Turner Signs Contract Extension
January 17, 2002 | Football
Jan. 17, 2002
The University of Illinois Board of Trustees approved a proposed one-year contract extension of head football coach Ron Turner, which extends the terms until Jan. 20, 2007.
The amendment came before the BOT following a 2001 football season in which the Illini won the Big Ten Championship title for the first time since 1990 and first outright since 1983. For his efforts, Turner was unanimously named the Big Ten Coach of the Year and was a finalist for three national coach of the year awards. The team finished the season with a 10-2 record and the school's first-ever berth in the Bowl Championship Series. Illinois has posted a record of 23-12 over the last three years after only three wins in Turner's first two seasons.
"I have said since day one that Illinois is where I want to be," Turner said. "I've made a long-term commitment to this University and I appreciate the returned commitment Ron Guenther and the Board of Trustees has made to me. I am very excited about the future of the football program."
Turner engineered a record-setting offense that became the highest scoring in school history with 32.5 points per game. Turner's squad in 1999 set the school's scoring record with 388 points only to have it broken by the 2001 team who put 390 points on the board. The last three seasons, Turner-led offenses have averaged over 30 points per game.
Turner was hired in 1997 and had his contract first extended following the 1999 season in which the Illinois team went 8-4 with a 63-21 win over Virginia in the Micronpc.com Bowl. He signed a one-year extension in 2000.
