On Nov. 3, 1923, Memorial Stadium opened to a Homecoming victory against Chicago, 7-0.

The next year, the stadium was officially dedicated on Oct. 18, 1924, as legendary Harold E. “Red” Grange galloped for six touchdowns – one of the greatest performance’s in the venue’s 85-year history.

Since then, the stadium has stayed basically the same – until now. Saturday’s game against Eastern Illinois will be the grand re-opening of Memorial Stadium, in which the public will finally see the estimated $120 million renovation project properly named the “Illinois Renaissance.” Both the current Illini team led by head coach Ron Zook and a variety of former players will be returning to take part in the celebration.

“It means a lot, it’s almost like being able to see Mars, you know,” quarterback Juice Williams said. “It’s a rare addition; it’s something that only comes around once in a lifetime, so it’s something I’ll really cherish on Saturday.”

The stadium’s changes will have a definite impact on the current players, with the updated weight room and much improved facilities. It will also make the recruiting process easier by being able to show future Illini the top-notch structural improvements.

Even with all of the changes, the long-standing traditions of Memorial Stadium have stayed in tact.

“Memorial Stadium is a great place, it’s a great stadium,” New York Giants starting left tackle, Dave Diehl said. “It has a lot of tradition behind it. It’s awesome that they were able to do all the renovations but still keep the columns on the outside and keep a lot of the same look of the stadium, because I love the way our stadium looks, but it’s definitely a more interactive place for the fans and for the crowd to get into.”

A member of the defending Super Bowl Championship team, Diehl is excited to make the trip from New York to Champaign on Saturday to see his first home game since his NFL rookie season in 2003.

During his tenure at Illinois, Diehl was teammates and roommates with former Illini quarterback, Kurt Kittner, who is now part of the Illini Sports Network. Diehl and Kittner were both integral parts of the 2001 Big Ten Championship team and are looking forward to seeing familiar faces and meeting Illinois legends.

“Obviously, you want to catch up with a lot of your old teammates, but I always enjoy meeting guys who played long before I got there and to get their take of how their run was when they were in college,” Kittner said. “You played on the same field as guys like (Dick) Butkus and Dana Howard and Howard Griffith and Red Grange, and there is a number of people, a number of great athletes that have come through, through the years.”

With Grange’s passing in 1991, the other most recognizable Illini football player is Dick Butkus – arguably the greatest linebacker of all-time. He and approximately 50 other former players will be on hand to celebrate the re-opening of Memorial Stadium.

“With guys like Dick Butkus coming back, those names, those types of people are what Illinois football is all about,” Diehl said. “It’s all about tradition, and it’s all about the people who wore that jersey before you and represented the University and passed on a great tradition of working hard, being tough and going out there regardless of who you’re playing; going out there and committing yourself to laying it all on the lines for four-plus quarters. When you have guys like Dick Butkus coming back, it just shows the impact that the University had not only on him, but on everybody.”