After finishing the 1983-84 regular season with an overall mark of 23-8, the Illinois State Redbirds entered the Missouri Valley Conference tournament. Illinois State and Tulsa had identical 13-3 records in conference play, but Tulsa would be eliminated in the conference tournament semifinal, while Illinois State advanced to the final. There, they defeated Creighton, 70-68, to win the MVC championship. The Redbirds went on to post a victory in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament before losing to # 1-seed DePaul in the second round.

     Presented here is a Balfour 1984 Illinois State conference championship ring, featuring a large red stone in its center, on top of which reads “ISU”. Around the bezel setting shows “MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE CHAMPION” while “ILLINOIS STATE UNIVERSITY MVC” appears around the perimeter. The left shank of the ring depicts a basketball player in action going up for a shot; the name “E. CORNLEY” (forward Eric Cornley) is present above in a banner. Centering the other shank is the team logo, along with “1984 MVC 23-8”. Inside the ring is the manufacturer’s “LGB” stamp and “GTC” (gold toned celestrium). This ring is an approximate size 11 ½ and weighs approximately 19.3 grams.

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