Rival

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sycamore51

sycamore51

The Varsity Level
I think it's about time ISU got a real rival. Somebody that we can all agree to hate with great passion. It should be somebody that we play all time in most sports. People always ask me who are big rival is, and I can't tell them because I don't know. Who do you all think we should hate? I'm putting all of my hate towards Evansville. I'll think of the reasons later.
 

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back in the day.....

the rivalries went something like this....

non -conference

ball state
butler
evansville
eastern illinois

mvc

illinois state
southern illinois
wichita state

old-school mvc

new mexico state
tulsa
 
It would probably be Butler (if we still played them) as mouthy as they've been of late. As it stands now, I'd say Illinois State, especially since we beat them twice this year.
 
back in the 1970s and 1980s.....

the rivalries....by sport...and order of hatefulness...lol....

football --

southern illinois/illinois state (mvc/gateway)
ball state/eastern illinois (non-conference)

men's basketball --

ball state/butler/evansville/eastern illinois (non-conference)
illinois state/southern illinois/creighton/wichita state/bradley (mvc)
new mexico state/tulsa (old mvc)

baseball

ball state/butler/eastern illinois/indiana/purdue/notre dame/illinois (non-conference)
wichita state/creighton/missouri state/southern illinois/illinois state (mvc)
 
I'm not from those parts but I would say Evansville or Southern would be the teams to hate the most...close and proximity and oft-times you're going after the same guys. You beat them you may have the upper hand in landing a recruit possibly...

Nothing earth shattering there...but if you have to pick someone that's who I'd pick.
 

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Our longest rivalry is with Duke, oops, I mean Butler. Of course, they're too good to play us anymore...wonder why we keep beating them??? Since they're too good to play us and all...:krazy:

Anyway, I'd agree with Eddie - Evansville is always a good target!!! :violent::swordfight:
 
I think of Evansville as being pretty different from us though. They're a private school and have a much lower enrollment. That doesn't mean much as far as athletic competition, I know, but I don't think of them like I do Southern or Eastern Illinois and Illinois State.
 
Syd,

People that live in Illinois?? I think the football team should spend ALOT more time looking for players from Illinois, particularly the Chicago area. The few that we had last year--Gates, Byrne, Burke, Sewall--were not too bad. I'd say basketball too, but it would be a stretch for us to get any of the top players in the Chicago area. Carl Richard was a mid-tier guy, and he'll turn out to be an excellent recruit for ISU.

Now that I've vented, I'd go with Butler--they're way to snobby for what they have.
 
hey new sycamore fan....

don't concern yourself about football recruiting in the chicago area. that's a prime area for recruiting for isu and always has been. isu has pretty good recruiting ties in the chicago-land area and a strong alumni base of former players up that way. i talk to those guys all the time.

especially now that trent is running the show and dennis is back involved with the program, those ties that dennis had before will bear fruit once again.
 
bent20 said:
I think of Evansville as being pretty different from us though. They're a private school and have a much lower enrollment. That doesn't mean much as far as athletic competition, I know, but I don't think of them like I do Southern or Eastern Illinois and Illinois State.
Click to expand...
If you look at Duke and UNC, one is public and one is private and one is much larger than the other.
 

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Ball State or Butler?

While Evansville is our most played rival (149 to date) and Butler is one our oldest (1903) (Rose Hulman is the oldest collegiate rival (1900); I’ve usually held Ball State in the lowest regard due to their snotty attitudes, inflated sense of BSU vs ISU degree, etc, etc.
Our MBB records for the four most natural rivals are:
Ball State, 1920-2008, 68-55
Butler, 1903-2008, 56-67
Evansville, 1920-Present, 75-74
Eastern Illinois, 1909-2006, 83-36

I’d love to see this as our annual MBB schedule (max 28 allowed, in-season tourneys count as 1 game per NCAA)
18 MVC games
ESPN Blockbuster
Missouri Valley – Mountain West Challenge
Butler
Ball State
Eastern or Western or Northern Illinois
Valparaiso or IUPUI or IPFW
Purdue or Indiana or Notre Dame
Mid-American Conference school
Atlantic 10 “West School” (Saint Louis or Dayton or Xavier)
Ohio Valley Conference School

Our exhibition games should only be St Joseph’s (Rensselaer) or the University of Indianapolis or (ugh) the University of Southern Indiana; outside of that, possibly Oakland City or one of Indiana’s Div III schools. They’re all relatively close and we have a history playing them, back in the ICC days (Indiana Collegiate Conference)
 
why not play rose-hulman in an exhibition game....

you could have a men's/women's basketball exhibition doubleheader at hulman center. one year at hulman center and one year at rose-hulman. have some sort of local charity tied into it. just a passing thought...lol.
 
Funny that Ball State fans would have a superiority complex given that their school started as Indiana State's eastern campus. Maybe we should just go back to referring to them as the Indiana State Normal School, Eastern Division.
 
bent20 said:
Funny that Ball State fans would have a superiority complex given that their school started as Indiana State's eastern campus. Maybe we should just go back to referring to them as the Indiana State Normal School, Eastern Division.
Click to expand...

I already refer to BSU as "Indiana State - Muncie Campus" to all my friends that are BSU alums. You wanna see those people get pissed off fast - just do that! It's hilarious!!!! :cheers:

:sycamores::sycamores::sycamores:
 
I like that train of thought, but I'd add the Univ. of Illinois to that list, since they are relatively close to ISU and would get some ISU fans to that game in Champaign

4Q_iu said:
While Evansville is our most played rival (149 to date) and Butler is one our oldest (1903) (Rose Hulman is the oldest collegiate rival (1900); I’ve usually held Ball State in the lowest regard due to their snotty attitudes, inflated sense of BSU vs ISU degree, etc, etc.
Our MBB records for the four most natural rivals are:
Ball State, 1920-2008, 68-55
Butler, 1903-2008, 56-67
Evansville, 1920-Present, 75-74
Eastern Illinois, 1909-2006, 83-36

I’d love to see this as our annual MBB schedule (max 28 allowed, in-season tourneys count as 1 game per NCAA)
18 MVC games
ESPN Blockbuster
Missouri Valley – Mountain West Challenge
Butler
Ball State
Eastern or Western or Northern Illinois
Valparaiso or IUPUI or IPFW
Purdue or Indiana or Notre Dame
Mid-American Conference school
Atlantic 10 “West School” (Saint Louis or Dayton or Xavier)
Ohio Valley Conference School

Our exhibition games should only be St Joseph’s (Rensselaer) or the University of Indianapolis or (ugh) the University of Southern Indiana; outside of that, possibly Oakland City or one of Indiana’s Div III schools. They’re all relatively close and we have a history playing them, back in the ICC days (Indiana Collegiate Conference)
Click to expand...
 

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The only way to have a true rival is to have THAT rival school think of your school as a rival too. And that just doesn't exist for ISU.

The Big Ten school suggestion made me laugh.
 
For Quabachi -- I didn't see anyone advocate a rivalry with a Big Ten school; merely playing them annually.

I like the idea of a ISU vs. UIllinois game. The Rose exhibition double-header would be great!
Maybe add a WBB game w/ St Mary's!!

Are the "Woodsie" still hygiene optional granolas?
 
A rivalry needs to develop on its own; Coaches can stress certain games, games that are ‘must wins’
Alumni have their favorites as well.
As to the idea that both sides have to ‘agree’ that it’s a rivalry is somewhat dubious – Ask iu fans if Purdue is a rival and many will say, “No, it’s U (How else can we cheat) K!” But if iu loses to Purdue in anything… The folks in texas are the same way with Oklahoma, until they lose to texas A&M…
 
Thoughts on tweeking the current athletic logo? Replace the star marking TH w/ a Sycamore Leaf?
Perhaps the University logo needs some freshening as well; the current Sycamore Leaf logo looks 'very 80s' and not in a good way!
 
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