Illinois State

Redbird Traditions Fight Song "Go you Redbirds onto battle! Fight for ISU. Raise the banner, Red and White; to this emblem we'll be true. So let us cheer the Redbirds on to victory! Every voice proclaim: 'We've got the fight! We've got the might! Let's win this game." The song was written by Kenyon S. Fletcher, a teacher in industrial technology, 1932. Fletcher also directed the Illinois State band. As the Redbirds enter the floor or field, the first stanza is sung proudly by fans. A growing Redbird tradition is various Redbird teams singing the fight song to the home crowd after victories. This has created a resurgence for the traditional school melody. Alma Mater "Glory has thou, might and power; proud the halls of ISU. Deeds that live in song and story, loyal sons and daughters true. So shalt thou in years increasing send thy grads of honest worth, forth to bear with zeal unceasing wisdom's torch throughout the earth." The lyrics were written in 1926 by faculty members Wanda Neiswanger and Jennie Whitten as a homecoming song. It is a derivation of "Normal Loyalty" which was written by Gussie Schneider, class of 1914. The original sheet music was rediscovered in an antique shop in San Francisco in 1981. It was returned by Marcia Reid, an ISU alumna. Reid's sister, Dr. Jane Chapmen-Gallon of Denver, Colo., found the music while on vacation. Mascot The mascot is Reggie Redbird, a student bedecked in costume. Reggie was named in 1980 after a contest among Junior Redbird Club Members. The suit is donated by Rick Percy, general manager of Clemens and Associates Insurance and a longtime member of The Weisbecker Scholarship Fund. Reggie Redbird can be seen during the year at all Illinois State Athletics events, and is also active on the Illinois State campus and throughout the Bloomington-Normal, Ill., community. The Battle Bird Before each athletic competition, Illinois State student- athletes touch "The Battle Bird," a likeness of the Redbird logo. The ceremony signifies a dedication to Illinois State and a common bond to the school's other student-athletes, past and present. The sculpture was unveiled in 2000. Each year, a Redbird fan bids for the right to be known as the 'Keeper of the Bird' for a full year. The first was Laverne "Speed" Chagnon, a Redbird tennis standout in the late 1940s and 1950s. Nickname and Colors In 1923, athletics director Clifford E. "Pop" Horton and Pantagraph sports editor Fred Young collaborated to change the nickname from "Teachers." Horton wanted "Cardinals" because the colors were cardinal and white. Young changed the nickname to "Redbirds" to avoid confusion in the headlines with the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team. Current logos are Pantone 186 (red), Pantone 108 (yellow), white and black. 2012 Redbird Soccer Walk of Champions Right around the turn of the 21st Century, a group of Illinois State student-athletes and administrators began to formulate an event that would welcome new student-athletes into the Redbird family and educate them about the rich history of the athletics department. Together, they created the annual Walk of Champions. In mid-August, the day before the beginning of classes, Redbird student-athletes, new and old, gather for the event. The culmination of the evening happens outside of Redbird Arena, where each new student-athlete is introduced and given half of a medallion. The other half will be presented to them the night of their Senior Banquet. One side of the medallion features the Redbird logo, while the other has an inscription of a phrase from the ISU fight song, "To this emblem we'll be true." 55

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