To be an Illini, there are a couple things you should know. We’ve got a couple staples, some household names and just basic everyday terminology you will definitely come across during your four years here. Whether you’ve been an Illini sports fan your whole life or you couldn’t care less about the sports scene, it’s good practice to familiarize yourself with a huge part of University culture.
*Editor’s Note: This list is by no means representative of the wide sports culture that Illinois has; it only tries to guide readers with commonplace ideas.
What’s what?
The “Big Ten” Conference, often seen as “B1G,” houses the team of yours truly. Even though titled “ten,” the conference includes 18 teams beginning the 2024 season, spanning majorly the midwest but also including teams from the west and east coasts. It is the National Collegiate Athletics Association’s oldest Division I conference. Think “regional rivals” that surpass regions.
Memorial Stadium celebrates its 100th anniversary as a place of competition and pride. Home to the Fighting Illini football team, there will be a year-long commemoration in its honor. Outside the stadium stands Grange Grove named after Red Grange, the Illini half back who scored four touchdowns in 12 minutes in the first game played at Memorial Stadium.
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Alma Mater is our lady statue sitting on the intersection of Green and Wright streets. After crazy sports happenings, like when the Illini made it to the Elite Eight in March, students will flood the streets and climb her, waving Illini merch and celebrating a well-deserved victory.
Who’s who?
Brad Underwood serves as an esteemed coach of basketball and University icon. Underwood has his own Wikipedia page, and his sit-down interview with The Daily Illini won second place in the 2024 Illinois College Press Association’s annual awards. His legacy includes the title of coaching the Big Ten’s winningest team over five seasons.
Terrence Shannon Jr. was a guard at Illinois, who left just before your time in the spring of 2023. He transferred to the Illini in 2022 after playing with the Texas Tech Raiders for three years. During his two years at Illinois, he averaged 12 points per game, including a 40-point game against Nebraska during the Big Ten championship semi-final. After graduating, Shannon was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the no. 27 pick in 2024.
Luke Altmyer currently plays as the quarterback of the Fighting Illini football team. He played at Mississippi for his first season, and transferred mid-year to Illinois in the spring of 2023, where he started nine games as the quarterback. Currently, he is ranked sixth in the Big Ten in passing yards during the regular season and sixth in passing yards in conference games.
Traditions galore…
“I-L-L” callers are looking for one thing, and one thing only. A response. Some effort. For listeners to return the same energy they are putting in to demonstrate their pride through the pores of their skin. When someone yells “I-L-L,” the proper response is to spell out the rest of “Illini” with an “I-N-I” back. It’s simple, nothing terribly magnificent and some might say a little corny, but at their heart, every Illini values the calling’s worth.
“Hail to the orange” is an Illinois fight song, and arguably, the only one people know. It’s sung at football and basketball games, in the car after a long year at school, you name it. The lyrics are short — as it’s only a verse — and the melody can get stuck in your head. Here are the words:
“Hail to the orange./ Hail to the blue./ Hail Alma Mater/ ever so true./ We love no other,/ so let our motto be/ Victory, Illinois, Varsity.”
It’s crucial to mention that after the line “ever so true,” everyone yells “So true!” in a drawn out voice, and some also make a long hissing “ssss” noise after Illinois. Whatever the twist, this song’s one you gotta know.
Sights and Sounds, on August 22 prepares new Illini with many more traditions to really get the ball rolling on all the quirks fans do at games. And of course, attending sports events will expose you to first-hand education. You’ll get to scream “nuggets!” during the opposing team’s free throws or dangle your keys obnoxiously before kickoff.
