EIU, Indiana State To Kickoff Football Season Aug. 28

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Published on March 17 2021 6:19 am
Last Updated on March 17 2021 6:19 am

Eastern Illinois and Indiana State will be two of the first teams in action to kickoff the 2021 fall football season as the schools announced they will meet in a Week Zero Game on August 28 to kickoff the fall season.

The game was allowed under an NCAA waiver after Eastern Illinois lost a pair of Ohio Valley Conference games this season when two schools announced they would be departing the OVC this summer.

Indiana State had an opening for a non-conference contest this fall and the two schools were able to work out a date and have a waiver approved.

Kickoff for the game is currently set for 6 p.m. at Memorial Stadium in Terre Haute, Ind.

This will be the 87th meeting between the two schools located just 54 miles apart.  EIU leads the all-time series, which was first played in 1901, 43-39-4. The Sycamores have won the last two meetings in the series.

EIU is currently playing a spring Ohio Valley Conference schedule with the Panthers set to host Tennessee Tech this Sunday at 1 p.m. at O’Brien Field.  Indiana State opted out of participating in the Missouri Valley Football Conference schedule of games this spring.

This becomes the fourth game announced for the Panthers 2021 schedule with the restructured OVC schedule set to be released in the near future.   After the week zero game at Indiana State, EIU will play Sept. 4 at South Carolina followed by a Sept. 11 contest at Dayton.

EIU’s 2021 home opener will be Sept. 18 against Illinois State in the 109th Mid-America Classic.