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The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a.k.a. UIUC, U of I or just Illinois, is a co-ed public research university in Urbana, IL. It is the oldest and biggest campus in the University of Illinois system. Under the Morrill Act of 1862, each state in the US was given a portion of land to establish a major public university that would teach agriculture, mechanic arts and military training, among other “scientific and classical studies.” In 1867, Urbana was chosen as the site for the Illinois Industrial University. On March 2, 1868, the school opened for classes with just 2 faculty members and a small group of students. The school officially changed its name to the University of Illinois in 1885. In 1982, the university name was changed to University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
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About Illinois Fighting Illini
U of I’s athletic teams compete in the NCAA’s Division 1 and are called the Fighting Illini. U of I is also a Big Ten Conference member. The football team’s home games are played in Memorial Stadium. On October 15, 1910, U of I’s football team beat the University of Chicago Maroons. This game is noteworthy because U of I claims it as the first homecoming weekend, even though other schools claim to have held the first homecoming game as well. Memorial Stadium was designed by Chicago architecture firm Holabird and Roche, now called Holabird and Root; they are the same firm that designed the Chicago’s “original Soldier Field,” along with several other U of I campus buildings. The stadium was built in 1923 as a memorial to the Illinois men and women who gave their lives during WWI. Their names are on 200 columns supporting the east and west sides of the stadium. In May 2002, the University Alumni Association started a campaign to finance a veterans’ memorial project that would recognize the 1,087 who lost their lives in battle in WWII, the 2nd Nicaraguan Campaign, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, Lebanon and Desert Storm.
Until February 21, 2007, Chief Illiniwek, or The Chief, was the university’s mascot; he was their mascot since 1926. The use of him as a school symbol met with criticism from Native Americans and others beginning in the mid-70s; the Chief remained popular among students and alumni. The Fighting Illini will open the 2008 season when they travel to St. Louis, MO to take on Missouri in the State Farm Arch Rivalry game. On September 6, they play Eastern Illinois University at home; as well as Louisiana-Lafayette on September 13. They will then travel to University Park, PA where they will take on Penn State. After that, it’s on to Ann Arbor, MI where they play University of Michigan on October 10. On October 11, they play University of Minnesota at home; as well as Indiana University on October 18. On October 25, they travel to Madison, WI where they play University of Wisconsin. Then it’s back home to play University of Iowa on November 1. The next week, they travel to Detroit, MI to play Western Michigan on November 8. It’s back home for the team on November 15 when they take on Ohio State. Finally, they travel to Evanston, IL where they play Northwestern University on November 22.
