Illinois has named Tim Banks as its defensive coordinator, rounding out the staff for new coach Tim Beckman.Banks comes to Illinois from Cincinnati, where he spent the past two seasons as the Bearcats' co-defensive coordinator. He previously served as co-defensive coordinator at Central Michigan.In 2011, Cincinnati's defense ranked sixth nationally in rushing and 42nd in total defense. The... [Read More]
Illinois may be thin at running back for its New Year's Eve bowl game against UCLA.Interim head coach Vic Koenning said starting fullback Jay Prosch is hospitalized with a staph infection while starting tailback Jason Ford may be academically ineligible for the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl. Prosch was hospitalized Dec. 14, Illinois sports information director Kent Brown said, and had surgery on one of... [Read More]
Illinois fired football coach Ron Zook this morning, a source close to the program told The News-Gazette. The official announcement will come out later today. Zook's seventh season as Illinois head coach ended Saturday with a 27-7 loss at Minnesota. After a 6-0 start, the Illini dropped their last six games of the season to put Zook's tenure in jeopardy. Zook led the team to two bowl games, the... [Read More]
Ron Zook opened his weekly news conference by warning reporters he would walk out if they asked about his job security. He ended it by keeping his word. The Illini have lost four straight games following their 6-0 start. The most recent loss, to Michigan at home on Saturday, was followed by a weekend of off-field trouble that included starting linebacker Trulon Henry being shot in the hand two... [Read More]
Illinois senior linebacker Trulon Henry was shot in the hand at an off-campus party early Sunday morning and will miss the rest of the regular season. School officials said Henry was called by a teammate to come to the party and encourage other Illini players to leave. He was one of three people injured when shots were fired into a crowd. Henry moved to outside linebacker this season after... [Read More]
Illinois coach Ron Zook said Sunday he would "deal with" sophomore linebacker Jonathan Brown after Brown appeared to intentionally knee Northwestern offensive lineman Patrick Ward in the groin during Saturday's game. Following a play in the second quarter, Brown walked up to Ward, lifted his right knee and appeared to connect with Ward's groin. Ward bent over and grabbed the area with... [Read More]
Illinois has hired Cincinnati's Mike Thomas as athletic director, replacing the retiring Ron Guenther, sources told ESPN.com's Brian Bennett. Thomas has served as Cincinnati's athletic director since October 2005. He previously served as athletic director at Akron. Guenther announced his retirement in May after 19 years as athletic director at Illinois, his alma mater. Illinois will announce... [Read More]
Illinois football coach Ron Zook says junior linebacker Ashante Williams has been suspended indefinitely following a violation of team rules. No additional details about the suspension were immediately available Saturday. Spokesman Kent Brown says the university won't comment any further on the violation of team rules. Brown says he isn't sure what the situation means for Williams' permanent... [Read More]
An Illinois football player has been arrested in what police are investigating as a possible hate crime. Champaign police say they arrested 20-year-old defensive lineman Chris Jones on Sunday on a preliminary aggravated battery charge after two men reported he punched them outside a bar. The men said Jones was in a car whose occupants shouted anti-homosexual insults at them. University spokesman... [Read More]
