Jul. 24—INDIANAPOLIS — Big Ten media days puts the entire conference on even ground.
All 18 teams have a chance to sell themselves leading into the college football season. This year meant equal opportunity for players and coaches to appear on both Big Ten Network and CBS Sports studio shows. Equal opportunity to put their best foot forward before training camp begins.
Because that’s when that even ground disappears. Expectations for teams like Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State and Michigan at the top of the new-look Big Ten ahead of the 2024 season look different than success for UCLA, Michigan State, Indiana and Purdue at the bottom.
Illinois occupies a space closer to the latter. At least according to the preseason polls that placed the Illini in the bottom third of the expanded conference earlier this week with Illinois checking in at 13th and 14th.
While fourth-year coach Bret Bielema has won more games in his first three seasons in Champaign than all of his predecessors dating back to John Mackovic, all Illinois has to show for it is a single bowl game appearance in 2022 as the lone winning season of the bunch.
Josh Whitman understands the importance of a successful football program when it comes to an athletic department’s overall standing both at the conference level and nationally. Mostly competitive games for Illinois football the past three seasons was something the Illini athletic director called “an important, necessary step.”
“Now, we need to start winning some more of those games,” Whitman continued.
The Big Ten’s growth could make that an even bigger challenge. Expanding westward with the addition of UCLA, Southern California, Oregon and Washington and scrapping divisions in favor of the best two teams duking it out in December for the Big Ten championship puts more distance between Illinois and its goal of competing for a conference title.
“I think being a Big Ten football team has been really hard for a really long time,” Whitman said. “I think there are new opportunities available to programs across the spectrum. Part of our strategy, at a place like Illinois, is to try and capitalize on the change and the disruption that’s happening in our industry to put our program in a stronger position than where we have been historically.”
Illinois moved in that direction with its early acceptance — and application — of name, image and likeness opportunities.
Whitman also maintains the Illini will be a net beneficiary of the transfer portal. This offseason saw Bielema land at least a half-dozen starters from the portal, including high-profile additions in wide receiver Zakhari Franklin, cornerback Terrance Brooks and offensive lineman J.C. Davis.
Illinois also continues to invest heavily in football. The Smith Center was the most prominent given its price tag of $79.2 million, but other investments have been made in staffing (the Illini list 46 football staffers beyond Bielema and his 10 assistant coaches), nutrition, equipment and upgrades to Memorial Stadium for both the team and related to the fan experience.
“There’s been a lot of investment into our football program that isn’t as visible as the Smith Center, but I think has been every bit as impactful in terms of their day-to-day work,” Whitman said. “We’re always looking for things we can do to support our football program. We’ve worked to try and identify what those areas may be over the years. It’s an ongoing evaluation. There’s a conversation that happens, almost on a daily basis, with Coach and myself about places where we can continue to grow and advance. We’re certainly never going to be satisfied with where we are.”
The end goal is singular, and being a legitimate contender for a Big Ten title would automatically put Illinois in the mix to contend for a national championship. Getting there is the challenge.
“Every program is going to have a different and, I would say, evolving definition of success,” Whitman said. “It depends on where you’re at and your program’s trajectory. What your tradition has been. What your history has been. What your current circumstance is.”
Whitman sees Illinois’ current circumstance as a program with a shot at being in the mix for the expanded College Football Playoff, pointing to Bielema’s second season that came with a 7-1 start and the program’s first appearance in the CFP rankings.
“We would have been right in that conversation,” Whitman said if the CFP featured 12 teams in 2022. “A program like ours aspiring to be in that 12-team field is very much within our reach and something that we talk about on a regular basis. … Certainly, the expanded playoff gives more fan bases, more programs, that opportunity on any given year to have that chance.
“Now, instead of having maybe six fan bases who are jockeying for those four spots, for 12 spots you may have 20-25 fan bases that, when the calendar turns to November, you’re still playing meaningful games. That, I think, will add a layer of excitement and drama to the regular season that will benefit the sport of college football.”
The News-Gazette, Champaign-Urbana, Ill.
