Since the 1977–78 academic year, Indiana State has been a member of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC).

The Indiana State football team has competed in Division I FCS since the 1982 season, and has been a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) since it was spun off from the Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference (Gateway) when the latter league merged into the MVC in 1992.

[5] A member of the Missouri Valley Conference, Indiana State University sponsors six men's and nine women's teams in NCAA sanctioned sports.

[6] Indiana State's softball team has appeared in two Women's College World Series in 1974 and 1976.

Kurt Thomas led the men's gymnastics team to the 1977 NCAA National Championship.

In 1964, Coach Roger Counsil led the ISU men's freshman gymnastics team to a national runner-up finish at the NCAA Championships.

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?]