Bielema Signs New Six-Year Contract
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Illinois head coach Bret Bielema has signed a new six-year contract through at least the end of the 2028 season, Illinois Director of Athletics Josh Whitman announced Tuesday. The agreement is pending University of Illinois Board of Trustees approval at its meeting in January.
Bielema has engineered one of the most impressive turnarounds in college football since his hiring in December 2020. Following Illinois’ best season in 15 years, the Illini accepted an invitation to the ReliaQuest Bowl, the program’s top bowl game since the 2008 Rose Bowl and one of the top three Illinois bowl games of the last 30 years.
“In his first two years as head coach of the Fighting Illini, Bret Bielema has led a resurgence of Illinois Football that had our team competing for a place in the Big Ten Championship Game and playing in a New Year’s Day bowl game,” said Whitman. “He has assembled an exceptional staff, developed the existing players on our roster, and recruited talented student-athletes to join our program. He has worked tirelessly, with an eye for detail and tremendous competitive urgency, to set a new standard of excellence for Fighting Illini Football. Perhaps most importantly, he has brought an immediate identity to our football program and represented the University of Illinois with class, humility, and confidence. I could not be more excited to continue partnering with Bret to elevate Illinois Football into the championship-caliber program that we envision. I want to thank Bret for his leadership, trust, and partnership, as well as Jen, their girls, and their family for their engagement in our community and their contributions to Illinois Athletics. The future is bright!”
Illinois’ resurgence has been defined by a tough, smart, and dependable identity that has earned the Illini the reputation as one of the most physical football programs in the country. Illinois features one of the top five defenses in the country, one of the top nine offensive line units in the nation as identified by the Joe Moore Award, and the Power-5’s leading rusher, Chase Brown.
Bielema, a George Munger National Coach of the Year semifinalist, has led the 2022 Illini to an 8-4 overall record and 5-4 record in the Big Ten, the program’s best season since 2007. Illinois had its first season of 8+ wins in 15 years and finished above .500 in the Big Ten for the first time during that time span.
For the first time in program history, Illinois appeared in the College Football Playoff rankings in 2022, debuting at No. 16 in the rankings’ opening week. In the Associated Press poll, Illinois was ranked for five straight weeks while riding a six-game winning streak, rising as high as No. 14. It was only the third time in the last 30 years, and the first time since 2007, that Illinois has cracked the AP’s top 15.
Illinois’ defense ranked in the top 10 in the nation in 17 major statistical categories during the regular season, including leading the nation in interceptions (22) and ranking second in scoring defense (12.2) and third in total defense (263.8). Following the conclusion of conference championship games, Illinois entered bowl season ranked No. 1 in the nation in scoring defense, interceptions, and passing efficiency defense (89.8).
Illinois’ team success has taken the program’s individual accolades to new heights. Illinois had 19 players earn All-Big Ten honors, the most in program history, and a total of 31 Illini have been named All-Big Ten in the last two seasons, the most ever by Illinois over a two-year span. A pair of Illini were national awards finalists for the first time since 1995, RB Chase Brown (Doak Walker Award) and CB Devon Witherspoon (Paycom Jim Thorpe Award), and Illinois was one of only two programs in the nation with two Bednarik Award semifinalists, Witherspoon and DT Jer’Zhan Newton, along with Alabama. Last week, Witherspoon was named the 21st Consensus All-American in program history, becoming the first Illini defensive back to earn consensus status.
“First, thank you to Josh Whitman, our administration, Chancellor Jones, and the Board of Trustees for their support and commitment to our football program,” said Bielema. “Thanks to our outstanding coaches, staff, and student-athletes, I am proud of the progress we have made in two years and I could not be more excited about where our program is going.”
Bielema is 13-11 in his Illinois career, the best two-year start for an Illinois head coach since John Mackovic in the 1988-89 seasons. Bielema has led Illinois to five Big Ten road wins, the most by an Illini head coach in his first two seasons since Lou Tepper from 1992-93, as the Illini have thrived in big-game atmospheres since Bielema arrived in Champaign.
The program’s 2022 success has been a continuation of the team’s notable uptick toward the end of the 2021 season. In his first season at the helm of the Fighting Illini, Bielema led Illinois to a 5-7 record, highlighted by road wins at No. 7 Penn State and No. 20 Minnesota. The 2021 season culminated with a resounding victory against in-state rival Northwestern to reclaim the Land of Lincoln trophy for the first time in nearly a decade. The Illini then had another dominant victory over Northwestern by 38 points to end the 2022 regular season.
The football team’s on-field success has translated to significant growth in enthusiasm among Illini fans. In 2022, average ticketed attendance was its highest since 2016, student attendance was its highest in ten years, and Illinois’ revenue from football tickets increased 37% year-over-year.
With increased success on the field and a significant jump in fan engagement, Illinois’ recruiting profile continues to rise. The 2022 recruiting class was the school’s highest ranked since 2017 and of the class’s 22 signees, 11 hailed from the state of Illinois, the largest in-state collection of talent to sign with Illinois since 2003. Two from the 2022 class, OLB Gabe Jacas and DB Matthew Bailey, have given the Illini an immediate impact with Jacas earning various Freshman All-American recognitions and Bailey ranking among the national leaders in interceptions among first-year players.
Under the terms of the extension, Bielema’s annual salary grows to $6 million, with annual raises and the opportunity to earn various bonuses, including a $500,000 annual retention incentive. The contract also provides for up to four one-year extensions if certain performance thresholds are met. The University’s Board of Trustees will consider the extension for approval at its regularly scheduled meeting on January 26, 2023.
Illinois finishes the 2022 season at the ReliaQuest Bowl on Jan. 2 against Mississippi State in Tampa, Florida. Kickoff is scheduled for 11 a.m. CT on ESPN2.
Recent Comments