Notre Dame has replaced Purdue on its future schedules with a home-and-home series against Illinois for the 2027 and 2028 seasons.
Purdue announced Tuesday that it is pausing its rivalry series against Notre Dame and adding a 2027 road game against West Virginia. Notre Dame was set to host the Boilers next year but instead will welcome Illinois on Sept. 4, 2027. The Irish will visit Illinois on Sept. 2, 2028.
The adjustments come with the anticipation of the 24-team playoff and the Big Ten requiring its teams to face at least one Power 4 opponent in nonleague play.
Notre Dame and Illinois have met 11 times before, with the Irish holding an 11-0-1 edge in the series. The teams last played in 1968. Illinois had Notre Dame replace Missouri on its 2027 and 2028 schedules.
"This is a series I have wanted to get on the football schedule since I arrived in 2016," Illinois athletic director Josh Whitman said in a statement. "It has been too long since these two tradition-rich programs have met, given our proximity, common values, and deep roots in Chicago and throughout the Midwest. We expect to see a lot of Orange and Blue next year in South Bend and believe the 2028 matchup in Champaign will be one of our most anticipated home games in decades."
Purdue and Notre Dame have met 90 times with the Irish winning the past 11 games, including a 49-10 win earlier this season in West Lafayette, Indiana. The teams met annually from 1946 to 2014 before pausing from 2015 to 2020 and again in 2022 and 2023. Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman is 10-3 against Big Ten opponents.
"Getting coach [Barry] Odom's program into matchups that best serve our goals and ambitions has been a focus of mine since arriving in West Lafayette, and we are excited to add this game with West Virginia," Purdue athletic director Tommy McClelland said in a statement. "The tradition-rich rivalry of Purdue and Notre Dame, a matchup that has been played on and off 90 times in program history, will be reevaluated for potential addition to future schedules."