Bill Cubit, Illinois football loses more players to transfer
January 26, 2016
Illinois head football coach Bill Cubit's roster continues to shrink just over a week before national signing day. As first reported by The News-Gazette, linebacker T.J. Neal Jr. plans on transferring from Illinois. The Pennsylvania native made the announcement official in a tweet that he s...
Illini resolutions for 2016
January 18, 2016
Let me tell you a story.When I was nine years old, I rode my first-ever roller coaster at Busch Gardens in Tampa Bay, Florida. I’ll cut to the chase: It turned me green.As bad as the experience was for my weak stomach on that beautiful Florida day, it was actually far worse for my father. He ended...
Introducing your next athletic director: Kevin McCarthy
November 10, 2015
Despite being cleared of wrongdoing, former Athletic Director Mike Thomas had about a snowball’s chance in hell at surviving the report about the allegations surrounding Illini athletics.Whoever follows Thomas as AD will certainly start with their back against the wall. Except the wall will be on fire, ...
Takeaways from the Franczek Radelet report into the athletic department
By Declan Harty
November 10, 2015
The University released the results of Chicago-based law firm Franczek Radelet’s lengthy investigation into the athletic department on Monday.The report explored the department’s handling of sports injuries and accusations from student-athletes in the football and women’s basketball programs. The re...
A change in culture: Mike Thomas and where Illinois athletics goes from here
November 9, 2015
Mike Thomas was inevitably going to get fired.It was simply a matter of when, not if. Even despite Thomas’ relative innocence in relation to the abusive actions of Tim Beckman — as described in Franczek Radelet’s report — interim Chancellor Barbara Wilson dismissed him from the University....
Illinois football’s Bill Cubit will continue to serve his team after Mike Thomas departure
By Michal Dwojak, Staff writer
November 9, 2015
The Illinois football investigations were hanging over head coach Bill Cubit’s and the heads of the rest of the team since former player Simon Cvijanovic made allegations against former head coach Tim Beckman in May. The preliminary findings of the investigation resulted in the firing of Beckman in...
Illini football gets its revenge against Purdue
By Peter Bailey-Wells, Sports editor
November 8, 2015
WEST LAFAYETTE, INDIANA — Bill Cubit didn’t sleep much after his team was punched in the mouth 39-0 by Penn State last week. And despite Illinois’ 48-14 stomping of Purdue on Saturday, he said his restless nights will continue, because his team’s season isn’t done yet. The Illini’s ...
October 9, 2015
Tim Beckman wasn't the only coach involved in player mistreatment and injury abuse with the Illinois football teamATHLETIC DIRECTOR MIKE THOMAS/ INTERIM CHANCELLOR BARBARA WILSON announced (day) that ASSISTANT COACHES NAMES HERE (HAVE) been fired. NAME was fired after the complete report from the Fr...
Illinois football looking to correct road troubles against Iowa
By Michal Dwojak, Staff writer
October 7, 2015
Running down the visiting team tunnel onto an opponent’s field can be a daunting task for college football players. Players run from a narrow tunnel into a sea of the home team’s colors. Thousands if not hundreds of thousands of fans scream in unison at the visitors, often filled with boos, som...
Illinois and UCLA football traveled different paths after meeting in 2011 Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl
By Michal Dwojak, Staff writer
September 24, 2015
There was a sense of relief when Nathan Scheelhaase took a knee during the final seconds of the 2011 Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl on New Year’s Eve. Defensive lineman Craig Wilson grabbed a container of orange Gatorade and attempted to pour it over interim coach Vic Koenning — he was half successful. The...
The Big Ten’s nightmarish Rutgers problem
By Dan Escalona
September 22, 2015
Just as the Big Ten season is getting interesting, the conference is once again bogged down in the mire of another looming scandal.The most recent culprit of conference controversy is Rutgers. With arrests and dismissals piling up, and the recent suspension of head coach Kyle Flood, the program has suddenly f...
Illinois fans missed out on Saturday
September 6, 2015
Rainouts are pretty lousy.Yes, Illini fans, I know you spent three hours waiting for Friday’s Illinois season opener to start. I know you endured the wind and the rain and the lightning. I know you all came out to see the Illini Friday night and didn’t get to. I was waiting there right along wit...
