NORMAL, Ill. – After a stellar 2023-24 campaign, the Illinois State men’s golf team has announced its 2024-25 schedule, including tournaments at three Big Ten and two Big 12 schools during the year.

The season opens at the Island Resort Intercollegiate on September 1-2, and it will be ISU’s third trip to the tournament after winning the event in 2022 and finishing second in 2023. Last season Redbird junior Alex McCulla set a program record for lowest tournament score, becoming the first Illinois State golfer to shoot under a 200 in a 54-hole tournament in the event hosted by South Dakota State at Sage Run Golf Club in Harris, Michigan.

Two weeks later the ‘Birds make their third straight and fourth overall appearance at the Bearcat Invitational, hosted by the University of Cincinnati at Coldstream Country Club on September 16-17. Two seasons ago the Redbirds finished fourth of 13 schools at the tournament after tying for seventh of 13 schools in 2019.

On September 22-23 the Redbirds travel to West Lafayette, Indiana, for the Purdue Fall Invitational, hosted at the Kampen Course. The event wasn’t held on the Kampen Course last season with Purdue hosting the NCAA Regional; however, ISU had competed at the event over the two previous tournaments.

Another long-attended tournament for ISU – the Badger Invitational – follows on September 29-October 1 at University Ridge Golf Course in Madison, Wisconsin. The Redbirds were the runner-up in the event last season after placing third in 2022 and winning the tournament in 2018 and 2021. The ‘Birds have played in the event over the last 10 seasons – only missing the fall 2020 season where there were no events due to the Covid pandemic.

After opening the fall season with four familiar tournaments, the Redbirds head to the west coast to compete for the first time at the Leadership and Golf Collegiate Championship, co-hosted by Saint Mary’s and Seattle at Bayonet Black Horse Golf Club in Monterey, California.

The spring season opens with the Tinervin Cup, an annual alumni event, hosted at Coral Creek Club in Placida, Florida on January 25.

ISU takes to the course again on February 17-18 at the Border Olympics, an event where the Redbirds won with a school-record scoring total of 832, 32 strokes under par. Recently graduated golfer Valentin Peugnet became the second golfer in school history – and the season – to card a tournament score under 200 with a 199.

For the second consecutive season Illinois State will head to Puerto Rico to compete in the Dorado Beach Collegiate, on February 23-25. Last season the Redbirds set a 36-hole school record with a 22-under 554 a season ago as the ‘Birds had six different golfers finish the 36 holes under par including a 36-hole individual school record of 135 from Felix van Dijk.

This season will be the fifth straight year that ISU will take on the field at the Louisiana Classics Invitational, hosted at Oakbourne Country Club in Lafayette, Louisiana.

A March 30-April 1 tournament at the Memphis Intercollegiate – hosted at Colonial Country Club in Cordova, Tennessee represents ISU’s first appearance in a tournament hosted by the Tigers.

A weekend later the Redbirds stay inside the state of Illinois for the one-day Kishwaukee Intercollegiate, hosted by Northern Illinois on April 5 at Kishwaukee Country Club.

This season will be the third time over the last four seasons that the Redbirds competed at the Hawkeye Invitational, each time representing the final tournament before the MVC Championship. This season’s event at Finkbine Golf Club will be held on April 12-13 in Iowa City.

The following the weekend the ‘Birds will compete again inside the state of Iowa, as Drake University is hosting the 2025 MVC Championship, hosted at Des Moines Country Club on April 20-22. The last time the Redbirds competed in an event in the Des Moines area was during the 1999-00 season at the Drake Relays / Jack D. Wallace Invite – the first two rounds being held at the Des Moines Country Club.

The Redbirds closed the 2023-24 season with school records in scoring average (285.2) and total rounds by individuals at or under par (96). The team carded six of the 11 lowest 54-hole tournament scores in school history, including a school-record 832 at the Border Olympics, while tying the school individual round record with a 273 – also at the Border Olympics.

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