University of Illinois Homecoming
Last updated following the 2025 season• The first homecoming celebrated on Illinois’ campus was on Oct. 15, 1910, which the Illini won 3-0 over Chicago.
• Illinois boasts being one of the first universities to celebrate Homecoming, a tradition on almost every college campus. It was conceived in 1909 by students C.F. Williams and W. Elmer Ekblaw, members of the Shield and Trident senior society. They joined with another society, Phoenix, to organize the three-day event.
• For years, there has been a debate over which university had the first homecoming. Historians from various schools found research that puts Illinois among one of the first five universities to celebrate the Homecoming tradition. Baylor has documented proof of a formally named Homecoming celebration in 1909, but took a six-year hiatus before celebrating the second event at the school in 1915. Northern Illinois had alumni events beginning in 1903, but didn’t use the proper noun “Homecoming” until 1911. Indiana University renamed their 1909 Gala Day to Homecoming on Nov. 5, 1910, and Michigan began inviting alumni back to campus in 1897, but the formal name began on the Ann Arbor campus in 1916.
• Illinois has an all-time record of 49-64-2 on Homecoming entering the 2026 season.
| Homecoming Scores | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date | Score | Attendance |
| 10/15/10 | Illinois 3, Chicago 0 | N/A |
| 11/25/11 | Minnesota 11, Illinois 0 | N/A |
| 11/16/12 | Chicago 10, Illinois 0 | N/A |
| 11/15/13 | Illinois 0, Purdue 0 | N/A |
| 11/14/14 | Illinois 21, Chicago 7 | N/A |
| 10/30/15 | Illinois 6, Minnesota 6 | N/A |
| 11/18/16 | Chicago 20, Illinois 7 | N/A |
| 10/20/17 | Illinois 7, Wisconsin 0 | N/A |
| 1918 | No Homecoming due to flu pandemic | N/A |
| 11/1/19 | Illinois 10, Chicago 0 | 16,000 |
| 10/30/20 | Illinois 17, Minnesota 7 | 15,265 |
| 11/12/21 | Chicago 14, Illinois 6 | 18,872 |
| 10/21/22 | Iowa 8, Illinois 7 | 18,784 |
| 11/3/23 | Illinois 7, Chicago 0* | 60,632 |
| 10/18/24 | Illinois 39, Michigan 14# | 66,609 |
| 10/24/25 | Michigan 3, Illinois 0 | 67,886 |
| 10/16/26 | Illinois 13, Iowa 6 | 42,555 |
| 10/29/27 | Illinois 14, Michigan 0 | 63,101 |
| 10/27/28 | Illinois 6, Northwestern 0 | 59,871 |
| 10/26/29 | Illinois 14, Michigan 0 | 54,333 |
| 10/18/30 | Northwestern 32, Illinois 0 | 52,687 |
| 10/24/31 | Michigan 35, Illinois 0 | 35,000 |
| 10/15/32 | Northwestern 26, Illinois 0 | 25,000 |
| 10/14/33 | Illinois 21, Wisconsin 0 | 19,000 |
| 10/13/34 | Illinois 14, Ohio State 13 | 24,800 |
| 11/9/35 | Illinois 3, Michigan 0 | 35,000 |
| 10/24/36 | (7) Northwestern 13, Illinois 2 | 27,000 |
| 10/30/37 | Michigan 7, Illinois 6 | 29,000 |
| 10/22/38 | (17) Northwestern 13, Illinois 0 | 37,000 |
| 11/4/39 | Illinois 16, (20) Michigan 7 | 31,000 |
| 10/26/40 | Notre Dame 26, Illinois 0 | 63,189 |
| 11/1/41 | (5) Michigan 20, Illinois 0 | 30,010 |
| 10/10/42 | Illinois 20, (19) Minnesota 13 | 24,276 |
| 10/30/43 | Michigan 42, Illinois 6 | 13,500 |
| 10/28/44 | (9) Notre Dame 13, Illinois 7 | 65,114 |
| 10/27/45 | (6) Michigan 19, Illinois 0 | 54,572 |
| 10/19/46 | (5) Illinois 27, Wisconsin 21 | 62,597 |
| 11/1/47 | (2) Michigan 14, Illinois 7 | 71,119 |
| 11/13/48 | Ohio State 34, Illinois 7 | 65,732 |
| 11/19/49 | Northwestern 9, Illinois 7 | 67,872 |
| 10/28/50 | (13) Illinois 20, Indiana 0 | 65,021 |
| 11/10/51 | (4) Illinois 40, Iowa 13 | 56,444 |
| 10/25/52 | (18) Purdue 40, Illinois 12 | 71,119 |
| 11/7/53 | (7) Illinois 19, (20) Michigan 3 | 71,119 |
| 11/13/54 | (9) Wisconsin 27, Illinois 14 | 71,119 |
| 10/29/55 | Purdue 13, Illinois 0 | 61,262 |
| 10/27/56 | Illinois 20, (1) Michigan State 13 | 71,119 |
| 10/19/57 | Illinois 34, Minnesota 13 | 69,619 |
| 10/25/58 | Illinois 16, Michigan State 0 | 68,811 |
| 10/17/59 | (13) Illinois 14, Minnesota 6 | 57,485 |
| 10/8/60 | (8) Ohio State 34, Illinois 7 | 71,119 |
| 10/21/61 | (6) Minnesota 33, Illinois 0 | 52,247 |
| 10/13/62 | Ohio State 51, Illinois 15 | 56,017 |
| 10/19/63 | (3) Illinois 16, Minnesota 6 | 61,229 |
| 10/10/64 | (9) Ohio State 26, Illinois 0 | 71,227 |
| 10/16/65 | Illinois 34, Indiana 13 | 61,257 |
| 10/22/66 | Stanford 6, Illinois 3 | 56,561 |
| 10/14/67 | Minnesota 10, Illinois 7 | 56,103 |
| 10/26/68 | (1) Ohio State 31, Illinois 24 | 56,174 |
| 11/1/69 | (18) Purdue 49, Illinois 22 | 51,299 |
| 10/17/70 | Indiana 30, Illinois 24 | 42,708 |
| 10/23/71 | Illinois 21, Purdue 7 | 52,344 |
| 10/21/72 | (6) Michigan 31, Illinois 7 | 64,290 |
| 10/27/73 | Illinois 50, Iowa 0 | 46,869 |
| 11/9/74 | (3) Michigan 14, Illinois 6 | 60,670 |
| 10/18/75 | Purdue 26, Illinois 24 | 61,204 |
| 10/30/76 | Illinois 31, Wisconsin 25 | 54,121 |
| 11/5/77 | (11) Ohio State 35, Illinois 0 | 66,973 |
| 11/4/78 | (12) Michigan State 59, Illinois 19 | 48,077 |
| 10/6/79 | Iowa 13, Illinois 7 | 51,044 |
| 11/1/80 | Minnesota 21, Illinois 18 | 51,202 |
| 10/24/81 | Illinois 23, Wisconsin 21 | 67,413 |
| 10/16/82 | (12) Ohio State 26, Illinois 21 | 73,488 |
| 10/15/83 | (19) Illinois 17, (6) Ohio State 13 | 73,414 |
| 11/3/84 | Illinois 48, Minnesota 3 | 76,056 |
| 10/26/85 | Illinois 38, Wisconsin 25 | 76,395 |
| 10/18/86 | Michigan State 29, Illinois 21 | 75,083 |
| 10/31/87 | Illinois 27, Minnesota 17 | 60,143 |
| 10/22/88 | Michigan State 28, Illinois 21 | 65,771 |
| 10/28/89 | (10) Illinois 32, Wisconsin 9 | 64,856 |
| 10/20/90 | (25) Illinois 15, (16) Michigan State 13 | 70,398 |
| 10/5/91 | Illinois 24, Minnesota 3 | 57,981 |
| 10/24/92 | Northwestern 27, Illinois 26 | 52,332 |
| 10/30/93 | Illinois 20, Northwestern 13 | 49,940 |
| 10/1/94 | Purdue 22, Illinois 16 | 58,338 |
| 10/28/95 | (8) Northwestern 17, Illinois 14 | 65,425 |
| 11/2/96 | (25) Iowa 31, Illinois 21 | 54,381 |
| 10/25/97 | (22) Purdue 48, Illinois 3 | 45,122 |
| 10/17/98 | (9) Wisconsin 37, Illinois 3 | 40,627 |
| 10/16/99 | Minnesota 37, Illinois 7 | 49,152 |
| 10/14/2000 | Illinois 31, Iowa 0 | 62,639 |
| 10/20/2001 | Illinois 42, Wisconsin 35 | 70,904 |
| 10/26/2002 | Illinois 45, Indiana 14 | 50,295 |
| 10/25/2003 | Minnesota 36, Illinois 10 | 46,407 |
| 10/30/2004 | (23) Iowa 23, Illinois 13 | 47,651 |
| 10/22/2005 | (12) Penn State 63, Illinois 10 | 52,633 |
| 10/7/2006 | Indiana 34, Illinois 32 | 43,006 |
| 10/27/2007 | Illinois 28, Ball State 17 | 55,578 |
| 10/11/2008 | Minnesota 27, Illinois 20 | 62,870 |
| 10/10/2009 | Michigan State 24, Illinois 14 | 62,870 |
| 10/23/2010 | Illinois 43, Indiana 13 | 53,550 |
| 10/1/2011 | Illinois 38, Northwestern 35 | 53,243 |
| 10/27/2012 | Indiana 31, Illinois 17 | 47,981 |
| 10/26/2013 | Michigan State 42, Illinois 3 | 45,895 |
| 10/25/2014 | Illinois 28, Minnesota 24 | 44,437 |
| 10/24/2015 | Wisconsin 24, Illinois 13 | 45,438 |
| 10/29/2016 | Minnesota 40, Illinois 17 | 40,090 |
| 10/28/2017 | (5) Wisconsin 24, Illinois 10 | 42,101 |
| 10/13/2018 | Purdue 46, Illinois 7 | 41,966 |
| 10/19/2019 | Illinois 24, (6) Wisconsin 23 | 37,363 |
| 12/5/2020 | (19) Iowa 35, Illinois 21 | 875 c |
| 10/9/2021 | Wisconsin 24, Illinois 0 | 40,168 |
| 10/15/2022 | (24) Illinois 25, Minnesota 14 | 45,683 |
| 10/21/2023 | Wisconsin 25, Illinois 21 | 54,205 |
| 9/14/2024 | Illinois 30, Central Michigan 9 | 51,498 |
| 9/27/2025 | (23) Illinois 34, (21) USC 32 | 60,670 |
* - 1st game in Memorial Stadium
# - Dedication Game
c - Attendance limited due to COVID-19 pandemic
Note: Numbers in parentheses indicate team ranking.
