Illini men's basketball coach Brad Underwood (left) and football coach Bret Bielema address fans at the Illini Guardians' standing-room-only crowd in Decatur Monday night. (Photos courtesy Adam Fleischer/Illini Guardians)

CHICAGO, DECATUR and CHAMPAIGN, Illinois/May 24, 2022/

IlliniGuys.com, an independent multimedia sports portal launched by media, sports, business and legal professionals with more than 100 years of collective experience, announces today its collaboration with the Illini Guardians.

On May 23, 2022, more than 300 Fighting Illini fans, coaches and administrators gathered at a standing-room only event as the Illini Guardians announced its first major fundraising initiative since their inception earlier this year.

The Illini Guardians is an independent group of supporters of the University of Illinois athletics who are committed to fostering powerful and positive relationships between the student-athletes and the business community by harnessing opportunities created by the Name, Image and Likeness (“NIL”) legislation, known as the Student-Athlete Endorsement Rights Act. The Illini Guardians has launched an initiative that will pool funds from donors to be used in NIL opportunities for the Fighting Illini student-athletes.

Those in attendance were given information as the Illini Guardians unveiled the initial tiers of financial participation. “This was an amazing event,” said IlliniGuys.com co-founder Brad Sturdy. “Just a tremendous turnout. The Illini Guardians folks have done a ton of homework, and we at IlliniGuys.com are happy to help in any way that we can.”

A free one-year membership to IlliniGuys.com will be granted to those contributing on the third through fifth tiers of giving to the Illini Guardians initiative.

With Illinois Athletic Director Josh Whitman, football coach Bret Bielema, and men’s basketball coach Brad Underwood in attendance, Fleischer explained the NIL rules and how the group is making sure that all rules are followed as they work to put Illinois in a leadership position in the new college athletic landscape. To make NIL contributions, visit http://split.to/join-illini

IlliniGuys.com is an Illini fan site launched in January 2021 by longtime CNN/Turner Sports host Larry Smith, veteran Illini sports journalist Brad Sturdy, and former AAU coach and Illini super fan Mike Cagley. Their weekly syndicated radio show debuted in August 2021, and is broadcast on 30 radio stations and heard in six states across the Midwest. IlliniGuys.com is an independent media organization and is not affiliated with the University of Illinois.

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