UConn to play Illinois in Football in 2019, 2020

Last week, UConn confirmed that Tennessee would not be coming to Rentschler Field in 2015 to face the Huskies despite a two-year agreement signed by the Vols in 2008.

"[UConn athletic director] Warde [Manuel] and the Tennessee athletic director have been in discussions about this for a few months. We have a letter from the Tennessee AD agreeing that the current dates of the series will not happen and new dates will be determined by Sept. 26, 2015," UConn said in a statement.

But it's not all bad news: The school announced Tuesday that it will play Illinois in 2019 and 2020. Yes, that's five years into the future, but there are no days off when it comes to recruiting, and non-conference opponents happen to be a big part of that.

Details via the university:

STORRS, Conn. - The University of Connecticut football team will play a home-and-home series against the University of Illinois during the 2019 and 2020 seasons. UConn will host Illinois at Rentschler Field on September 7, 2019 while the Huskies will visit Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Ill., on September 12, 2020.

Illinois, a member of the Big Ten Conference, has played in 17 bowl games in the history of its program, including five Rose Bowls - the most recent in 2008. Memorial Stadium has a capacity of 60,670 and first opened in 1923.

The press release also listed the future UConn non-conference games:

2014: August 28, BYU; September 6, Stony Brook; September 13, Boise State; November 8, Army (Yankee Stadium).
2015: September 5, Villanova; September 12, Army; October 31, at BYU.
2016: September 17, Virginia.
2017: September 16, at Virginia.
2018: September 8, at Boise State.
2019: September 7, Illinois.
2020: September 12, at Illinois

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