Illinois & Notre Dame schedule a football series for the first time in 59 years
For the first time in nearly 60 years, Notre Dame and Illinois will play on a football field.
The Irish and Illini have scheduled a home-and-home series that plays in 2027 and 2028.
Irish & Illini add series:
Notre Dame and Illinois announced Tuesday they're adding each other to their 2027 and 2028 schedules.
The Irish will host the Illini on Sept. 4, 2027, at Notre Dame Stadium.
Illinois and Notre Dame have met 12 times. They last played at Notre Dame Stadium in 1968 as part of a two-year series.
Nine of the 12 all-time series match ups between the Irish and Illini came during a 10-year stretch from 1937-1946. The first game between the two programs played in 1898.
For Illinois, the series with Notre Dame will replace Missouri on Illinois' 2027 and 2028 schedules.
In addition to adding the Irish, Illinois also announced it added FIU to its 2027 schedule on Aug. 28, 2027. The Illini dropped a game against Eastern Illinois in 2027.
For Notre Dame, the series against the Illini will replace the games against Purdue in 2027 and 2028, after Purdue announced it was putting its series against Notre Dame on pause earlier on Tuesday.
What they're saying:
The administration at Illinois expressed gratitude to Notre Dame for scheduling the series, and shared the excitement for what should be a highly ranked Irish team coming to Champaign in 2028.
"This is a series I have wanted to get on the football schedule since I arrived in 2016," Illinois Director of Athletics Josh Whitman said in a written statement. "It has been too long since these two tradition-rich programs have met, given our proximity, common values, and deep roots in Chicago and throughout the Midwest. We expect to see a lot of Orange and Blue next year in South Bend and believe the 2028 matchup in Champaign will be one of our most anticipated home games in decades. Thank you to Notre Dame, Pete Bevacqua, Ron Powlus, and Coach Freeman for helping to make this exciting series a reality."
However, this comes a few months after Illinois head coach Bret Bielema called out the Irish football program on X.
Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua remained adamant about the need for the Irish to remain independent in football in the past year after the Irish were left out of the 2025 College Football Playoff. Bielema fired back.
"Some guys really like to talk about something that could happen and who they might play," Bielema wrote on X in June. "Actually, it's pretty easy to just join a conference."
Now, the two sides are squaring off in 2027.
The Source: Information is from Notre Dame and Illinois athletics.