Nov. 30, 2001

The University of Illinois' 2001 Big Ten Champion football squad will be honored at halftime of the Illinois' basketball game against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Saturday night at Assembly Hall.

Head coach Ron Turner's squad won its first outright Big Ten title since 1983 with its 34-28 win over Northwestern on Thanksgiving Day. With the win, the Illini are guaranteed a spot in a Bowl Championship Series game, playing either in the Fiesta, Orange or Sugar Bowl this January. Illinois finished the season 10-1, marking only the fourth time in school history an Illini team has reached the 10-win mark. They will chase history as they look to become the first Illinois squad to win 11 games.