NORMAL, Ill. – Led by former Redbirds Michael Ganzer and Koty Thelen, the Illinois State football team placed 76 current and former student athletes on the Missouri Valley Football Conference 2016-17 Honor Roll, as announced by the league office Friday. Ganzer and Thelen earned the league's highest academic achievement by garnering the MVFC President's Council Academic Excellence Award.
The President's Council Academic Excellence Award requires a minimum 3.5 cumulative grade point average (through Fall 2016 semester) and participation in athletics a minimum of two years. The student-athlete must be within 18 hours of graduation.