Early on in the school's history, the athletes were referred to as the "Fighting Teachers" (one of the school's early names was "Indiana State Teachers College"), until the students chose the name "Sycamores," due to the abundance of
sycamore trees in Indiana and especially in the Wabash River Valley; though it is believed that the students voted on "Sycamores" on a lark, never thinking it would win. During the 1950s and 1960s, the sycamore tree itself was used as Indiana State's
mascot. However, as a tree does not lend itself well to an athletic mascot, especially considering Indiana State's in-state rivalries with the
Ball State Cardinals and
Butler Bulldogs, the university created an
Indian mascot named "Chief Quabachi," and his "Princess," in 1969.[3] This change paid homage to the fact that ISU was the "State University" of a state named after Indians (prior to statehood Indiana was primarily inhabited by Indians). The university dropped the "Chief Quabachi" mascot in 1989 in response to a variety of objections over use of the Indian caricature[4] and did not have another mascot until 1995, when a blue-and-white gender neutral woodland creature named "Sycamore Sam" became Indiana State's mascot.[5]
† – Track and field includes both indoor and outdoor
National championships
National team championships (3)
As of August 1, 2022, Indiana State has won three National Championships; one NCAA team championship, one NAIA team championship and one USBC title.[8]
Kurt Thomas led the men's gymnastics team to the 1977
NCAA National Championship. In 1973 and 1979, the team finished third in the NCAA Championships. In 1971, Coach Margit "Grete" Treiber led the ISU women's gymnastics team to a national runner-up finish at the
AIAW National Championships. In 1964, Coach Roger Counsil led the ISU men's freshman gymnastics team to a national runner-up finish at the NCAA Championships.
The men's basketball team was the national runner-up in the 1946 and 1948
NAIA National Championship Tournaments. The 1950 title team placed eight players on the
1951 Pan-American Games gold medal-winning team. Head Coach John Longfellow also served as co-head coach of the Pan-American Games team.
NCAA National Individual Championships (30)
Indiana State athletes have won 30 NCAA Individual Championships.
(Pole Vault) Canadian Indoor National Championship – 1968, 1969[14]
Olympians (8)
Indiana State has produced 8 Olympians; 7 for the United States & 1 (Greggmar Swift) for Barbados. Additionally, several ISU Coaches have US Olympic ties;
Roger Counsil was the 1980 US Olympic Gymnastics coach, Erin Gilreath, ass't track & field coach competed in the 2004 Summer Olympics
The Men's Gymnastics Team leads with 46 All-Americans (1964–1980).[15]
The Football Team has 34 All-Americans (1967–2019)
The Baseball Team has produced 26 All-Americans (1963–2000)
The Women's Cross-Country & Track and Field Teams have produced 26 All-Americans (1969–2021)
The Men's Cross-Country & Track and Field Teams have produced 21 All-Americans (1958–2017)
The Men's Basketball Team has produced 14 All-Americans (1930–1979)
The Wrestling Team produced 7 All-Americans (1933–1986)[16]
Conference champions (98)
Indiana College Athletic League (1900–1922)
3 titles in baseball
Indiana Intercollegiate Conference (1923–1947)
6 titles in baseball
5 titles in men's basketball
Indiana Collegiate Conference (1950–1968)
30 titles in baseball, men's basketball, men's cross-country, men's golf, football, men's swimming, men's track & field and wrestling.
Paul Wolf—ICC Baseball Coach of the Year (1958, 1963, 1966 and 1967)
Duane Klueh—ICC Basketball Coach of the Year (1959, 1963, 1966, 1967)
Mark Dean—ICC Football Coach of the Year (1952)
Bill Jones—ICC Football Coach of the Year (1959, 1960, 1963)
Jerry Huntsman—ICC Football Coach of the Year (1966)
Paul Selge—ICC Swimming Coach of the Year (1965)
Chester Sanders—ICC Wrestling Coach of the Year (1966)
Ted Parker—ICC Wrestler of the Year (1966)
Gateway Conference (1982–1992)
4 titles in women's basketball, women's track & field and women's cross-country.
Andi Myers—Gateway Basketball Coach of the Year (1988)
Missouri Valley Conference (1977–present)
65 titles
16 in men's track & field (12 outdoor, 4 indoor)
13 in women's track & field (7 outdoor, 6 indoor)
9 in men's cross-country
10 in baseball
5 in men's tennis
4 in men's basketball
3 in women's basketball
2 in women's cross-country
2 in softball
1 in women's tennis
Of particular note, the Runnin' Sycamores (the men's and women's cross-country and track & field teams) have won 32 titles in the past 26 seasons.[when?]
*Note – All of the above championship information is from the media guides available at www.gosycamores.com or from the Indiana State archives (each yearbook from 1896 to 1993 is available).[17]
Championship host
Indiana State University has hosted thirteen (2002, 2004–2011, 2013–14, 2016–2017) NCAA Division I cross country championships at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course.[18] ISU will also host the 2018 NCAA Great Lakes Regionals in cross country and the 2019 NCAA Division I Nationals.[18]
Indiana State University hosted the 10th NCAA Wrestling Championships in 1937, at a time when the school had yet to establish a wrestling program. In 1965, the University hosted the National
NAIA Wrestling tournament.
The university also hosted the 1972 US Olympic Trials[19] and the 1975 NCAA Gymnastics National Championships.
Indiana State's marching band is called the
Marching Sycamores. The marching band performs at home football games and is the feature band at the
Brickyard 400. There are two alternating bands that play at men's and women's basketball games, known as the Blue and White Basketball Bands.
^Plummer, William; Floyd, Larry C. (2013). A Series Of Their Own: History Of The Women's College World Series. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States: Turnkey Communications Inc.
ISBN978-0-9893007-0-4.