Illinois–Indiana rivalry

Illinois–Indiana rivalry
Sport

The Illinois–Indiana rivalry is a college sports rivalry between the University of Illinois Fighting Illini and the Indiana University Hoosiers. The rivalry between these bordering-state schools dates back to 1899 when the Indiana Hoosiers joined the Big Ten Conference of which Illinois is a founding member. The rivalry is most prominent in men's basketball, where both teams are perennial contenders of the Big Ten Championship. In football, the rivalry is less intense, but notable for the two school's geographic proximity, the history and longevity of the series with 74 total meetings dating back to 1899 and their status as a previously "protected rivalry" in the Big Ten.

This multi-sports rivalry is further hallmarked by the two schools' similarities. Both schools are flagship universities in bordering states in the Midwest, both schools start with the letter "I", both schools are longtime members of the Big Ten Conference, both school's mascots are named after their respective state's demonym and both schools play their home football games in a stadium named "Memorial Stadium." Additionally, in basketball, the Indiana Hoosiers play their home games in Assembly Hall while the Illinois Fighting Illini play their home games in State Farm Center, which was formerly named Assembly Hall.

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Locations of Illinois and Indiana

Men's basketball

Illinois and Indiana first met on January 20, 1906, with an Illinois victory, 27–24. The location of the game alternates between Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington and the State Farm Center, formerly Assembly Hall, in Champaign. There have been a total of five overtime games in this series.

In mid-1980s Indiana head coach Bob Knight brought allegations to the NCAA that Illinois assistant coaches had acted improperly in the recruitment of Lowell Hamilton. Hamilton was the focus of a recruiting competition between Illinois and Indiana, and while the allegations of improper conduct were unfounded by the NCAA, the controversy had some level of impact on the games at the time.

Illinois–Indiana men's basketball rivalry
SportCollege basketball
First meetingJanuary 20, 1906
Illinois 27 – Indiana 24
Latest meetingFebruary 15, 2026
Illinois 71 – Indiana 51
StadiumsState Farm Center,
Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall
Statistics
Total meetings190
All-time series
Indiana leads, 96–94
Largest victory
Indiana, 107–67 (1974)
Longest win streak
Indiana, 9 (1972–1977)
Current win streak
Illinois, 3 (2024–present)

On March 10, 1991, after an Indiana victory in Champaign, a profanity-laced shouting match between Knight and Fighting Illini coach Lou Henson erupted outside the team locker rooms. The incident started when Knight left the Assembly Hall court with seven seconds remaining in the game, skipping the traditional postgame handshake while laughing and waving to the Illinois crowd. This incident enraged Henson to the point of confronting Knight outside of the locker room. Henson's anger continued as he spoke out against Knight at the postgame press conference.

"What do you expect out of Knight? He`s a classic bully. I was in the (Indiana) locker room, he jumped on me and I wanted him to come outside. He intimidates the Big 10 office; he tries to intimidate everybody. His entire life is based on intimidation, but the big bully won`t intimidate me."

— Lou Henson

In a game at Bloomington on February 25, 1998, Indiana head coach Bob Knight was issued two technical fouls by referee Ted Valentine for first arguing a call after a hard collision between Illinois guard Sergio McClain and Indiana guard Luke Recker in which McClain was issued a technical foul for touching the rim after blocking Recker's shot. Coach Knight argued the call should have been goaltending. From the collision, Recker fell hard to the court in pain. To check on his player, Coach Knight rushed to the court for which he was issued the second technical foul by Valentine.

Occasional feuds and incidents between the schools' programs have fueled the competition over the years. Illinois has dominated Indiana in the short history of the Big Ten tournament. Since the onset of the conference tournament, Illinois and Indiana have played a total of 9 times. Illinois holds the record of 6–3 over Indiana. In the 1999 Big Ten tournament the Hoosiers and the Illini faced each other and Illinois won the game 82–66. Illinois would go on to win 4 of the next 5 tournament meetings.

Another feud is less focused on the tension between the two schools, but rather a former Illinois head coach and his ties to Indiana. Bruce Weber coached the Fighting Illini from 2003 to 2012, but the history between Weber and Indiana began before he set foot in Champaign. As head coach at Southern Illinois University for five years from 1998 to 2003, he scheduled some non-conference meetings against Indiana. Before that, Weber served as an assistant coach under Gene Keady at Purdue University for 18 years. During his tenure at Illinois, Weber noted that there was tension between himself and Indiana (see Indiana–Purdue rivalry).

In 2007 there was a recruiting battle between the schools over Indiana Mr. Basketball, Eric Gordon. Gordon initially verbally committed to play for Illinois. However, when Mike Davis resigned as Indiana's head coach and Kelvin Sampson was hired, Gordon decommitted and signed his National Letter of Intent to play for Indiana.

TeamIllinoisIndiana
National titles05
Final Four appearances58
NCAA Tournament appearances3241
NCAA Tournament record42-3468-36
Big Ten tournament titles30
Big Ten regular season titles1822
Consensus First Team All-Americans1616
Naismith Players of the Year02
Big Ten Players of the Year36
Big Ten Medal of Honor Recipients1916
All-time program record1876-10541909-1106
All-time winning percentage.640.633

Game results

Illinois victoriesIndiana victoriesTie games

By decade (through 2026)

Illinois advantage Indiana advantageTie
DecadeIllinoisIndiana
1900 32
1910 102
192046
193067
1940 65
195099
196068
1970612
1980812
1990812
2000 147
2010711
202073
Total9496

Football

Illinois–Indiana football rivalry
SportAmerican football
First meetingOctober 14, 1899
Indiana 5, Illinois 0
Latest meetingSeptember 20, 2025
Indiana 63, Illinois 10
Next meeting2027
StadiumsGies Memorial Stadium (Illinois)
Memorial Stadium (Indiana)
TrophyNone
Statistics
Total meetings74
All-time series
Illinois leads 46–26–2
Largest victory
Indiana, 63–10 (2025)
Longest win streak
Illinois, 6 (1981–86)
Current win streak
Indiana, 1 (2025–present)

From 2014 to 2023, the Illinois Fighting Illini and the Indiana Hoosiers were in opposite divisions within the Big Ten Conference (Indiana was in the East Division and Illinois was in the West Division). For this reason, the two teams were not required to play each other every season, whereas if they had been in the same division, there would have been annual meetings. From 2011 to 2013, the two teams were "protected rivals" as members of the Big Ten's non-geographically organized "Leaders" division, which required them to play annually. The conference eliminated its divisional format for 2024 and beyond; only protected rivalries now compete annually, and Illinois–Indiana was not included as a protected rivalry, dropped in favor of Illinois–Purdue.

Game results

Illinois victoriesIndiana victoriesTie games

By decade (through 2025)

Illinois advantage Indiana advantageTie
DecadeIllinoisIndianaTie
1890s1
1900s 611
1910s 41
1920s 1
1930s22
1940s22
1950s 21
1960s33
1970s 53
1980s 82
1990s 42
2000s 64
2010s23
2020s12
Total 46262

See also

References

  1. ↑ TATE, LOREN (January 22, 2023). "Tate | Has Illinois-Indiana rivalry lost its appeal to fans?". The News-Gazette. Archived from the original on January 22, 2023. Retrieved July 4, 2024.
  2. ↑ "Big Ten |". Big Ten Conference. Archived from the original on May 19, 2024. Retrieved July 4, 2024.
  3. ↑ "Looking back at Big Ten's Legends and Leaders". www.thegazette.com. Archived from the original on April 27, 2022. Retrieved July 5, 2024.
  4. ↑ "Happy Valley Insider - Big Ten sets divisions, protected rivalry games". pennstate.rivals.com. September 1, 2010. Archived from the original on July 5, 2024. Retrieved July 5, 2024.
  5. ↑ "Maisel: Living memorials". ESPN.com. November 11, 2009. Archived from the original on November 30, 2023. Retrieved July 5, 2024.
  6. 1 2 "Illinois Basketball: The Indiana Rivalry Over the Years". Writing Illini. January 18, 2015. Archived from the original on July 4, 2024. Retrieved December 19, 2015.
  7. ↑ Tate, Loren (January 8, 2009). "Intense rivalry cools, but a fire still burns". News Gazette. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved December 21, 2015.
  8. ↑ Isaacson, Melissa (March 11, 1991). "KNIGHT, HENSON SQUARE OFF". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on February 23, 2023. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  9. ↑ Davis, Seth (March 25, 2013). "The Hell of Fame". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved December 21, 2015.
  10. ↑ Klee, Paul (February 9, 2012). "Klee: Illini to get earful at Indiana". The News-Gazette. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved December 19, 2015.
  11. ↑ "Indianapolis standout commits to Illini early". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. December 1, 2005. Archived from the original on July 4, 2024. Retrieved January 1, 2008.
  12. ↑ Rabjohns, Jeff (October 13, 2006). "Prep star Eric Gordon changes mind, makes move to Hoosiers". USA Today. Archived from the original on May 23, 2008. Retrieved January 1, 2008.
  13. ↑ "Illinois Fighting Illini Men's Basketball School History". Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on February 23, 2023. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  14. ↑ "Indiana Hoosiers Men's Basketball School History". Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on February 22, 2023. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 "Illinois Fighting Illini Index". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on February 23, 2023. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 "Indiana Hoosiers Index". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on February 23, 2023. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  17. ↑ "Big Ten tournament All-Time Results" (PDF). BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 30, 2022. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  18. ↑ "Big Ten Conference Sports References". Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on August 19, 2022. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  19. ↑ "NCAA College Basketball AP All-America Teams". Basketball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on September 4, 2011. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  20. ↑ "Naismith Award Records". NaismithTrophy.com. Archived from the original on March 30, 2023. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  21. ↑ "Big Ten Player of the Year" (PDF). BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 30, 2022. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  22. ↑ "Big Ten Medal of Honor" (PDF). BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 30, 2022. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  23. ↑ "Illinois Fighting Illini Index". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on February 23, 2023. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  24. ↑ "Indiana Hoosiers Index". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on February 22, 2023. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
  25. ↑ Staff, BMTN (April 28, 2013). "Big Ten football moving to East and West divisions in 2014". Sports Illustrated Minnesota Sports, News, Analysis, and More. Archived from the original on May 16, 2024. Retrieved July 4, 2024.
  26. ↑ Meyer, Craig. "Big Ten football championship history: From Leaders and Legends divisions, to East and West". Detroit Free Press. Archived from the original on December 18, 2023. Retrieved July 4, 2024.
  27. ↑ staff, BTN com (April 28, 2013). "East meets West: Big Ten unveils new divisions". Archived from the original on December 9, 2023. Retrieved July 4, 2024.
  28. ↑ "Big Ten alignment splits Buckeyes, Michigan". ESPN.com. September 1, 2010. Archived from the original on December 5, 2023. Retrieved July 4, 2024.
  29. ↑ Sports, IndyStar. "Legends and Leaders? Really?". The Indianapolis Star. Archived from the original on May 16, 2024. Retrieved July 4, 2024.
  30. ↑ "Big Ten Conference Announces Exciting Future Football Schedule Formats for 2024 and 2025" (Press release). Big Ten Conference. June 8, 2023. Retrieved January 15, 2025.
  31. ↑ "Another look at the Big Ten rivalries". ESPN.com. July 29, 2008. Archived from the original on June 25, 2024. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
  32. ↑ "Big Ten football schedule: Conference releases opponents, protected rivalries for 2024-28 seasons". CBSSports.com. October 5, 2023. Archived from the original on January 8, 2024. Retrieved June 25, 2024.