The Illinois at Kansas football game previously scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 9 has been moved to Friday, Sept. 8. The game will kick off at 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPN2 in Lawrence.
On May 31, three game times for the Illinois football team's 2023 schedule were set – including a FOX Big Noon Kickoff home showdown against Penn State on Saturday, Sept. 16 at 11 a.m. CT – and three more game times were narrowed to two slots. The Fighting Illini will kick off the season at 6:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, Sept. 2 against Toledo at Memorial Stadium. Illinois will begin the season with back-to-back night games for the first time in program history.
After the Kansas trip, Illinois will return home for the Penn State game in the Illini's Big Ten opener. The FOX Big Noon Kickoff crew and set will roll in to Champaign for the first time since the show began in 2019. The show will preview the day's top games in college football, and provide detailed analysis on the Big Noon Saturday matchup between Illinois and Penn State with Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart, Urban Meyer, Brady Quinn, and Rob Stone on site.
Illinois' other home game time that has been set is a 7 p.m. CT kick on FS1 when Nebraska visits Champaign on Friday, Oct. 6. The Illini's Homecoming game against Wisconsin on Oct. 21 will be in either the 11 a.m. or 2:30/3 p.m. CT slot.
Season tickets for Illinois' seven home games at Memorial Stadium are on sale now at FightingIllini.com. Season ticket holders will enjoy a number of benefits as part of the Illini's new FamILLy First campaign, most notably an average reduction of ticket prices by 17 percent across the stadium highlighted by a $99 season ticket for all seven home games.
With momentum coming off of the team's best season in 15 years, Illinois is building toward one of its most exciting season-long atmospheres at Memorial Stadium in 2023. The Illini have already sold more than 7,000 new season tickets, their most since the 2008 season which followed Illinois' 2008 Rose Bowl Game appearance. Last year's Illini season ticket holders have renewed at a 93 percent rate, also Illinois' best since 2008 and ahead of each of the last two seasons, which finished at 86 percent.
FamILLy First season ticket holder benefits also include game day deals on concessions and merchandise from Gameday Spirit, and savings on golf rounds at Atkins Golf Club at the University of Illinois.
Illinois and its 10 returning All-Big Ten performers finished spring ball practices in April. The Illini have the most All-Big Ten performers returning in the Big Ten West, a year after finishing in second place in the division. Illinois returns 12 starters on offense and defense, including Preseason All-America defensive linemen Jer'Zhan Newton and Keith Randolph Jr., 2022 Freshman All-America OLB Gabe Jacas, and three offensive linemen from the program's first ever Joe Moore Award semifinalist group (Isaiah Adams, Zy Crisler, Julian Pearl).
The 2023 season marks the Big Ten's first with a new set of broadcast partners that will deliver exciting matchups to fans across broadcast, cable, and direct-to-consumer platforms. The Big Ten is the only conference to partner with three broadcast networks – CBS, Fox, and NBC.
Remaining game times will be selected during the in-season 12- and 6-day selection process.
