Indiana State has scheduled an NCAA Division II opponent for the 2025 season and an FBS foe for the 2028 season, according to FBSchedules. The Sycamores will kick off the 2025 season on Thursday, August 28 against McKendree University out of the Great Lakes Valley Conference from D-II. The two teams have never met previously in football.
Indiana State will also play at Ball State on Saturday, September 9, 2028 and receive $350,000 for the game. The two teams have played 64 games but only met four times since the turn of the century with Ball State winning 23-21 in 2002, 31-7 in 2003, and 45-7 in 2023. Indiana State won 27-20 in 2014, which was the most recent win over an FBS school for the Sycamores. Ball State leads the overall series with a 39-24-1 record.
The addition of Indiana State-Ball State in 2028 puts the number of future FCS-FBS matchups over 445 through the 2034 season including a record 121 contests in 2024. A full list of allĀ future FCS-FBS matchups can be found here.
Chattanooga and Portland State are also scheduling a matchup for the 2025 season. The two teams will meet this year on Saturday, September 28 with Chattanooga hosting but will also play another game next year. Per FBSchedules, the two schools agreed to meet on Saturday, September 20, 2025 at Portland State making this a home-and-home series. The scheduled matchups over the next two seasons will mark the first meetings between the schools.
Photo Credit to Mya Cataline / Ball State Daily