2020 Northern Illinois at Iowa football game rescheduled for 2026

By Kevin Kelley -

The Northern Illinois Huskies and the Iowa Hawkeyes have agreed to reschedule their postponed football game in 2020 to the 2026 season, FBSchedules.com has learned.

Iowa was scheduled to host Northern Illinois at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa, on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2020, but the game was postponed due to the novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Northern Illinois will now travel to take on Iowa at Kinnick Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026, according to a copy of an amendment to the original contract obtained from the University of Iowa via a state public records request. The guarantee that Iowa will pay Northern Illinois has been raised $500,000 and is now $1.6 million.

The 2026 Iowa-Northern Illinois contest will mark the 11th meeting between the two schools on the gridiron. In their most recent meeting in 2018, Iowa defeated Northern Illinois 33-7 and now leads the overall series 9-1.

Northern Illinois is the first non-conference opponent scheduled for Iowa for the 2026 season.

Northern Illinois was previously scheduled to host Sept. 5, 2026, so the date of that contest will be changed. The Huskies are also scheduled to play at Wake Forest on Sept. 19 and at UMass on a date to be determined that season.

Football Schedules