Illinois announced on Sunday that it is heading to the Redbox Bowl to take on Cal. The Fighting Illini will play at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, CA on December 30th. The building is the home of the San Francisco 49ers. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. PT on Fox.

Tickets for the bowl game are now on sale at FightingIllini.com. This will be the Illini's first bowl appearance in the Lovie Smith era, and the first since playing in the Heart of Dallas Bowl following the 2014 season.

The 2019 Redbox Bowl will be Illinois' 19th postseason bowl appearance, and second trip to the Bay Area for a bowl after playing in what was then the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl in 2011, a 20-14 Fighting Illini victory over UCLA.

"Playing in a bowl game is another step in the growth of our football program," Head Coach Lovie Smith said. "It is the culmination of hundreds of days and thousands of hours of hard work by our players and staff. The excitement shown by our team when we got the win to become bowl eligible is something I'll never forget."

The Fighnting Illini will depart for the Bay area on Thursday, December 26. The team will enjoy a visit to Alcatraz, participate in a community service event at St. Anthony's Dining Room, and have a chance to explore San Francisco.

Illinois and Cal last met last met in 2004, a 35-30 win for Cal in Berkeley, which was the fourth of two home-and-home (2000, 2001 2003, 2004) when Illinois and Cal split the four games

The Illini are allowed 15 practices in preparation for the Redbox Bowl, though they probably won't use all of them. The bowl appearance also gives something for Smith to sell to potential recruits as the early signing period approaches.

"Playing in a bowl game is huge step for our program in terms of the extra practices, the message it sends to recruits and the excitement we see both within our team and throughout our great fan base," Smith said.

The 2019 Redbox Bowl will be Illinois’ 19th postseason bowl appearance, and second trip to the Bay Area for a bowl after playing in what was then the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl in 2011, a 20-14 Fighting Illini victory over UCLA.

Illinois needs a win in the bowl game to finish with a winning record for the first time since 2011.