Illinois vs Iowa: shaded seats and sun by section

For Illinois vs Iowa at a 2:30 pm kickoff, 34 of 55 sections get 15 minutes of sun or less; the sunniest are 207, 208, 206, 204. Minutes of direct sun are measured for every section below.

Sat Nov 21, 2026, Gies Memorial Stadium, Champaign. Kickoff time not yet announced (Big Ten windows 11 am, 2:30 pm or 6:30 pm CT). Kickoff time TBA, so each possible kickoff is modelled below.

Which seats are in the sun at a 2:30 pm kickoff?

Time	What happens
7:00 am	Parking lots open
12:30 pm	Gates open for premium seats
1:00 pm	Gates open
2:30 pm	Kickoff
Start of 4th quarter	Beer sales end
4:40 pm	Sunset
~6:00 pm	Typical final whistle (3.5 h)

Gate, beer and lot times from the fightingillini.com gameday guide and parking page.

Sun at kickoff: 17.9° high, bearing 222.1°. Sunset during the game at about 4:40 pm. Sunniest: 207, 208, 206, 204, 205, 203. Shadiest: 116, 231, 230, 229, 228, 227. By level and side: balcony east 110 min, lower level east 33 min, lower level north 11 min, lower level south 8 min, balcony west 0 min, lower level west 0 min.

Section	Level	Side	Sun (min)		Mostly shaded from	Low-sun glare
Section 101	lower level	east	21		3:00 pm
Section 102	lower level	east	29		at kickoff	yes
Section 103	lower level	east	32		at kickoff	yes
Section 104	lower level	east	37		3:30 pm	yes
Section 105	lower level	east	36		at kickoff	yes
Section 106	lower level	east	50		3:50 pm	yes
Section 107	lower level	east	42		2:40 pm	yes
Section 108	lower level	east	42		at kickoff	yes
Section 109	lower level	east	29		at kickoff	yes
Section 110	lower level	east	12		at kickoff
Section 111	lower level	south	37		3:10 pm
Section 112	lower level	south	14		at kickoff
Section 113	lower level	south	2		at kickoff
Section 114	lower level	south	5		at kickoff
Section 115	lower level	south	2		at kickoff
Section 116	lower level	south	0		at kickoff
Section 117	lower level	south	4		at kickoff
Section 118	lower level	south	15		at kickoff
Section 119	lower level	south	3		at kickoff
Section 120	lower level	south	4		at kickoff
Section 121	lower level	south	1		at kickoff
Section 122	lower level	west	0		at kickoff
Section 123	lower level	west	0		at kickoff
Section 124	lower level	west	0		at kickoff
Section 125	lower level	west	0		at kickoff
Section 126	lower level	west	0		at kickoff
Section 127	lower level	west	0		at kickoff
Section 128	lower level	west	0		at kickoff
Section 129	lower level	west	0		at kickoff
Section 130	lower level	west	0		at kickoff
Section 131	lower level	west	0		at kickoff
Section 132	lower level	north	0		at kickoff
Section 133	lower level	north	2		at kickoff
Section 134	lower level	north	10		at kickoff
Section 135	lower level	north	11		2:40 pm
Section 136	lower level	north	20		2:50 pm
Section 137	lower level	north	25		3:00 pm
Section 201	balcony	east	82		3:50 pm	yes
Section 202	balcony	east	88		4:00 pm	yes
Section 203	balcony	east	106		4:10 pm	yes
Section 204	balcony	east	118		4:30 pm	yes
Section 205	balcony	east	118		4:30 pm	yes
Section 206	balcony	east	124		4:40 pm	yes
Section 207	balcony	east	129		4:40 pm	yes
Section 208	balcony	east	129		4:40 pm	yes
Section 209	balcony	east	99		4:40 pm	yes
Section 223	balcony	west	0		at kickoff
Section 224	balcony	west	0		at kickoff
Section 225	balcony	west	0		at kickoff
Section 226	balcony	west	0		at kickoff
Section 227	balcony	west	0		at kickoff
Section 228	balcony	west	0		at kickoff
Section 229	balcony	west	0		at kickoff
Section 230	balcony	west	0		at kickoff
Section 231	balcony	west	0		at kickoff

10-year norm for this date and kickoff: 46°F (range 36-57°F), feels like 39°F, wind 9 mph, rain in 10% of game hours, clear skies in 35%.

Which seats are in the sun at an 11:00 am kickoff?

Time	What happens
7:00 am	Parking lots open
9:00 am	Gates open for premium seats
9:30 am	Gates open
11:00 am	Kickoff
Start of 4th quarter	Beer sales end
~2:30 pm	Typical final whistle (3.5 h)

Gate, beer and lot times from the fightingillini.com gameday guide and parking page.

Sun at kickoff: 29.2° high, bearing 169.5°. Still 17.9° high at the final whistle. Sunniest: 137, 201, 202, 203, 205, 206. Shadiest: 223, 114, 116, 224, 225, 226. By level and side: balcony east 207 min, lower level north 204 min, lower level east 106 min, lower level south 103 min, lower level west 89 min, balcony west 27 min.

Section	Level	Side	Sun (min)		Mostly shaded from	Low-sun glare
Section 101	lower level	east	106		not during the game
Section 102	lower level	east	104		at kickoff
Section 103	lower level	east	99		at kickoff
Section 104	lower level	east	113		not during the game
Section 105	lower level	east	94		at kickoff
Section 106	lower level	east	111		not during the game
Section 107	lower level	east	106		not during the game
Section 108	lower level	east	100		at kickoff
Section 109	lower level	east	98		at kickoff
Section 110	lower level	east	127		1:40 pm
Section 111	lower level	south	170		not during the game
Section 112	lower level	south	177		2:00 pm
Section 113	lower level	south	125		1:00 pm
Section 114	lower level	south	16		at kickoff
Section 115	lower level	south	32		at kickoff
Section 116	lower level	south	21		at kickoff
Section 117	lower level	south	44		at kickoff
Section 118	lower level	south	158		2:20 pm
Section 119	lower level	south	168		2:00 pm
Section 120	lower level	south	109		1:00 pm
Section 121	lower level	south	110		12:40 pm
Section 122	lower level	west	102		1:00 pm
Section 123	lower level	west	107		1:00 pm
Section 124	lower level	west	86		12:40 pm
Section 125	lower level	west	90		12:50 pm
Section 126	lower level	west	106		12:50 pm
Section 127	lower level	west	80		12:30 pm
Section 128	lower level	west	73		12:20 pm
Section 129	lower level	west	90		12:30 pm
Section 130	lower level	west	78		12:30 pm
Section 131	lower level	west	82		12:40 pm
Section 132	lower level	north	177		2:00 pm	yes
Section 133	lower level	north	197		2:20 pm	yes
Section 134	lower level	north	203		2:30 pm	yes
Section 135	lower level	north	210		not during the game	yes
Section 136	lower level	north	214		not during the game	yes
Section 137	lower level	north	220		not during the game	yes
Section 201	balcony	east	220		not during the game
Section 202	balcony	east	220		not during the game
Section 203	balcony	east	220		not during the game
Section 204	balcony	east	218		not during the game
Section 205	balcony	east	220		not during the game
Section 206	balcony	east	220		not during the game
Section 207	balcony	east	210		not during the game
Section 208	balcony	east	182		not during the game
Section 209	balcony	east	154		not during the game
Section 223	balcony	west	9		at kickoff
Section 224	balcony	west	22		at kickoff
Section 225	balcony	west	24		11:20 am
Section 226	balcony	west	25		11:30 am
Section 227	balcony	west	27		11:30 am
Section 228	balcony	west	36		11:50 am
Section 229	balcony	west	36		11:50 am
Section 230	balcony	west	35		11:50 am
Section 231	balcony	west	29		11:20 am

10-year norm for this date and kickoff: 45°F (range 35-56°F), feels like 37°F, wind 9 mph, rain in 9% of game hours, clear skies in 35%.

Plan the game: all 55 Gies Memorial Stadium sections · Gies Memorial Stadium parking, shuttles and rideshare · Gies Memorial Stadium bag policy and stadium rules · how the Gies Memorial Stadium data is measured.