The Southern Illinois Salukis have added a home game against the Thomas More Saints, which completes their football schedule for the 2025 season.
Southern Illinois will open the 2025 season at home against Thomas More of Division II on Saturday, Aug. 30 at Saluki Stadium in Carbondale, Ill.
The Salukis will then travel for three consecutive non-conference games in a three-week span. Southern Illinois will visit the Purdue Boilermakers on Sept. 6, UT Martin Skyhawks on Sept. 13, and Southeast Missouri Redhawks on Sept. 20.
Following an open date, Southern Illinois begins Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) action at home against Indiana State on Oct. 4. Other MVFC opponents slated to visit Carbondale this fall include North Dakota on Oct. 18, Northern Iowa on Oct. 25, and South Dakota on Nov. 15.
The Salukis will travel to face MVFC foes North Dakota State on Oct. 11, Murray State on Nov. 1, Youngstown State on Nov. 8, and Illinois State on Nov. 22.
Below is Southern Illinois’s complete 2025 football schedule, plus a link to their schedule page which will be updated with kickoff times and TV as they are announced:
2025 Southern Illinois Football Schedule
08/30 – Thomas More
09/06 – at Purdue
09/13 – at UT Martin
09/20 – at Southeast Missouri
09/27 – OFF
10/04 – Indiana State*
10/11 – at North Dakota State*
10/18 – North Dakota*
10/25 – Northern Iowa*
11/01 – at Murray State*
11/08 – at Youngstown State*
11/15 – South Dakota*
11/22 – at Illinois State*
* MVFC contest.
Southern Illinois finished the 2024 season 4-8 overall and 2-6 in MVFC play. The Salukis are entering their 10th season under head coach Nick Hill, who has a 48-56 overall record and three FCS Playoff appearances at the school.
I thought SIU would schedule Tennessee Tech for that date, but I can understand why they went with a D2 school, as they have a pretty stacked non-conference slate already (an FBS school and 2 FCS playoff teams).
My guess would be the two available FCS schools for that date, Tennessee Tech and Villanova, refused to play at Southern Illinois. The Salukis had to have a fifth home game. Hopefully they won’t need that win for playoff qualification.