Redbird football announces 2016 game times

Posted on March 21, 2016
Brock Spack
(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 it officially opens the 11-game season that begins on Sep. 3 and features six home contests.

The Redbirds will open the season by hosting Valparaiso, a FCS foe from the Pioneer Football league, at 6 p.m. at Hancock Stadium. ISU will then hit the road Sep. 10 for a tough in-state clash with Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) foe Northwestern in Evanston, Ill. 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 then hosts Eastern Illinois in the 105th meeting of the Mid-America Classic on Family Weekend, which is set to be played on Sep. 17 at noon 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.

A two-game homestand will start Oct. 8 with a Homecoming matchup against Youngstown State at 2 p.m., and the Redbirds will welcome in Southern Illinois on Oct. 15 for CommUniversity at Hancock Stadium, with kickoff set for 6 p.m. An Oct. 29 matchup against South Dakota State will begin at 2 p.m., and ISU will wrap up the regular season Nov. 12 at home against Missouri State for Senior Day, with kickoff slated for noon.

Fans can renew or purchase season tickets online at GoRedbirds.com/tickets. For questions about renewing season tickets, contact the ISU Athletics Ticket Office at (309) 438-8000.

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