The Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Illinois Fighting Illini have scheduled a home-and-home football series for the 2027 and 2028 seasons, according to an official announcement Tuesday.
Notre Dame will open the series at home, hosting Illinois at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Ind., on Sept. 4, 2027. The matchup will then shift to Champaign, Ill., where the Fighting Illini will host the Fighting Irish at Memorial Stadium on Sept. 2, 2028.
“This is a series I have wanted to get on the football schedule since I arrived in 2016,” said Illinois Director of Athletics Josh Whitman. “It has been too long since these two tradition-rich programs have met, given our proximity, common values, and deep roots in Chicago and throughout the Midwest. We expect to see a lot of Orange and Blue next year in South Bend and believe the 2028 matchup in Champaign will be one of our most anticipated home games in decades. Thank you to Notre Dame, Pete Bevacqua, Ron Powlus, and Coach Freeman for helping to make this exciting series a reality.”
Illinois and Notre Dame have met 12 times on the gridiron, with the Fighting Irish owning an 11-0-1 advantage in the all-time series. The programs last squared off in 1968 in South Bend, when Notre Dame rolled to a 58-8 victory to extend its winning streak against Illinois to 10 consecutive games.
The agreement with Illinois comes after Notre Dame announced a pause in its rivalry series with Purdue for the 2027 and 2028 seasons earlier Tuesday. With the addition of the Fighting Illini, the Fighting Irish now have 12 opponents scheduled for the 2027 season, barring any further changes.
Illinois, meanwhile, will replace previously scheduled games against Missouri in both 2027 and 2028 with the Notre Dame series. The Illini also announced the addition of FIU, which will visit Champaign for a season-opening matchup on Aug. 28, 2027.