Whitman Believes Illini Football Future Relies on One Man - Bret Bielema

University of Illinois athletics director Josh Whitman believes he’s found the secret to Illini football success and it’s the man who occupies the head coach office of the Smith Center.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

July 24, 2026

CHAMPAIGN — The athletics director at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign no longer believes the question unlocking success in its football operations should start with a ‘what’ but instead a ‘who’.

Josh Whitman does not acknowledge the mystery to the historically dormant intercollegiate tackle football program, of which he participated as a scholarship athlete from 1997 to . . .

 

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