US Women’s National Team coach Jill Ellis named 2020 University commencement speaker
January 30, 2020
The University announced the 2020 commencement speaker as U.S. soccer’s Women’s National Team coach, Jill Ellis.
The two-time winner of the FIFA Coach of the Year award has led the team to back-to-back FIFA Women’s World Cups as coach in her five years before her retirement in 2019 and is currently serving as an ambassador for the United States Soccer Federation.
“It is an honor and privilege to welcome Jill Ellis back to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to serve as our 2020 commencement speaker,” Chancellor Robert Jones said in a statement released by the University. “Illinois gave her an opportunity to start her career more than 20 years ago, and Ellis is an example of what enormous success can come after an Illinois experience. She illustrates how this university can set people up to achieve their wildest dreams.”
Before international fame, the University had hired Ellis to coach the women’s soccer team back in 1997, where she served for two years before being recruited by UCLA and eventually moving full time to U.S. Soccer, according to the Illinois News Bureau.
“I am so unbelievably honored to be the 2020 commencement speaker,” Ellis said. “I have such fond memories of my time at the University of Illinois and it was a time of so many firsts in my coaching journey. I truly feel Illinois, the players, my staff and the peers I worked alongside provided me a solid foundation on which to grow. I don’t necessarily think about specific matches, but the warmth and energy of the campus left an impact on me. Honestly, if it hadn’t been a great experience, I might not have ended up pursuing my career in coaching.”
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Along with her impressive athletic career, she’s also been a big supporter in her team’s fight for equal pay, in not just women’s soccer but across all workplaces. The U.S Team’s success from last year’s Women’s World Cup win shone a light on the issue of equal pay.
“This is a group of strong, socially conscious women, who through their actions, on and off the field, have empowered girls and women everywhere to use their voices for change,” Ellis said.
Tickets for the commencement ceremony can be purchased at the Illini Union’s Event Services Office, located near the Green Street entrance.
