blog posts Newton picking up national awards Oct 23, 2023 11:00 am Jer'Zhan Newton has been named the Senior Bowl Defensive Player of the Week and the East-West Shrine Bowl Breakout Defensive Player of the Week. Newton named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Nov 29, 2023 9:15 am Illinois defensive tackle Jer'Zhan Newton was named the Big Ten's Defensive Player of the Year and the Defensive Lineman of the Year. He's just the fourth Illini in history to earn the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year award. New tailgating area opening at Memorial Stadium for 2015 Mar 24, 2015 1:15 pm The University of Illinois is excited to introduce plans that would transform what is currently Lot 36 on the west side of Memorial Stadium into a park setting that will be prime tailgating locations during Fighting Illini football game days. New tailgate options Jul 15, 2015 11:15 am Renovated tailgate lot, Grange Grove, provides variety for Fighting Illini Football Fans New Illini Athletics hype video: Join the Fight Jul 10, 2019 9:45 am This new Illini Productions video captures the excitement of approaching new athletic seasons. It's time to Join the Fight, Illini Nation! New AD Josh Whitman's message to Illini Nation Feb 18, 2016 10:45 am First, we will prepare our student-athletes to be leaders in our changing world. Second, we will build a prouder, stronger, and more passionate constituency of alumni, donors, and fans. And last, but not least, WE WILL WIN. Nelson named to freshman All-Big Ten teams Dec 9, 2016 12:00 pm Redshirt freshman safety Patrick Nelson earned freshman All-Big Ten accolades from both ESPN.com and Big Ten Network following a solid rookie season. Need Fighting Illini wallpaper for your desktop or phone? Nov 1, 2017 9:30 am Represent! Download Fighting Illini wallpapers here Nebraska visits tonight for Women's Basketball Senior Night Feb 22, 2023 10:00 am The Fighting Illini hope to add another victory to their 20 win season (10-6 B1G) when they face Nebraska (7 pm). Illinois has secured the biggest one-year conference win improvement in program history, the second-best in Big Ten history. Nebraska primetime and Homecoming football game times set Jun 1, 2017 1:15 pm Illinois' Homecoming matchup with Wisconsin on Oct. 28, will start at 11 a.m. CT, while the Friday night home game vs. Nebraska on Sept. 29 has been set for 7 p.m. CT on FS1. NCAA Tournament first round: Illinois vs. Arkansas today Mar 16, 2023 8:30 am Brad Underwood becomes the fourth coach in school history to lead Illinois to at least three straight NCAA Tournaments, joining Lou Henson, Bill Self and Bruce Weber. NCAA First Round Preview: Illinois vs. Chattanooga Friday Mar 17, 2022 8:45 am Fighting Illini Men's Basketball enters the weekend aiming to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2005, when it went on to play in the national championship game. The game is scheduled for 5:50 p.m. CT. NCAA announces time for Illinois/Marquette Volleyball Sweet 16 match Dec 3, 2018 8:30 am The No. 3 Illinois volleyball team will play No. 15 Marquette at 11 a.m. CT in Huff Hall on Friday, December 7 National Soccer Coaches Association gives Rayfield its Award of Excellence Dec 3, 2015 12:15 pm Rayfield established the University of Illinois women's soccer team as one of the premier programs in the nation. She has led Illinois to the NCAA Tournament in 10 of her 14 seasons. Montsi named Big Ten Athlete of the Week, second time this season Mar 31, 2021 8:00 am Siphosothando Montsi was named Big Ten Tennis Athlete of the Week. Montsi went undefeated in singles and doubles in Illinois' wins over No. 25 Michigan and Michigan State. MLB teams called, but Garrett Acton staying at Illinois Jun 14, 2019 8:00 am Acton balanced the pros and cons before making up his mind. 'At the end of the day, I take so much pride in being a student-athlete at Illinois that it was a relatively easy decision to make.' Milton named Big Ten Player of the Week Apr 24, 2024 9:00 am Senior outfielder Connor Milton went 9-for-12 with five runs scored, two doubles, three home runs and eight RBI during the Illini's series sweep of Northwestern, posting a .750 on-base percentage while slugging an incredible 1.667. Mike Small voted top collegiate golf coach in the country Jul 8, 2015 12:30 pm Illini Men's Golf head coach, Mike Small, was voted the top of his class by his peers on Wednesday (July 8), according to a poll released by Golfweek. Mike Small: 2017 Senior PGA Professional Player Of The Year Jul 6, 2018 8:45 am A three-time PGA Professional Player of the Year (2006, 2007 and 2010), Illini Head Coach Mike Small has been named the Senior PGA Professional Player of the Year Mike Poeta named head wrestling coach Apr 22, 2021 9:30 am Mike Poeta, one of Illinois's all-time greatest wrestlers and top assistant coaches in the nation as a member of the Fighting Illini staff, was named head wrestling coach today by Illinois Director of Athletics Josh Whitman. Mike Hebert's impact on Fighting Illini Volleyball Jun 10, 2022 9:30 am This two-part series showcases how former head coach Mike Herbert evolved Illinois volleyball into a unit that would earn Illini women's athletics' first three Big Ten championships. Midweek games against Missouri and Valparaiso await Fighting Illini Softball Mar 14, 2023 8:15 am The Fighting Illni (16 - 7) take on the Missouri Tigers in a doubleheader today, beginning at 1 p.m. CT. The home opener against Valpo on Wednesday is slated for 1 p.m. CT. Michigan State outlasts Illini women, 67-55 Jan 17, 2018 8:45 am 'We just have to keep fighting,' head coach Nancy Fahey said. 'I am proud of this team because every time, they could get really tired and hang it up, but they don't.' Michelle Bartsch-Hackley: Illinois Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2020 Jul 30, 2020 9:15 am The many accomplishments of former Fighting Illini volleyball standout and 2020 Illinois Athletics Hall of Fame inductee Michelle Bartsch-Hackley. Michael Massey called up to Kansas City Royals Jul 15, 2022 9:30 am Massey was the highest drafted infielder in Illinois history when he went in the fourth round of the 2019 MLB Draft. His three-year Illini career included a national Gold Glove award, two All-Big Ten honors, and a .324 career batting average. Meyer named to Ben Hogan Award watch list Feb 15, 2018 9:30 am Fighting Illini senior Dylan Meyer is among just 27 collegiate golfers named to the watch list for the prestigious Ben Hogan Award Meyer named Big Ten Golfer of the Week Oct 26, 2017 8:45 am Senior golfer Dylan Meyer has been named Big Ten Golfer of the Week, coming off of an 11-under par performance at the Tavistock Collegiate Invitational Meyer, Illini Men's Golf maintain top spot at Tavistock Collegiate Invitational Oct 24, 2017 10:45 am Senior golfer Dylan Meyer posted a second-round tally of 6-under par to lead Illinois and maintain his spot atop the individual leaderboard on Monday Messages pour in honoring Coach Lou Henson Jul 31, 2020 12:45 pm As the news of legendary Fighting Illini basketball coach and ambassador Lou Henson's passing broke, hundreds of posts on social media were shared with personal anecdotes about the man in an orange blazer. Mercilus named to BTN All-Decade Second Team Jul 7, 2020 10:45 am Mercilus was a consensus All-American and won the Hendricks Award (top DE in the nation) at Illinois in 2011 after one of the best seasons by a defender in Fighting Illini history. Men's, women's basketball season tickets on sale today Jun 12, 2023 9:00 am Season tickets for 2023-24 Fighting Illini men's and women's basketball go on sale today at noon. Both programs are coming off successful campaigns with anticipation high for the upcoming season. Men's Track opens season at the Border Battle with Iowa, Missouri Jan 6, 2017 10:45 am The Border Battle has seen the Illini go 3-1 in the first two meets. In the inaugural meet two years ago, the Illini beat both Missouri and Iowa. Last year the Illini split,defeating Missouri but losing to Iowa at the UI Armory. Men's Tennis wins 4-3 thriller over Wisconsin Apr 22, 2019 8:15 am The No. 15 Fighting Illini men's tennis team concluded the regular season with their 10th conference win, defeating the Wisconsin Badgers on Sunday afternoon. Men's Tennis: Three-for-three in first round; Kovacevic wins 100th match May 24, 2021 9:30 am All three Illini are moving onto the round of 32 after sweeping their matches today. Zeke Clark, Aleks Kovacevic and Siphosothando Montsi each defeated their opponents in straight sets. Kovacevic's win marks the 100th singles win of his career. Men's Tennis sweeps Purdue in first Big Ten home match Mar 28, 2016 9:30 am The No. 10 ranked Fighting Illini men's tennis team swept Purdue, 4-0, in their first home conference match of the season Sunday afternoon. The Illini improve to 10-7 on the season and 2-1 in Big Ten play. Men's Tennis snags senior day win over Purdue Apr 25, 2022 9:00 am 'It felt good to go out there and get the win on senior day,' said head coach Brad Dancer. 'We've won four in-a-row now and have some good momentum heading into the tournament later this week.' Men's Tennis seeded No. 8 in NCAA tournament May 2, 2018 8:15 am Illinois will host the NCAA first and second rounds at the Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex on May 12 and 13, with Illinois taking on Marquette in the opening round, 3 pm on May 12 Men's Tennis open season against Duke on Friday Jan 31, 2019 9:45 am Illinois has won their season-opening dual match in 12 of head coach Brad Dancer's 14 seasons. Last season, the Illini traveled to Durham, N.C. to defeat Duke, 6-1 Men's Tennis: Kovacevic wins ITA Midwest Regional title Oct 23, 2018 8:00 am Illinois junior Aleks Kovacevic defeated fellow teammate Zeke Clarkto capture the singles title at the 2018 ITA Midwest Regional Championship on Monday afternoon Men's Tennis: Kovacevic set to play in NCAA quarterfinals May 26, 2021 9:30 am Aleks Kovacevic will play in the quarterfinals at the NCAA Singles Championships today in Orlando. Kovacevic lost the first set before battling back to defeat Alexis Galarneau from NC State 4-6, 6-4, 6-0. Men's Tennis: Four selected for NCAA singles & doubles championships May 1, 2015 10:15 am A day after the Illini were announced as the No. 4 seed in the 2015 NCAA Tournament, the NCAA Jared Hiltzik and Farris Gosea to the upcoming NCAA singles tournament. The pair of Tim Kopinski and Ross Guignon were selected to represent the Illini in the doubles tournament. Men's tennis earns ITA All-Academic Team award Jul 27, 2017 9:30 am Vuk Budic, Zeke Clark, Aron Hiltzik, Alex Jesse, Noe Khlif and Pablo Landa were each named ITA Scholar-Athletes. Men's Tennis defeats Michigan in a thriller Apr 8, 2019 12:15 pm No. 15 Illini men's tennis battled through to defeat the No. 20 Michigan Wolverines, 4-2, on Sunday afternoon in Ann Arbor. Illinois go undefeated in Big Ten play (7-0), while maintaining a 13-6 overall record. Men's Tennis continues to roll with 25th consecutive win over Hawkeyes Apr 1, 2019 8:30 am Illinois defeated Iowa 5-1 to extend the overall series, 75-23. The Orange and Blue go undefeated in Big Ten play (5-0), while maintaining a 11-6 overall record on the season. Men's Gymnastics takes top spot in 2019 Big Ten preseason poll Dec 14, 2018 8:30 am The defending Big Ten Champion Fighting Illini men's gymnastics team took the top spot in the 2019 Big Ten Preseason Coaches' Poll, the conference announced Thursday Men's Gymnastics takes down no. 2 Stanford, no. 5 Minnesota on Senior Day Mar 4, 2019 8:15 am The fourth-ranked Fighting Illini registered season-high totals on four events to take down both Stanford and Minnesota on Saturday. Illinois improves to 9-2 overall, 2-1 in conference competition. Men's Gymnastics headed to Big Ten Championships this weekend Mar 31, 2016 10:30 am All seven Big Ten men's gymnastics teams will be present this weekend in Columbus, Ohio, as Ohio State hosts the Big Ten Championships. Men's Gymnastics defend home turf at Big Ten Championships Apr 7, 2017 10:00 am The Illinois men's gymnastics team host the 2017 Big Ten Men's Gymnastics Championships at State Farm Center on Friday and Saturday, April 7-8. Men's Golf wins third straight Big Ten championship May 1, 2017 9:45 am The Illini finished 16 strokes ahead of runner-up Northwestern to earn the program's eighth Big Ten title in the last nine seasons. The team score marks a new Big Ten Championships record Men's Golf wins the inaugural East Lake Cup trophy Nov 4, 2015 10:30 am Fighting Illini Men's Golf earned it's fourth tournament title of the fall season on Tuesday, taking home the inaugural East Lake Cup title.