National Championships
Illinois has earned 23 National Championships, most recently by men's gymnastics in 2012.
» 10 – Men's Gymnastics (1939, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1950, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1989, 2012)
» 5 – Football (1914, 1919, 1923, 1927, 1951)
» 5 – Outdoor Track & Field (1921, 1927, 1944, 1946, 1947)
» 2 – Men's Fencing (1956, 1958)
» 1 – Men's Tennis (2003)
2012 Men's Gymnastics
The Fighting Illini men’s gymnastics team climbed back from a two-point deficit in the final two rotations of the night to win the 2012 NCAA Championship at Oklahoma’s Lloyd Noble Center. The Orange and Blue posted a season-high score of 358.850, including a school record-breaking 60.750 on pommel horse, to edge host and top-ranked Oklahoma (357.450) and win the national title.
2003 Men's Tennis
Craig Tiley led the Fighting Illini to the NCAA men’s tennis national title in 2003 with a perfect 32-0 record. The tennis national championship was the first by a school not from the south or either coast. In addition to the team championship, Amer Delic won the men's singles title and Rajeev Ram and Brian Wilson took home the doubles title - accomplishing the rare NCAA tennis triple crown.
1989 Men's Gymnastics
Legendary coach Yoshi Hayasaki got his lone national championship in 1989, guiding Illinois to the first NCAA title of any Illini sport since 1958. Illinois finished first with a score of 283.400, defending national champion Nebraska took second (282.300) and Minnesota third.
1958 Men's Gymnastics
With Charley Pond at the helm, Illinois Men’s Gymnastics tied (79-79) with the host, Michigan State, for first place at the national championship, the first instance of a draw in NCAA tournament history.
1958 Men's Fencing
Art Schankin, the Illini captain who was named the No. 1 fencer at the 1958 NCAA meet was the first fencer in the 14-year history of the event to win all 21 of his bouts in saber, taking 1st place. Abbey Silverstone finished third in the foil division, and Lee Sentman took sixth in epee. Art Schankin and Abbey Silverstone won places on the All-American first team, and Lee Sentman won a place on the All-American second team.
1956 Men's Gymnastics
The Fighting Illini won their second-consecutive NCAA title over Penn State, handedly beating the Nittany Lions 123.5 to 67.5, under Charley Pond. The event was held at North Carolina.
1956 Men's Fencing
The 1956 NCAA Championship was held at Annapolis. Individually, the University of Illinois placed second in foil (Peter Velasco), second in saber (Art Schankin), and third in epee (Larry Kauffman). All three of them made All-American on the first team.
1955 Men's Gymnastics
Two-time champion Penn State is defeated by Charley Pond’s repeat runner-up Illini, 82-69, at UCLA.
1951 Football
The 1951 squad posted a near-perfect 9-0-1 record on the season, grabbing a share of the national title. The team started off the season with seven straight wins, beating 20th-ranked Washington and No. 15 Michigan along the way. The Illini suffered its only non-win of the year against Ohio State when neither team managed to score in a 0-0 tie. Illinois capped the season with a 40-7 romping of Stanford in the 1952 Rose Bowl. Consensus All-American Johnny Karras led the team in rushing and Hall of Famer Al Brosky was a star in the defensive secondary.
1950 Men's Gymnastics
Charley Pond coached the Illini to his first NCAA Championship, narrowly beating out Temple 26-25. The event was hosted by Army.
1947 Men's Outdoor Track & Field
Illinois won its third national title in four years, and fifth overall, with a victory at the 1947 NCAA Outdoor Championships at the University of Utah. Leo Johnson's squad scored 59.67 points to top second-place Southern California (34.25 points).
1946 Men's Outdoor Track & Field
The Fighting Illini claimed their fourth overall national title and second in three years in 1946. The Leo Johnson-led Illinois squad scored 78 points to beat second-place Southern California (42.85 points) on the campus of the University of Minnesota.
1944 Men's Outdoor Track & Field
Leo Johnson led Illinois to its third track & field national title in 1944, the first of a run of three titles in four years. The Fighting Illini scored 79 team points to easily outpace runner-up Notre Dame (43 points) on the Marquette University campus.
1942 Men's Gymnastics
Hartley Price’s fourth and final NCAA Championship with the Fighting Illini. Illinois defeated Penn State, 39-30, with the event hosted by Navy.
1941 Men's Gymnastics
Illinois defeats the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers, 69-52.5, for its third-consecutive NCAA title. Chicago hosted the event.
1940 Men's Gymnastics
Coach Price and the men’s gymnastics team bring home their second NCAA Championship, winning over both Navy and Temple, 20-17, in Chicago.
1939 Men's Gymnastics
After placing second in the first NCAA title meet, Coach Hartley Price and the Fighting Illini beat Army 21-17 to win the school’s first men’s gymnastics title. Chicago hosted the event.
1927 Football
In 1927, Zuppke produced his fourth undefeated team, going 7-0-1. The 1927 Illinois club was literally unbeatable, yielding only 24 points the entire season, 12 of them coming in a tie with Iowa State. Besides the Cyclones, only Northwestern and Chicago were able to score a single point against this ferocious Illini team. Illinois' closest competition for the conference title was Minnesota, who finished 3-0-1 in conference play, but by virtue of not playing Illinois and its tie with Indiana, finished second behind 5-0 Illinois. Among those awarded postseason honors were guard Russell Crane and center Robert Reitsch, both of whom were members of Grantland Rice's All-America team.
1927 Men's Outdoor Track & Field
Illinois, led by Hall of Fame coach Harry Gill, scored 35 points at the NCAA Championships in Chicago to claim the program's second national title.
1923 Football
The 1923 season became a particularly special year in Illinois football history. Not only did Illinois and Zuppke win their third national championship in 10 years, but Memorial Stadium was finally completed. It was unveiled for all to see at the homecoming contest, a victory vs. Chicago on Nov. 3. The 1923 season also meant the arrival of legendary halfback Red Grange, who became possibly the most storied college football player ever. Grange was named a Walter Camp All-American after scoring 72 points that season. After the win over Chicago, the Fighting Illini finished their undefeated season by shutting out their final three opponents en route to a tie for the conference crown with Michigan, which Illinois didn't play. The defense was spectacular, as Illinois held its last five opponents scoreless and outscored its foes, 82-0, to finish the season. In addition to Grange, left guard James McMillen joined the Galloping Ghost on several award teams, including Eckersall's first-team All-America squad.
1921 Men's Outdoor Track & Field
Led by legendary coach Harry Gill, Illinois won the first-ever official NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championship, which was held in Chicago in 1921. The Fighting Illini scored 20.25 points to edge second-place Notre Dame (16.75 points).
1919 Football
The 1919 team was the only one of Zuppke's national championship squads to lose a game. Wisconsin managed to defeat the Fighting Illini in Urbana in the third game of the season, 14-10, to temporarily knock Illinois out of the conference lead. However, Zuppke's men came back from the Wisconsin defeat with three consecutive wins to set up a showdown with the Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium on Nov. 22 to determine the conference champion. Illinois scored first on a first-quarter touchdown and never looked back. The Fighting Illini added a field goal before allowing a Buckeye touchdown and conversion. With the final score, 9-7, in Illinois' favor, the Illini won the conference title and were later named national champions. Right guard Clarence Applegran was named to Eckersall's second-team All-America squad, and left tackle Burt Ingwersen and center John Depler were both members of Walter Camp's second-team All-America squad.
1914 Football
Possibly the most dominant team in Illinois football history was the 1914 squad. The squad was only coach Robert Zuppke's second at Illinois and would be the first of four national championship teams he would lead in his 29 years at Illinois. The Fighting Illini defense shut out four of its seven opponents, yielding only 22 points the entire 1914 season, and the averaged up an incredible 32 points per game, including a 51-0 shellacking of Indiana on Oct. 10. This team was so good that no one scored a point against them until Oct. 31, the fifth game of the seven-game season. The closest game of the year, two weeks later, wasn't very close at all, a 21-7 home decision over Chicago. Leading the way for Zuppke's troops was right halfback Bart Macomber. He led the team in scoring. Left guard Ralph Chapman was named to Walter Camp's first-team All-America squad, while left halfback Harold Pogue, the team's second-leading scorer, was named to Camp's second team.
