NORMAL, Ill. – Coming off its second-straight Missouri Valley Football Conference championship, the 2016 Illinois State football team led by head coach Brock Spack will look to put together another title run, when they officially open the 11-game season that begins on Sept. 3 and features six home contests.
The Redbirds will open the season by hosting Valparaiso, a FCS foe from the Pioneer Football league. ISU will then hit the road Sept. 10 for tough in-state clash with Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) foe Northwestern in Evanston, Illinois. The game against the Wildcats will be the second-straight for the Redbirds against a Big Ten Conference opponent and the second meeting all-time against NU, with the other taking place in 2010.