Indiana was scheduled to visit the Virginia Cavaliers in the first game of a home-and-home series in 2027 and 2028 but is no longer happening according to On3 Sports Brett McMurphy
Indiana cancels home/home series w/Virginia in 2027-28 & must pay Cavs’ $500,000 for canceling series, @michaelniziolek reports. Instead, Indiana has added home games w/Kennesaw State in 2027, Austin Peay in 2028 & Eastern Illinois in 2029
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) July 15, 2025
Per a report fromThe Herald-Times, Indiana has canceled the series with Virginia and will pay the Cavaliers a $500,000 cancellation fee, per the terms of the original contract. The two-game series has also been removed from the official websiteof Virginia athletics.
According to a copy of a contract obtained by FBSchedules.com, Indiana has scheduled a Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) opponent for the 2028 season. Indiana will host the Austin Peay Governors at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington on Saturday, Sept. 2, 2028. The Hoosiers will pay the Governors a $400,000 guarantee for playing the game, per the copy of the contract.
The Hoosiers football program did however add games against FBS programs, Kennesaw State Owls in 2027 and the Eastern Illinois Panthers in 2029.
“You can't afford a bad scheduling year,” IU athletic director Scott Dolson said in an interview with The Herald-Times. “You have to schedule strategically.”
"“We want our nonconference schedule to put us in the best position for success at the end of the season,” Dolson said. “What we really want to do is make sure we are competitive in the back half of the season and create meaningful games in the Big Ten because we are really playing for postseason opportunities.""Scott Dolson
Fans and analysts wasted no time reacting. One post on SportsKeeda called the move “pathetic,” adding that Indiana is “ducking the sh*t out of them” when it comes to Power Four non-conference opponents. Another hot take: “Cancelling games vs an ACC opponent and scheduling FCS schools is not a good look.”
The Hoosiers recently backed out of a home-and-home series with Louisville in the 2024 and 2025 seasons, a deal which was agreed upon in 2015. Instead, Indiana replaced the Cardinals with matchups against FIU, Western Illinois and Charlotte in 2024. IU will also host home games against Kennesaw State, Indiana State and UMass this upcoming 2025 season.
Indiana’s next power non-conference opponent is the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The two programs are scheduled to meet in a home-and-home in 2030 and 2031.