By Eric Stock

BLOOMINGTON – Illinois Wesleyan will get a taste of football in the Far East next month.

Norm Eash’s Titans will travel to Japan for an exhibition game against Waseda University in the Global Bowl Tokyo 2017 on June 4 at Amino Field in Chofu.

“This is our sixth foreign trip for us,” Eash said of his 31 years as head coach. “The other five have been to Europe. I’ve never been to Asia. Our kids are very excited.”

Eash noted one major difference in this foreign trip. The earlier games were against clubs teams.

“I think they will be better (than the teams in Europe),” Eash said. We will have to play well to beat them.”

Waseda lost in the national championship game in Japan’s top division last season. There are more than 200 colleges in Japan playing American football.

Eash said he sees multiple benefits to make the overseas trip. In addition to getting 10 additional team practices, Eash said the experience gives his players a chance to bond.

“When you put kids on an airplane for 15 hours and tour a foreign country for eight straight days, you get to know each other very well,” Eash said. “I think it’s going to give us a competitive edge for the 2017 football season.”

Eash said the team will get to visit with Akito Mizuno, who is the president of Mizuno Corporation and a 1974 IWU alum. He will conduct the coin flip before the game and will be an honorary coach for the game.

Mizuno is also a graduate of Kwansei Gakian, last year’s national champion in Japan.

“I emailed him back and said ‘That’s great! You can now say we’ll beat them and then you can say both schools beat (Waseda),’ ” Eash said.

The Titans will fly out of Chicago direct to Tokyo starting May 31 and will return to Bloomington on June 8.

Eric Stock can be reached at [email protected].