Illinois–Indiana Rivalry

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 "Final Four contenders" and combined have won several conference championships. In football, the rivalry is less intense, but notable for the two school's geographic proximity, the history and longevity of the series with 73 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 Arena, which was formerly named Assembly Hall.

Men's Basketball

Illinois and Indiana first met on January 20, 1906 with an Illinois victory, 27-24. Since the two teams are both in the Big Ten Conference, they meet at least once a season. 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.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.

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 2003–12, 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 1998-2003, 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.

*''Through March 19, 2023''

Game results

**Denotes game played during the Big Ten tournament

Football

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

See also

* List of NCAA college football rivalry games
* List of Big Ten Conference football rivalry games

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Illinois-Indiana college sports rivalry
College basketball rivalries in the United States
College football rivalries in the United States
Big Ten Conference rivalries
Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
Illinois Fighting Illini football
Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball
Indiana Hoosiers football