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Illinois football is set to open its season on Sept. 3 night against the UAB Blazers in a game they are currently favored to win by 28.5 points.

The Fighting Illini have become one of the Big Ten's better programs under coach Bret Bielema, finishing with a 9-4 record last season and are now hoping to raise their profile on the national college football landscape.

On Wednesday, the Illinois athletic program announced a new sponsorship deal toward reaching that end, a multi-year sponsorship that will infuse the Fighting Illini with much-needed cash going forward. 

Illinois Adds New Corporate Partner 

The Fighting Illini announced a multi-year partnership with Texas-based construction equipment company Caterpillar, which operates in over 190 countries. 

The deal was negotiated by Learfield and will place the Caterpillar logo on the 25-yard-line of Zuppke Field at Gies Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Ill., Sports Business Journal wrote. 

The addition of the Caterpillar logo to the field will mark the first field logo addition in the history of the stadium, which opened on Nov. 3, 1923. 

"We are proud to align with Caterpillar – a company, like the University, with a long and storied connection to the great state of Illinois – and introduce this groundbreaking sponsorship, highlighted by the first on-field logo at Gies Memorial Stadium," said Illinois athletic director Josh Whitman.

Caterpillar has more than 17,000 employees in the state of Illinois, a FightingIllini.com press release said.

"Both Fighting Illini Athletics and Caterpillar have a proud legacy and respected reputation in the state of Illinois, and we are each experiencing sustained growth and success," Whitman added.

"I want to thank Caterpillar for their collaboration, and we look forward to building our relationship in the years ahead." 

News Follows $30 Million Busey Bank Deal

The news follows the July 2026 announcement of a $30 million deal for Busey Bank to become the Fighting Illini athletic department's official financial services partner.  

The Busey Bank logo will be placed on Fighting Illini team jerseys starting this fall. 

The University of Illinois ranked 20th nationally on CNBC's 2025 list of the most valuable athletic departments in college sports, which ranked them ninth among Big Ten programs.

The Fighting Illini haven't won a Big Ten football championship since 2001, when Ron Turner roamed the sidelines of the 60,760-seat stadium and there were no corporate logos on the field. 

Coach Bielema won three consecutive Big Ten championships with the Wisconsin Badgers from 2010 to 2012, culminating in a Big Ten Championship Game victory. 

Expectations are rising in Champaign, adding to hopes that Bielema will compete for, and perhaps win, another one before his contract is up with Illinois in 2030. 

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