The St. Louis Cardinals announced Monday that longtime football rivals Southeast Missouri State University and Southern Illinois University will play each other at Busch Stadium on Saturday, September 21st.  Kickoff is set for 1 PM.

“We are thrilled to host our first football game in Busch Stadium with two great schools that have such a large following in St. Louis,” said Bill DeWitt III, President of the Cardinals. “We are excited to showcase the versatility of Busch Stadium as a multi-use sports venue.”

This will be the 81st game between Southeast and SIU, who have close to 40,000 local alumni in St. Louis, as well as thousands of students from the St. Louis area.

“We’d like to thank the St. Louis Cardinals for the opportunity to play this game at Busch Stadium,” said Kenneth W. Dobbins, President of Southeast Missouri State University. “Nearly 40 percent of this year’s freshmen class at Southeast is from the greater St. Louis region, and playing this game at Busch Stadium is exciting for all our students, and great exposure for our University and the Redhawk football program.”

“Southern Illinois is definitely Cardinals’ country, so this is a great fit for our University and football program,” said Rita Cheng, Chancellor of Southern Illinois University. “It will be a great experience for our student-athletes and for our fans on both sides of the river.”

Ticket prices start at $10 and will go on sale June 3rd.  For tickets and additional details, fans should go to cardinals.com/football. Be sure to join the conversation with #footballatbusch

As the iconic home of one the most storied franchises in baseball, Busch Stadium is one of the most sought after special event venues in St. Louis.   Since it was opened in 2006, Busch Stadium has hosted over a thousand special events ranging from corporate meetings, weddings and charity events to one-of-kind concerts such as Dave Mathews Band, the Eagles and U2. This will be the first football game and the second major non-baseball sporting event held at Busch Stadium. The Cardinals will host an international soccer match between the English Premier League teams Chelsea and Manchester City in May.

— Cardinals Media Relations —