the Sycamores will be represented by seven team captains for the upcoming season. The 2025 team captains were voted on by their peers and will represent the team both on and off the field noted for their leadership qualities, while embodying what it means to be a Sycamore football player.
Quarterback
Elijah Owens earned his second team captaincy for the upcoming 2025 season after serving in the capacity last year as a redshirt freshman. He is joined by defensive backs
Kimal Clark and
Jorge Valdes, linebackers
Braxton Sampson and
Dallas Westhoff, offensive lineman
Drew Page, and punter
Harry Traum.
The Sycamores' 2025 captain class features three seniors on the roster including returners to the field in Sampson and Traum. Newcomer Clark earns the captaincy honors and was highly decorated in the preseason after transferring in from Central Connecticut State.
Page was voted captain heading into his junior season on the field. The Kent State transfer has taken on a vocal role in the middle of the Indiana State offensive line and is expected to be the starting center for the upcoming 2025 season.
Owens and Valdes both earned captain honors heading into their sophomore seasons on the field. Owens, a 2024 Jerry Rice finalist, headlines the group, while Valdes earned MVFC All-Newcomer honors last season.
Sycamores Receiving Votes in AFCA Preseason Poll
Indiana State football is drawing national attention from the voters heading into the 2025 season as the Sycamores enter the year receiving votes in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) preseason poll. It marks the second consecutive season the Sycamores are among the teams after achieving the feat prior to the kickoff of the 2024 season.
Indiana State was one of nine Missouri Valley Football schools listed in the poll with North Dakota State (1), South Dakota State (3), South Dakota (5), Illinois State (6), Southern Illinois (20), Youngstown State (RV), Northern Iowa (RV), and North Dakota (RV) also on the list. Additional opponents for Indiana State in the Top 25 poll include Montana (9) as the Sycamores are scheduled to take on one of the toughest slates in the country against eight teams listed in the poll.
Scouting McKendree
McKendree heads into the 2025 season looking to contend in the Great Lakes Valley Conference as the Bearcats were recently selected fifth in the annual GLVC poll as voted on by the league's head coaches. It marked the 12th time McKendree was selected inside the top five in the GLVC poll since the conference's inaugural season back in 2012.
McKendree received 37 total points in the poll and is coming off a 5-6 mark in the 2024 regular season with a 4-4 record in GLVC play in head coach Jason Rejfek's first season. The McKendree head coach returns 14 starters from last year's team, including seven offensively and six defensively, while returning 47 lettermen to the sidelines for the 2025 season.
McKendree quarterback Ty Michael and linebacker Nick Bova were the team's representatives as the GLVC's media day and are expected to once again be leaders on the team in the upcoming season. Michael, a fifth-year player on the squad, was a 2024 All-GLVC Honorable Mention selection after starting all11 games and finishing with 2,542 yards and 17 touchdowns. Bova, a rising junior, was also All-GLVC Honorable Mention finishing with 63 tackles and 8.5 tackles-for-loss on the year.
Rising redshirt junior running back Eddie Clark is an additional player to watch heading into the 2025 season. The 1,000-yard rusher was named to the D2Football.com Elite 100 Watch List following an All-Conference season that featured 1,146 rushing yards, a 5.1 yards-per-carry average, and 14 touchdowns. He highlighted his season with a program-record 223 rushing yards against Missouri S&T.
Additional pieces that return to the field include wide receiver Jaylen Ford (28 catches, 453 yards, four touchdowns), linebacker Logan Turbyfill (46 tackles, 6.0 TFL), and defensive end Dameion Hatten (21.0 tackles, 9.5 TFL, 2.5 sacks). The Bearcats will feature a new placekicker and punter following the departure of Kaleb Barry who handled both roles in 2024.
On This Date
Indiana State consistently began playing games in August back in 1995 after decades of not starting the season until September. Indiana State made their August 28 debut back in 1997 under former head coach Dennis Raetz as the Sycamores fell on the road at Murray State, 13-0. Since then, Indiana State has lined up on August 28 four more times, including in 2021 when the Sycamores hosted Eastern Illinois in the season opener.
The Sycamores have lined up against three FBS opponents on the date including traveling to Ball State, Miami (Ohio), and Eastern Michigan.
1997 – at Murray State (L, 13-0)
2003 – at Ball State (L, 31-7)
2004 – at Miami (Ohio) (L, 49-0)
2008 – at Eastern Michigan (L, 52-0)
2021 – Eastern Illinois (W, 26-21)
Follow the Sycamores
For the latest information on Sycamore Football, visit
GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media, including
Twitter,
Facebook,
Instagram and
YouTube. Fans can also receive updates on Sycamore Athletics by downloading the March On App from both the
App Store and the
Google Play Store.
