Illinois, Notre Dame schedule football series
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Nov. 3—CHAMPAIGN — Bring on the Irish.
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The Illinois football team will play Notre Dame for the first time in 59 years when the 2027 season arrives and again in 2028.
Both programs announced the two-year series on Tuesday, with the Illini playing at Notre Dame on Sept. 4, 2027 before the Irish make the trip to Champaign to play on Sept. 2, 2028.
"This is a series I have wanted to get on the football schedule since I arrived in 2016," Illinois athletic director Josh Whitman said in a 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."
Illinois and Notre Dame have met 12 previous times, but not since 1968. The series replaces Missouri on the Illinois schedule in 2027 and 2028.
The game at Notre Dame in 2027 is the second one of the season for Illinois, who will open up the season against Florida International on Aug. 28. The Illini were scheduled to play Eastern Illinois to open the 2027 season, but that game will no longer take place.
Other home games for Illinois next season are against Delaware on Sept. 11, along with Big Ten home games against Indiana, Northwestern, Penn State, UCLA and Wisconsin. The Illini will play Big Ten road games against Michigan, Minnesota, Purdue and Southern Cal in 2027.
Dates of the Big Ten games are not yet known.
Illinois has never beaten Notre Dame in its series history, with Notre Dame winning 58-8 on Oct. 19, 1968 in the last matchup. The two teams first played in 1898 — a 5-0 victory by the Irish — and didn't meet again until 1937 when both teams played to a scoreless tie in Champaign.