1983 Indiana State Sycamores football team

The 1983 Indiana State Sycamores football team represented Indiana State University as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) during the 1983 NCAA Division I-AA football season. The Sycamores were led by fourth-year head coach Dennis Raetz and played their home games at Memorial Stadium. Indiana State finished the season 8–3 overall and 3–2 in MVC play to tie for third place. They were invited to the NCAA I-AA playoffs, where they defeated Eastern Illinois (16–13 in double overtime) in the first round before losing (23–7) in the quarterfinals to eventual national champion Southern Illinois.

1983 Indiana State Sycamores football
NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal, L 7–23 vs. Southern Illinois
Conference	Missouri Valley Conference
Record	9–4 (3–2 MVC)
Head coach	Dennis Raetz (4th season)
Offensive coordinator	Pete Hoener (4th season)
Defensive coordinator	Tim McGuire (1st season)
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium
Seasons ← 1982 1984 →

1983 Missouri Valley Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Tulsa $	5	–	0	–	0			8	–	3	–	0
No. 1 Southern Illinois ^	4	–	1	–	0			13	–	1	–	0
No. 5 Indiana State ^	3	–	2	–	0			9	–	4	–	0
New Mexico State	3	–	2	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Illinois State	2	–	2	–	1			6	–	4	–	1
Wichita State	3	–	3	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Drake	1	–	6	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
West Texas State	0	–	5	–	1			0	–	10	–	1
$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant The conference was a hybrid of NCAA Division I-A and I-AA programs. New Mexico State, Tulsa, and Wichita State were I-A and the other teams were I-AA. Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

The roster included such standout performers as cornerback Wayne Davis and free safety Vencie Glenn, who went on to long successful NFL careers. Mike Simmonds,^[1] Jeff Miller was selected Honorable Mention All-American, future college head coach Trent Miles was a wide receiver.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 3	12:00 p.m.	No. 13 Northeast Louisiana*		Memorial Stadium Terre Haute, IN	W 10–9	8,131	^[2]
September 10		Northern Iowa*		Memorial Stadium Terre Haute, IN	W 26–0	8,914
September 17		at No. 15 (I-A) Florida*		Florida Field Gainesville, FL	L 13–17	68,191	^[3]
September 24		Central Missouri State*	No. 10	Memorial Stadium Terre Haute, IN	W 33–7	11,482
October 1		Illinois State	No. 7	Hancock Stadium Normal, IL	L 20–37	14,503
October 8	3:00 p.m.	at Ball State*	No. 18	Memorial Stadium Terre Haute, IN (Blue Key Victory Bell)	W 35–14	9,219
October 15		Wichita State	No. 16	Memorial Stadium Terre Haute, IN	W 24–22	8,782	^[4]
October 22		No. 2 Southern Illinois	No. 14	Memorial Stadium Terre Haute, IN	L 21–34	14,111
October 29		No. 7 Eastern Illinois*	No. 20	O’Brien Stadium Charleston, IL	W 17–13	3,300
November 5		West Texas State	No. 15	Kimbrough Stadium Canyon, IN	W 31–20	2,516
November 12		at Drake	No. 9	Drake Stadium Des Moines, IN	W 38–0	900
November 26		No. 6 Eastern Illinois*	No. 5	Memorial Stadium Terre Haute, IN (NCAA Division I-AA First Round)	W 16–13 ^2OT	6,222
December 3		at No. 1 Southern Illinois*	No. 5	McAndrew Stadium Carbondale, IL (NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal)	L 7–23	8,000
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

References

1. "Mike Simmonds Stats". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
2. "ISU nips NE Louisiana, 10–9". The Indianapolis Star. September 4, 1983. p. 3D. Retrieved January 26, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Sycamore upset bid just misses". The Indianapolis Star. September 18, 1983. Retrieved November 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Sycamores edge Shockers". The Indianapolis Star. October 16, 1983. Retrieved February 25, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.