The Indiana State Sycamores have added the McKendree Bearcats and Ball State Cardinals to their future football schedules, FBSchedules.com has learned.
Copies of contracts for football games with McKendree University and Ball State University were obtained from Indiana State University via a state public records request.
Indiana State will host McKendree at Memorial Stadium in Terre Haute, Ind., on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025. The Sycamores will pay the Bearcats a $60,000 guarantee for playing the game, according to the copy of the contract.
McKendree University, located in Lebanon, Ill., is a member of the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) in Division II. The Bearcats have never played Indiana State in football.
With the addition of McKendree, Indiana State has tentatively completed its non-conference schedule for the 2025 season. After opening against McKendree, the Sycamores are slated to host the Eastern Illinois Panthers on Sept. 6 before traveling for consecutive games against the Indiana Hoosiers on Sept. 13 and the Montana Grizzlies on Sept. 20.
Indiana State will travel to take on a familiar foe, the Ball State Cardinals, on Sept. 9, 2028 at Scheumann Stadium in Muncie, Ind. The Sycamores will receive a $350,000 guarantee for the contest, per the contract copy.
Indiana State and Ball State met most recently on the gridiron in Muncie during the 2023 season. The Cardinals won that contest, 45-7, and now enjoy a 15-game advantage in the overall series, 39-24-1.
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