The Indiana Hoosiers have added the Western Illinois Leathernecks to their 2024 football schedule, the school announced on Thursday.
Indiana will host Western Illinois at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Ind., on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. The game will mark the first-ever meeting between the two schools on the gridiron.
Western Illinois is a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). However, the Leathernecks are departing the MVFC next season and joining the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC), with football playing in the Big South-OVC Football Association.
“With the opportunity to play a Big 10 program that is within our area, this is good for our program and our alumni who live in the Midwest,” Western Illinois Director of Athletics Paul A. Bubb said. “We’ve played Big 10 opponents in the past, most recently playing at Minnesota in 2022, so this follows with our history of playing schools in the Power 5 that are in our region and teams our fans are familiar with outside of our league.”
In other non-conference action in 2024, Indiana will host the FIU Panthers to open the season on Aug. 31 and will also entertain the Charlotte 49ers in Bloomington on Sept. 21.
Indiana was previously scheduled to visit the Louisville Cardinals in 2024, but that contest, as well as a matchup in 2025 with the Cardinals, have both been canceled.
The announcement of Indiana’s complete 2024 Big Ten football schedule with dates was also made today. The Hoosiers will open Big Ten action on Saturday, Sept. 14 at the Rose Bowl against the UCLA Bruins.
Indiana will also travel to take on Northwestern on Oct. 5, Michigan State on Nov. 2, and Ohio State on Nov. 23. Big Ten foes scheduled to visit Memorial Stadium in 2024 include Maryland on Sept. 28, Nebraska on Oct. 19, Washington on Oct. 26, Michigan on Nov. 9, and Purdue on Nov. 30.
Football Schedules
Every team has dumbed down their schedule so much. I think we will get to a point where the Power 4 conference schools will play no other Power 4 conference schools in non-conference play. This is sad!
Dittos, Dave, Dittos-
“This is sad.”
It’s obvious with all of these mediocre & back of the pack Trust 5 conference Teams canceling competitive games with the other Trust 5 Conference Courtiers to each of their own anointed King-Queen-Prince Franchises.