Illinois senior defensive end Michael Buchanan suffered a broken jaw in an altercation on Saturday, a school spokesperson said Wednesday.Illinois sports information assistant director Kent Brown said Buchanan's jaw has been wired shut and he is expected to see a specialist later this week. Brown said the hope was for Buchanan to be ready to play for the team's preseason camp.Illinois coach Tim... [Read More]

A jury Wednesday found former University of Illinois football player Steven Feagin guilty of raping a student in 1995, a conviction that could send him to prison for as long as 90 years.The crimes went without arrests for years before DNA evidence led police to Feagin in Florida, where he was arrested in 2008.In the first of three Champaign County rape cases against Feagin, jurors deliberated for... [Read More]

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]