The Illinois–Missouri football rivalry, also known as the Arch Rivalry, is an American

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

rivalry A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...

between the

Illinois Fighting Illini football The Illinois Fighting Illini football program represents the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) level. The Fighting Illini are a founding member of ...

team of the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

and

Missouri Tigers football The Missouri Tigers football program represents the University of Missouri (often referred to as Mizzou) in college football and competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). History Mis ...

team of the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

. Both schools consider it a friendlier, secondary rivalry compared to their other rivalries like the Border War and Northwestern, but it still generates interest from students and alumni, especially those in and around

Greater St. Louis Greater St. Louis is the 23rd-largest metropolitan statistical area (MSA) in the United States, the largest in Missouri, and the second-largest in Illinois. Its core city—St. Louis, Missouri—sits in the geographic center of the metro area, ...

. Both schools have considerable alumni from the area. Although match-ups generally have not taken place annually, in recent years, the series has been played more frequently. It was the opening game of the season for both teams, for the 2007 through 2010 seasons. After the 2010 season, the series has ceased through 2026, when the two schools will renew the game. On November 6, 2011, Missouri accepted an invitation to join the SEC in 2012. As a result, any future meetings between the two schools will be labeled as a Big Ten vs. SEC matchup. The schools first met in 1896, and played sporadically until 1966. They played six straight seasons from 1975–80, helping to start a series in men's basketball. That series has been played in all but one year since 1980, and is known as

Braggin' Rights Braggin' Rights (known for sponsorship reasons as McBride Homes Braggin' Rights, previously Busch Braggin' Rights) is the annual men's college basketball contest between the University of Illinois Fighting Illini of the Big Ten Conference and ...

. Unlike the Arch Rivalry, the annual Braggin' Rights game is still an active tradition. On November 20, 2017, both schools announced a renewing of the series to start in 2026. The series will be played on the campuses of the two schools.

Venue

The series started in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

, in 1896. For the majority of the history of the series, it had traded off between Memorial Stadium in

Champaign, Illinois Champaign ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the List of municipalities in Illinois, tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in ...

, and

Faurot Field Faurot Field ( , ) at Memorial Stadium is an outdoor sports stadium in Columbia, Missouri, United States, on the campus of the University of Missouri. It is primarily used for football and serves as the home field for the Missouri Tigers' pro ...

Columbia, Missouri Columbia is a city in Missouri, United States. It was founded in 1821 as the county seat of Boone County, Missouri, Boone County and had a population of 126,254 as recorded in the 2020 United States census, making it the List of cities in Misso ...

. In 2002, the games returned to St. Louis where they played at

The Dome at America's Center The Dome at America's Center is a multi-purpose stadium used for concerts, major conventions, and sporting events in downtown St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Previously known as the Trans World Dome from 1995 to 2001 and the Edward Jones Do ...

. Missouri has claimed victory at every game since the series returned to St. Louis. Missouri leads 5–1 when played in Columbia. The series is tied 5–5 for games played in Champaign.

Game results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Illinois-Missouri football rivalry College football rivalries in the United States Illinois Fighting Illini football Missouri Tigers football

Venue

Game results

See also

References