Liberty hits the road to face Indiana State this weekend.
1. Indiana State calls Terre Haute, Indiana home.
Liberty athletics are no stranger to Terre Haute. It’s where Josh McDougal won a cross country national championship in 2007 and Sam Chelanga won a pair of national championships in cross country in 2009 and 2010.
2. Their mascot is the Sycamores
How does a blue-and-white “furry woodland creature named Sycamore Sam” have anything to do with the Sycamores or Sycamore trees? Your guess is as good as mine
3. Larry Bird is an alum.
Bird led ISU to their first ever NCAA tournament and all the way to the championship game against Michigan State. He averaged 30.3 points, 13.3 rebounds, and 4.6 assists during his 3-year career at Indiana State.
4. They are the poor sister of the Missouri Valley Football Conference.
3-time defending national champion North Dakota State has dominated the conference the past 3 seasons. NDSU won more games in 2013 (15) than Indiana State has won in the past 3 years combined (14). NDSU beat ISU 56-10 last season.
5. ISU limped their way to a 1-11 record last season.
The Sycamores were 0-8 in conference, and their only win came against Division II Quincy.
6. This is their football stadium.
Memorial Stadium holds 12,764. Intimidating.
7. There is some good news, the Sycamores beat FBS member Ball State 27-20 in their last game.
You may recall Liberty beat Ball State 27-23 in 2010 behind 363 total yards and 3 touchdowns by Mike Brown.
