CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Exactly 100 years after Red Grange's historic performance in the Memorial Stadium Dedication Game against Michigan on Oct. 18, 1924, the University of Illinois will host its Memorial Stadium Rededication the evening of Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. One day later, Illinois will face off against that same opponent, Michigan, for the Memorial Stadium Rededication Game on Saturday, Oct. 19.
Illinois' rededication ceremony will be free and open to the public inside Grange Grove at 4 p.m. CT on Friday, Oct. 18. The ceremony will feature a program that honors the many uses of Memorial Stadium over the last century and an unveiling of new historic features around the stadium.
A 100th-anniversary gala will be hosted inside the Colonnades Club inside Memorial Stadium at 5:30 p.m. CT on Friday, Oct. 18.The event will feature some of the greatest players to wear the Illinois uniform sharing stories and reliving memories of the past 100 years. Invitations to purchase tickets will be sent to I FUND members and VIPs.
Illinois will wear 1920s-themed throwback uniforms against Michigan on Saturday, which include hand-painted helmets to look like the leather-style helmets worn during the early years of football at Memorial Stadium. The Illini uniforms will pay tribute to the same design worn during the 1924 Illinois-Michigan game, including a blue base and vertical stripes down the middle of the jersey.
A pregame ceremony will feature a special game ball presentation that involves generations of Illinois football alumni, and festivities will continue throughout the contest. The Marching Illini will perform a special halftime performance, and fans can expect a special Spirit of the Illini presentation during the trademark 3-in-1.
Historical videos and in-stadium displays will be used all season long at Memorial Stadium, while the Illini will wear each of its three other throwback helmets once during select home games across the 2024 season. Those helmet designs have already been announced: a four-star design worn from 1962-68 during Dick Butkus' time at Illinois, at the 1964 Rose Bowl, and by the 1963 Big Ten-winning Illini team; the arched Illini design worn from 1971-87 that was used during the 1984 Rose Bowl; and an underlined Illinois design worn from 1989-2012, during which the Illini won two Big Ten titles and played at the 2002 Sugar Bowl and 2008 Rose Bowl.
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About Grange's Legendary Performance in the 1924 Dedication Game
On Oct. 18, 1924, Red Grange put together one of the greatest performances the college football world has ever seen. On the day of Memorial Stadium's Dedication Game and against a Michigan team that arrived in Champaign on a 20-game unbeaten streak, Grange glided through the Wolverine defense with ease. He set the tone early with a 95-yard return on the opening kickoff, and he was only just getting started.
Five minutes later, he recorded his second score of the game, this time on a 67-yard rush. Within the opening 12 minutes of play, he amassed four touchdowns, and he finished the contest with six total scores and over 400 total yards of offense.
The Wolverines allowed only 32 points during their 20-game unbeaten run. In the Illini's 39-14 win over Michigan, Red Grange accounted for 36 points on his own.
Earning the now-iconic "Galloping Ghost" nickname following a performance that remains unrivaled one century later, Grange cemented himself in college football history forever.
"Michigan never knew Red Grange, the Illinois wildcat, until today. Now Michigan knows him well," wrote James Crusinberry of the Chicago Tribune in 1924. "He stamped himself as one of the greatest football stars of all time, East or West."
Illinois' rededication ceremony will be free and open to the public inside Grange Grove at 4 p.m. CT on Friday, Oct. 18. The ceremony will feature a program that honors the many uses of Memorial Stadium over the last century and an unveiling of new historic features around the stadium.
A 100th-anniversary gala will be hosted inside the Colonnades Club inside Memorial Stadium at 5:30 p.m. CT on Friday, Oct. 18.The event will feature some of the greatest players to wear the Illinois uniform sharing stories and reliving memories of the past 100 years. Invitations to purchase tickets will be sent to I FUND members and VIPs.
Illinois will wear 1920s-themed throwback uniforms against Michigan on Saturday, which include hand-painted helmets to look like the leather-style helmets worn during the early years of football at Memorial Stadium. The Illini uniforms will pay tribute to the same design worn during the 1924 Illinois-Michigan game, including a blue base and vertical stripes down the middle of the jersey.
A pregame ceremony will feature a special game ball presentation that involves generations of Illinois football alumni, and festivities will continue throughout the contest. The Marching Illini will perform a special halftime performance, and fans can expect a special Spirit of the Illini presentation during the trademark 3-in-1.
Historical videos and in-stadium displays will be used all season long at Memorial Stadium, while the Illini will wear each of its three other throwback helmets once during select home games across the 2024 season. Those helmet designs have already been announced: a four-star design worn from 1962-68 during Dick Butkus' time at Illinois, at the 1964 Rose Bowl, and by the 1963 Big Ten-winning Illini team; the arched Illini design worn from 1971-87 that was used during the 1984 Rose Bowl; and an underlined Illinois design worn from 1989-2012, during which the Illini won two Big Ten titles and played at the 2002 Sugar Bowl and 2008 Rose Bowl.
——
About Grange's Legendary Performance in the 1924 Dedication Game
On Oct. 18, 1924, Red Grange put together one of the greatest performances the college football world has ever seen. On the day of Memorial Stadium's Dedication Game and against a Michigan team that arrived in Champaign on a 20-game unbeaten streak, Grange glided through the Wolverine defense with ease. He set the tone early with a 95-yard return on the opening kickoff, and he was only just getting started.
Five minutes later, he recorded his second score of the game, this time on a 67-yard rush. Within the opening 12 minutes of play, he amassed four touchdowns, and he finished the contest with six total scores and over 400 total yards of offense.
The Wolverines allowed only 32 points during their 20-game unbeaten run. In the Illini's 39-14 win over Michigan, Red Grange accounted for 36 points on his own.
Earning the now-iconic "Galloping Ghost" nickname following a performance that remains unrivaled one century later, Grange cemented himself in college football history forever.
"Michigan never knew Red Grange, the Illinois wildcat, until today. Now Michigan knows him well," wrote James Crusinberry of the Chicago Tribune in 1924. "He stamped himself as one of the greatest football stars of all time, East or West."
