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Redbird
football returns to Champaign in 2009
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[DEC. 21, 2005]
NORMAL -- In 2003, Illinois State played in front
of 56,304 fans at Illinois' Memorial Stadium -- the largest crowd to
ever see a Redbird football game. That game marked the first time
that Illinois State and Illinois faced each other on the gridiron in
59 years, but with the overwhelming support and regional interest
the series has been renewed for a second meeting in Champaign, on
Sept. 12, 2009.
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The contest in 2009 will mark the third meeting between the two
programs. ISU compiled 511 yards of total offense against the Illini
in a 49-22 defeat in 2003. The Redbirds' Dwayne Smith claimed the
Memorial Stadium record with 14 catches for 243 yards during the
game. The Illini also won the first game of the series, a 79-0 rout
in 1944. Heading into the 2006 season, ISU has faced at least one
Division I-A opponent in the last 11 campaigns and has already
scheduled Kansas State for 2006, Missouri for 2007 and now Illinois
for 2009. Not only have the 'Birds gone 11 straight seasons with a
I-A team on the schedule, but since 2002 their I-A opponent has been
a member of the Big Ten or the Big 12 Conference and it appears that
trend will continue.
[Todd Kober,
assistant athletics director, media relations,
Illinois
State University]
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