Illinois Opens Memorial Stadium 100th Anniversary Season Against EIU - University of Illinois Athletics (2024)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. –Illinois opens the Memorial Stadium 100th Anniversary season with an in-state showdown against Eastern Illinois. Kickoff is slated for Thursday at 8 p.m. CT.

Head coach Bret Bielema enters Year 4 at the helm of the program looking for his fourth straight season-opening winwith the Orange and Blue. The Illini have won their season opener in each of Bielema's first three seasons– a 30-22 victory over Nebraska in 2021, a 38-6 triumph against Wyoming in 2022, and a 30-28 win over Toledo in 2023.

Bielema's 2024 squad features a blend of new faces and returning talent on both sides of the ball, andthe Illini named six captains who will represent the team all year long.Illinois was one of the best in the Big Ten at improving its roster in the transfer portal withthree four-star transfers, tied for the sixth-most among the 18-team Big Ten.

Eastern Illinois finished its 2023 seasonwith an 8-3 record, and the Panthers closed the campaign with four consecutive wins. EIU earned votes in the first AFCA FCS Coaches Top 25 poll of the year while being picked to finish second in the Big South-OVC preseason poll.

The Illini and Panthers will square off for the third time on Thursday in their first matchup since 2008. Illinois leads the all-time series, 2-0, after recording a 42-17 win in 2006 and a 47-21 victory in 2008. Both contests were played at Memorial Stadium.

Mark Followill(play-by-play), former Illini All-American linebacker J Leman(analyst), and Kylen Mills(reporter)have the national television broadcaston Big Ten Network. TheBusey Bank Illini Sports Networkhas the radio call with Brian Barnhart, Carey Davis, and Michael Martin.

Press Conference

Game Day at Memorial Stadium

Thursday Night Parking Advisory: With the Illinois football team set to host Eastern Illinois on Thursday night at Memorial Stadium, several updates to parking and tailgating will be enforced. Click here to read the advisory. For information on Memorial Stadium, please visit theGameday Guide.

Air Raid Siren:New for 2024, an Illini celebrity will sound the Illini air raid siren right before kickoff to get the crowd pumped up for the Fighting Illini football team. Former Illini basketball star and recent NBA Draft pick Terrence Shannon Jr. is scheduled to be the first Illini celebrity sounder for the home opener against Eastern Illinois on Aug. 29.

Illini Hour:The popular Illini Hour is returning to Memorial Stadium in 2024. From90 minutes to 30 minutes before kickoff, all hot dogs, non-alcoholic beverages (excluding souvenir cups), and Carbliss and Nutrl seltzers are just $3, and 24 ounce domestic beers will be $7. This week's Illini Hour will run from 6:30-7:30 p.m. CT before the 8 p.m. CT kickoff.

Freaky Fast 77 Yard Dash:"The Galloping Ghost" is returning to Memorial Stadium for Year 2 of The Freaky Fast 77 Yard Dash presented by Jimmy John's.Between the third and fourth quarters, an Illinois student will raceRed Grangeinside the hashes of Zuppke Field at Memorial Stadium. The student racing the modern-day version of Red will have a chance to win free Jimmy John's for a year. Fans can interact and take photos with Red Grange inside Grange Grove on game days beginning three hours prior to kickoff.

100th Anniversary Museum:Illinois hasinstalled a free pop-up museum celebrating the history of Memorial Stadium inside of the Great West Hall. The museum features imagery and artifacts from the greatest moments in Memorial Stadium history.

$4 Hot Dogs:Hot dogs at Memorial Stadium concession stands have been reduced to $4 after being priced at $6 last season.

I FUND, Season Ticket Holder, and ICON Concessions Discount:Fans who purchased or renewed their football season tickets by April 1 received 10% off concessions at all home games during the Memorial Stadium 100th Anniversary season, while I FUND members will receive an additional 5% savings for 15% off at Memorial Stadium concession stands.ICON members receive 15% off at Memorial Stadium concession stands.

ICON On-Field Experience:The ICON Pregame Party, which became popular in the State Farm Center Beer Cave, is now atMemorial Stadium. ICON members at The Quad level and above ($1,000+) will be invited to field level in the south end zone during pregame warmups.

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Notes

IllinoisOpens 2024 Season Against Eastern Illinois
• Illinoislooks to improve to 4-0 in season openers under head coach Bret Bielema. In Bielema's first three seasons, Illinois has defeated Nebraska (2021), Wyoming (2022), and Toledo (2023) in the first games of the season, all at Memorial Stadium.

2024 Fighting IlliniRoster Notes
• Illinois looks to improve to 4-0 in season openers under head coach Bret Bielema. In Bielema's first three seasons, Illinois has defeated Nebraska (2021), Wyoming (2022), and Toledo (2023) in the first games of the season, all at Memorial Stadium. 2024 Fighting Illini Roster Notes
• Illinois was one of the best in the Big Ten at improving its roster in the transfer portal. According to CBS research of 247Sports ratings, the Illini's roster had a net rating gain of +2.78 between transfers in and transfers out, the sixth-best mark in the Big Ten, and that was before Illinois added WR Zakhari Franklin. Franklin is college football's active career leader in receptions (266), receiving yards (3,386), and receiving touchdowns (38).
• Illinois brought in three four-star transfers, tied for the sixth-most among the 18-team Big Ten (CB Terrance Brooks, OL J.C. Davis, WR Zakhari Franklin).
• Illinois' transfer class had an average star rating of 3.18 according to Rivals. The Illini's average rating ranked 14th in the nation and fifth in the Big Ten, behind only Ohio State, Oregon, Michigan, and Washington.
• Illinois has 17 players on its roster who have started 10 or more football games at four-year schools, including nine who are incoming transfers this season. Franklin leads the way with 43 career starts, followed by DL Gentle Hunt (25), Davis (24), and CB Torrie Cox Jr. (23).
• Illinois is one of only 32 teams in the nation to return its head coach, offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator, strength coach, and starting quarterback, according to FootballScoop. The Illini are one of only three Big Ten teams to bring back all five important positions, along with Nebraska and Purdue.
• Illinois has 14 players on its 2024 roster in their final season of eligibility, the tied for the lowest total in the Power-4 with Iowa State. In all of FBS football, only Troy (12) has fewer players in their final season of eligibility.
• Illinois has one of the most experienced offensive line rooms in the Big Ten. The Illini offensive linemen have totaled 96 career starts in Division I football. Transfers J.C. Davis (24, New Mexico), Melvin Priestly (19, Grambling), and Kevin Wigenton II (6, Michigan State) account for 49 career starts. The offensive line room has 168 career games played entering 2024. The line has three returning starters from 2023: Josh Kreutz, Zy Crisler, and Josh Gesky.
• Illinois' 96 career starts on the offensive line rank fourth in the Big Ten, behind only Iowa (165), Nebraska (153), and Oregon (144). The 96 starts ranks 22nd-most in the nation..

Memorial Stadium's 100th Anniversary Season
• Illinois will host a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Memorial Stadium's dedication. Memorial Stadium's Dedication Game famously occurred against Michigan on Oct. 18, 1924, when Illini legend Red Grange gained national headlines after scoring four touchdowns in the first 12 minutes to take down the previously undefeated Wolverines.
• Illinois will honor the history of Memorial Stadium with a number of elements during the 2024 season. Highlights include a free pop-up museum installed in the Great West Hall, the Memorial Stadium 100th Anniversary logo painted on the 25-yard lines throughout the season, and seven commemorative cups sold at concessions matching the eras celebrated by the Illini helmets for each game.
• Illinois is set to host Michigan on Saturday, Oct. 19, 100 years and one day from Grange's historic performance. The game will be marked as Memorial Stadium's "Rededication Game" with the 100th anniversary celebration lasting throughout the year. Illinois will host a rededication ceremony that will be free and open to the public inside Grange Grove at 4 p.m. CT on Friday, Oct. 18. A 100th-anniversary gala will be hosted inside the Colonnades Club inside Memorial Stadium at 5:30 p.m. CT on Friday, Oct. 18.

The Illinois-EIU Series
• Thursday's game will be the third meeting between Illinois and Eastern Illinois.
• Illinois leads the all-time series, 2-0, with wins in 2006 and 2008.
• Illinois' Memorial Stadium and Eastern Illinois' O'Brien Field are separated by only 46 miles.
• Thursday's analyst for Big Ten Network, J Leman, played for the Illini during the two programs' first-ever meeting in 2006. The 2006 Illinois-Eastern Illinois game was Leman's first of 25 games as a team captain for the Illini during his junior and senior seasons (2006-07). Leman had five tackles in the season-opening win over EIU in 2006.

Illinois-EIUConnections
• Eastern Illinois Director of Athletics Tom Michael received both his bachelor's degree (1993) and master's degree (1994) from Illinois. He played four years for the Fighting Illini basketball program from 1991-94, helping the team make two trips to the NCAA Tournament. Following his playing days, Michael worked in his family's business prior to joining the staff at Illinois in 1996. He worked for 12 years in administration, serving as both an associate athletic director and assistant athletic director for student services.
• Fighting Illini offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Barry Lunney Jr. and Eastern Illinois head coach Chris Wilkerson are long-time friends and colleagues dating back to their time together as assistant coaches at San Jose State during the 2003 and 2004 seasons. Lunney served as the Spartans' OC/QB coach, while Wilkerson - who began his stint at SJSU one year earlier - coached both defense and special teams, including serving as defensive coordinator for the 2003 season. Lunney is the Godfather of Wilkerson's oldest son Peyton, a redshirt freshman defensive lineman for the Panthers.
• One of EIU's most famous football alums, Sean Payton, served as an assistant coach for the Fighting Illini in 1996. Payton was the head coach of the New Orleans Saints from 2006-21, highlighted by winning Super Bowl XLIV, and is now the head coach of the Denver Broncos.
• Former Illinois pitcher Jason Anderson, who was the 2000 Big Ten Pitcher of the Year and pitched in 32 games in the Major Leagues, is the head baseball coach at Eastern Illinois.

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