Illinois Replaces Missouri Games With Notre Dame Series
Illinois will drop its 2027 and 2028 football games against Missouri to schedule a home-and-home series with Notre Dame, Illinois athletic director Josh Whitman announced on November 3.
Illinois is removing two games against Missouri from its football schedule, replacing the 2027 and 2028 matchups with a home-and-home series against Notre Dame. Whitman said he had wanted to add Notre Dame to the schedule since joining Illinois in 2016.
Missouri athletic director Laird Veatch said the school was disappointed Illinois had withdrawn from several future games, including a 2027 home game in Columbia. Missouri is examining its options in response, he said.
The schools first agreed to play four times from 2026 through 2029 in 2017. They expanded the arrangement to eight games in 2020, then reduced it to six in 2025. The 2027 and 2028 games are now off the schedule; the status of the remaining planned matchups has not been settled.
Missouri’s 2027 nonconference slate currently includes Illinois State at home, San Diego State on the road and Florida Atlantic at home. The Border War series with Kansas is paused until 2031. Illinois and Missouri last met in 2010, when Missouri won 23-13 in St. Louis; Missouri has won six straight in the series, and Illinois’ last victory came in 1994.