COLUMBIA, Mo. — A future football series between Missouri and Illinois has slimmed from eight games to six and won’t start until 2027.
Illinois athletics director Josh Whitman announced the shift in Thursday remarks to Champaign media. The Tigers and Illini will no longer play each other in 2026 and 2032, he said.
That would likely see the matchups take place in 2027, 2028, 2029, 2033, 2034 and 2035. Locations have not been confirmed for any of those years and could be a combination of games in Columbia, Champaign and a neutral site such as 51ºÚÁÏ â€” where MU and Illinois played during their six meetings between 2002 and 2010.
A Mizzou athletics spokesperson said further details about the future of the series would be released soon.
The last time the Tigers and Illini played was Sept. 4, 2010, a 23-13 Missouri win in the Dome.
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The scheduling shift, on MU’s end, comes as the Southeastern Conference ponders the addition of a ninth league game to its programs’ yearly slates. Mizzou is scheduled to host Arkansas Pine-Bluff and Troy in 2026, plus play at Kansas. Dropping the Illinois fixture from that season would give the Tigers room for another SEC game.
Missouri is also scheduled to face KU on the road in 2032, the other year in which the Illinois series has been canceled. Maximizing the number of home games — which are a key revenue source for major programs — has been a priority, which could be a factor in that decision.
It’s not clear whether Mizzou or Illinois made the initial decision to cut the 2026 and 2032 games.
Mizzou football coach Eli Drinkwitz speaks with the media on Wednesday, April 9, 2025. about the team's quarterback competition. (Video by Mizzou Network, used with permission of Mizzou Athletics)
