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University of Illinois Athletics

University of Illinois Homecoming

Last updated following the 2024 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 48-64-2 on Homecoming entering the 2025 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

* - 1st game in Memorial Stadium
# - ­Dedication Game
c - ­Attendance limited due to COVID-19 pandemic
Note: Numbers in parentheses indicate team ranking.