The Illinois Fighting Illini will face the Washington Huskies at Soldier Field in Chicago, ESPNChicago.com has reported. Illinois sports information director Kent Brown confirmed the game.
The match-up, which is set for Sept. 14, 2013, was originally scheduled to be played at Memorial Stadium in Champaign. Washington leads the overall series 5-4, but the two schools haven’t met since 1972.
Illinois was previously rumored to face Cincinnati at Soldier Field on Sept. 7, but the school has decided to keep the Bearcats as a home game and face the Huskies instead.
Soldier Field, which is home to the NFL’s Chicago Bears, underwent a $632 million renovation in 2002-03. The stadium currently seats 61,500, which is only 1,372 less than Illinois’ Memorial Stadium.
Illinois opens the 2013 season at home vs. Southern Illinois on Aug. 31. The Illini then host Cincinnati on Sept. 7 before facing Washington. One more non-conference game is needed to complete their 2013 schedule.
Washington opens the season with a visit from Boise State on Aug. 31 and then has an off week before traveling to Chicago. The Huskies then return home to host Idaho State on Sept. 21 in their final non-conference game of the 2013 season.