The 2016 Illinois Fighting Illini football team represented the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season.

They were led by first-year head coach Lovie Smith and played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois.

They were members of the West Division of the Big Ten Conference.

The Illini hosted all three non–conference games which were against the Murray State Racers from the Ohio Valley Conference, North Carolina Tar Heels from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), and the Western Michigan Broncos from the Mid-American Conference (MAC).

Roster Last update: October 13, 2016 Weekly All-Conference