Quote:CHAMPAIGN — The Illinois football team is going to play another away game against Western Michigan. But this time, not in Detroit.

Illinois has scheduled a 2016 game at Waldo Stadium in Kalamazoo, Mich. The teams are set to meet Sept. 3 that year at the 30,000-seat building.

Illinois played Western Michigan at Detroit's Ford Field in 2008, losing 23-17 in a game that cost the Illini a bowl bid. The Juice Williams-led team finished 5-7, one victory short of bowl eligibility a year after playing in the Rose Bowl.

For the 2016 game, Illinois will be paid $400,000, the same amount being paid Western Michigan for a Sept. 1, 2012 game at Memorial Stadium. The teams are also playing at Memorial Stadium during the 2011 season, with the Broncos serving as the final nonconference game for Ron Zook's team.

The 2016 game will use Big Ten officials. It will be the first game in Illinois history at a MAC school's home stadium.

Illinois has played against the MAC on a semi-regular basis, going 12-4 all time against current MAC members Akron, Ball State, Miami, Northern Illinois, Ohio and Western Michigan. The four losses came against Ohio (thrice) and Western Michigan.

Illini to play at Western Michigan

Our beat writer added this info;

Quote:This week Illinois announced it'll open the 2016 season at Western Michigan in a Labor Day weekend game set for Waldo Stadium, the return date in a home-and-home series that begins with a previously announced game in 2012 in Champaign, Ill.

MSU and Illinois are the second and third Big Ten programs ever to play at Waldo Stadium, following only Indiana's visit in 2007.

Western Michigan football to host Illinois in 2016

MSU will visit in 2015, tentatively scheduled for Sept. 12.

Maybe our AD has been talking with Toledo's AD or others about how they are able to schedule the way they do. It may not be Boise St. or even Arizona but hey, it's a start.

Nice get for the Broncos. So it looks like it is basically a home and home 2012 & 2016, against a beatable Big Ten team. I have wanted to see Illinois on the Rockets' schedule for awhile now to no avail.

nice get for the Broncos!

I knew Illinois occasionally played MAC schools, but until I saw this, I had assumed they had done a road game at some point.

Quote:It will be the first game in Illinois history at a MAC school's home stadium.

(04-12-2011 05:44 PM)Motown Bronco Wrote:  I knew Illinois occasionally played MAC schools, but until I saw this, I had assumed they had done a road game at some point.

Quote:It will be the first game in Illinois history at a MAC school's home stadium.

Congrats! Take em down. I went to Kalamazoo this year to watch the Rockets game, and the stadium was plenty big enough. They could forsure get big schools to come there and play. I expect WMU to be good in the next few years too, so the more attention they get, the more teams will want to play em.

Any BCS game at home is a good thing. Way to go, Broncos!

Good get! Hope it doesn't rain.

Good job by WMU. Hopefully their home game doesn't get bought out before it ever happens, the sort of thing that seems to happen to NIU. We can't even get U of I to play in DeKalb.

(04-13-2011 10:42 AM)NIU007 Wrote:  Good job by WMU. Hopefully their home game doesn't get bought out before it ever happens, the sort of thing that seems to happen to NIU. We can't even get U of I to play in DeKalb.

Agreed. Any time that NIU gets a good home-and-home, it either ends up at Soldier Field or the other team backs out and says "Hey, here's $20 to forget the whole thing." Great get for the Broncos though.... if that doesn't happen.

(04-17-2011 08:50 PM)psc2009 Wrote:  

(04-13-2011 10:42 AM)NIU007 Wrote:  Good job by WMU. Hopefully their home game doesn't get bought out before it ever happens, the sort of thing that seems to happen to NIU. We can't even get U of I to play in DeKalb.

Agreed. Any time that NIU gets a good home-and-home, it either ends up at Soldier Field or the other team backs out and says "Hey, here's $20 to forget the whole thing." Great get for the Broncos though.... if that doesn't happen.

Somewhat similar, CMU had a 2-1 with Indiana. The first game was played at their place then they bailed out of their commitment to come to CMU. When our AD told them to take a leap (we are not going to IU) they try to sue CMU for breach of contract. It's still in dispute.