ISU football releases its 2016 schedule

Posted on January 14, 2016

Hancock Stadium. (Photo courtesy GoRedbirds.com)

By ISU Sports Information

NORMAL – Coming off its second-straight Missouri Valley Football Conference championship, the 2016 Illinois State football team led by head coach Brock Spack will look to put together another title run, when they officially open the 11-game season that begins on Sept. 3 and features six home contests.

The Redbirds will open the season by hosting Valparaiso, a FCS foe from the Pioneer Football league. ISU will then hit the road Sept. 10 for tough in-state clash with Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) foe Northwestern in Evanston, Illinois. The game against the Wildcats will be the second-straight for the Redbirds against a Big Ten Conference opponent and the second meeting all-time against NU, with the other taking place in 2010.

Illinois State will then host Eastern Illinois in the 105th meeting of the Mid-America Classic on Family Weekend, which is set to be played on Sept. 17 at Hancock Stadium. The game continues the oldest FCS football rivalry in the State of Illinois and the 13th-oldest at the FCS level, with the Panthers leading the all-time series 52-43-9.

ISU will then play eight-straight games against MVFC foes, beginning with a home contest against Indiana State on Sept. 24. Illinois State will then travel to the FargoDome on Oct. 1 to face five-time defending national champion North Dakota State for the first time in the regular season since 2013.

A two-game home stand will start Oct. 8 with a Homecoming matchup against Youngstown State and the Redbirds will welcome in Southern Illinois on Oct. 15 for CommUniversity at Hancock Stadium. A road contest at South Dakota follows the following Saturday, Oct. 22, before the schedule concludes with the Redbirds playing two out of their last three games at home. An Oct. 29 matchup against South Dakota State at home begins the stretch, before ISU plays its final road game of the regular season on Nov. 5 game at Western Illinois. ISU will then wrap up the regular season Nov. 12 at home against Missouri State for Senior Day.

Date Opponent Location Time
9/3/16 Valparaiso Normal, Ill. TBA
9/10/16 at Northwestern Evanston, Ill. TBA
9/17/16 Eastern Illinois Normal, Ill. TBA
9/24/16 at Indiana State* Terre Haute, Ind. TBA
10/1/16 at North Dakota State* Fargo, N.D. TBA
10/8/16 Youngstown State* Normal, Ill. TBA
10/15/16 Southern Illinois* Normal, Ill. TBA
10/22/16 at South Dakota* Vermillion, S.D. TBA
10/29/16 South Dakota State* Normal, Ill. TBA
11/5/16 at Western Illinois* Macomb, Ill. TBA
11/12/16 Missouri State* Normal, Ill. TBA

*denotes a conference game.

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