Though many Mizzou fans would prefer to restore a football rivalry with the Kansas Jayhawks (the storied Border War series), many also want to see border rival Illinois on the football schedule again.

Mizzou AD Jim Sterk was in Kansas City this week to speak with the board of cuartors about a proposal to upgrade the school’s football facilities and was asked about the state of the two now-dormant football rivalries.

The Kansas City Star reports that Sterk is open to restoring the Illinois rivalry:

Illinois is interested in restarting a football series with Missouri. Sterk seemed open to the idea (as well as the idea of rekindling the dormant Border War with Kansas), but he also noted that the Tigers’ football schedules are filled for the next few seasons.

Mizzou’s next open date isn’t until 2020 and likely won’t be able to schedule either Illinois or Kansas until the 2021 at the earliest.

Still, this is a step in the right direction and hopefully the Tigers will be playing their border state rivals in the next few years.