It is not often a Hoosier supports Illinois athletics.

Let alone tries to improve it.

But David Mills is not your typical Illinois fan.

During Friday’s Illinois-Duke tennis match, David and Meredith Mills, both Indiana graduates, will donate one million dollars to establish the David and Meredith Mills endowed head coach fund for the men’s tennis program.

For David, the endowment is just another chapter in his lifelong association with Illinois athletics.

“David is just an Illinois guy who happened to spend a few years wearing crimson and cream,” said Illinois IFUND director of development Shawn Wax.

He became an Illinois guy when his grandfather, Culver, played basketball at Illinois in the 1930s and his dad, Doug, earned six varsity letters in baseball, football and basketball in the 1960s.

If that wasn’t enough, Mills grew up in Champaign. He attended Champaign Central High School. He was a childhood friend of former Illinois football coach Mike White’s son Matt.

The two would go into the football locker room before games. They would decorate players’ lockers. They would try on oversized football pads. Mills would get lost in the tailgating atmosphere days before Illinois football games in the Mike White era.

He was in Seattle for the 1989 Final Four. Mills is still convinced Illinois lost to Kentucky in the 1984 Elite Elite because of a “terrible traveling call.”

Mills never had a chance to do anything but love the orange and blue.

“It became ingrained in me that I loved Illinois athletics,” Mills said.

So it should not be that surprising Mills found his way back to Champaign. Even while at Indiana.

Mills’ best friend in high school was John Wright Jr., who played football for the Illini in the 1990s. Mills would come watch his friend play any chance he could.

And after graduating from Indiana in 1993, Mills still could not stay away from Champaign. He bought season football tickets. He moved back to town shortly in 1995 before moving to Indianapolis.

But the weekend trips back to Illinois were not enough. He lasted in Indianapolis until 2001. Then he moved his family back to Champaign-Urbana while working for Busey Bank. Mills is now the bank’s President and COO.

Donating to a non-revenue sport at Illinois fits into the Mills family athletic history. David was a two-time All-State tennis player in high school. Meredith played club soccer at Indiana.

The Mills wanted to donate to Illinois athletics in a larger capacity than just by giving money to the Loyalty Circle portion of the IFUND. After numerous conversations with Wax and athletic director Ron Guenther, the Mills decided to make the men’s tennis head coach salary the third such endowed salary, joining those of the head football and men’s basketball coaches.

“I can’t think of a greater person to support than Coach Tiley,” Mills said. “He has turned that program into one of the elite programs in the country.”

Mills does donate to Indiana. But their athletic department does not get a dime.

That just would not be right. Not with Mills’ history with Illinois.

“I would always tell (my friends at Indiana) I had been to more Illinois wrestling or women’s volleyball matches than (they had) been to football or basketball games at Indiana.”