June 17, 2008
University of Illinois football coach Ron Zook and the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics intend for Memorial Stadium to be known as the best home field advantage in the Big Ten Conference this season. The Zook Zone towel, an orange towel that bears the "Zook Zone" name, will be the instrument Illinois fans use to bring Memorial Stadium to life at six great home games this fall.
The Fighting Illini sold out four of six games for the first time since 1986 under Zook's guidance last season. The horseshoe section sold out on a season ticket basis in a record 45 minutes earlier this year. Students bought 5,000 football season tickets in record time and that number continues to climb. Fighting Illini football has become one of the state's hottest tickets, with sellouts anticipated for all six games this season.
"The fans are pouring out to fill the seats in Memorial Stadium and that means a great deal to our football program," Zook said. "The towel will not only help us fight a disease that touches all of us in our daily life, but also help us create a game day atmosphere like none other in the Big Ten."
The first time fans will have a chance to use the Zook Zone towels at Memorial Stadium will be the Sept. 6 home opener against Eastern Illinois. That game will also mark the Illinois Renaissance Celebration, an event that will feature tributes to the top 10 players at eight different positions. The Fighting Illini will wear throwback jerseys that honor the playing days of Fighting Illini legendary linebacker and College Football Hall of Famer Dick Butkus to mark the occasion.
The towel will be sold for $7 exclusively at the Gameday Spirit locations on Green Street and Springfield Avenue. They will go on sale July 1.
Zook has earmarked $1 from every towel sold to help in the fight against cancer. Zook will attend a Fighting Illini basketball game following the football season where he will present Coach Bruce Weber with a check to build on the success of last year's Illini Madness pink shirt promotion that raised $50,000 for Coaches vs. Cancer.
