The Oklahoma Sooners have added the Illinois State Redbirds to their 2023 football schedule, FBSchedules.com has learned.
A copy of the football game contract was obtained from Illinois State University via a state Freedom of Information Act request.
Oklahoma will host Illinois State at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., on September 2, 2023. The Sooners will pay the Redbirds a $625,000 guarantee for the contest, according to the copy of the contract.
The 2023 Oklahoma State-Illinois State game will mark the first-ever meeting between the two schools on the gridiron.
Illinois State is a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). The Redbirds are currently tied for second-place in conference play at 3-1 (6-2 overall).
Illinois State is the second known non-conference opponent for the Oklahoma Sooners in 2023. The Sooners are also scheduled to host the Georgia Bulldogs on Sept. 9 that season, which is the first game of a home-and-home series that doesn’t conclude until 2031 in Athens, Ga.
In Big 12 Conference action in 2023, Oklahoma is scheduled to host Iowa State, TCU, Texas Tech, and West Virginia and play at Baylor, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, and Texas (in Dallas).
Oklahoma is the second non-conference opponent scheduled for Illinois State for the 2023 season. The Redbirds are also scheduled to play at the Eastern Illinois Panthers on Sept. 16.
Football Schedules