ST. LOUIS – The Illinois State football program will now open its unprecedented 2021 spring season on Feb. 20 at Missouri State, as the Missouri Valley Football Conference announced its revamped spring conference slate Thursday afternoon.
In its unwavering commitment to providing meaningful and safe competitive opportunities for the Conference's student-athletes, the MVFC will play a full 8-game schedule which features 40 league games over eight-straight weekends (Feb. 19-April 10). Start times and television network clearances for Illinois State will be announced later. Â
After beginning the season on the road in Springfield, Missouri, against the Bears, the Redbirds will host South Dakota at Hancock Stadium (Feb. 27). ISU will then play three of its next four games on the road against some of the best teams in the FCS, with road contests at preseason No. 3 ranked UNI (March 6), preseason No. 1 North Dakota State (March 13) and preseason No. 5 South Dakota State (March 27). A home game against Western Illinois (March 20) will be the lone contest in Normal for the Redbirds during the month.
ISU will end the regular season with home games against Southern Illinois (April 3) and new MVFC member North Dakota (April 10). The MVFC will hold Saturday, April 17, as a rescheduling window in the event of a postponement, prior to the start of the NCAA Division I Football Championship, which begins with games on Saturday, April 24.
As Illinois State Athletics continues to receive state and local guideline updates regarding outdoor event capacity, further information will be made available.
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