Illinois will play its annual spring football game on April 18, a Saturday night.

The team said in a news release Tuesday that admission to the annual Orange and Blue game will be free. The game will also be broadcast live at 5 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.

The Illini will open spring practices on March 14. The team will conduct practices away from campus on April 3 at Homewood-Flossmoor High School in Flossmoor and April 10 at Sacred Heart-Griffin High School in Springfield.

Illinois is coming off a 6-7 season that finished with a loss to Louisiana Tech in the Heart of Dallas Bowl.