As we celebrate Homecoming on Oct. 21, when the Fighting Illini take on the Wisconsin Badgers, it is important to honor every member of our FamILLy. From the players and coaches on the field, to the Marching Illini, to the cheerleaders, to everyone donning Orange and Blue throughout Memorial Stadium, to the Fighting Illini faithful near and far, our FamILLy is central to our success, both on and off the field. To honor different members of our famILLy, ahead of each football home game, we will share the stories of those who represent the values we uphold at Illinois. This week's edition of the FamILLy Focus series spotlights the Hoffman family, which includes multiple generations of Illinois graduates and lifelong Illini fans. The Hoffmans have two sons, JP and Anthony, who are members of the Fighting Illini cheer team, which plays a huge role on Illini football game days.
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The Hoffman Family bleeds Orange and Blue. There is no doubt about that. Between parents J.R. and Rose meeting – and ultimately getting married – on campus, to four of their six children attending Illinois, to their youngest two sons currently serving as Fighting Illini cheerleaders, U of I is an integral part of the family's history and identity.
"I don't often reflect on my life. Sitting there in the stands at Memorial Stadium, the place is clearing out, the cheerleaders and the football team and the band are still there celebrating their school, it makes me sit back and think about the essence of our family," J.R. Hoffman said. "We met here, we got married here, and 30 years later, we're able to enjoy and celebrate in a very, very unique way."
Graduating from Illinois in 1992, J.R. and Rose Hoffman got married at Newman Center on campus later that year before moving to Rockford, where J.R. was completing medical school. They then spent time in Evansville, Indiana, before staying in the Hoosier State and living in Jasper for 13 years.
Even while living three hours away from Champaign-Urbana, the Hoffmans still found ways to support the Illini. The family created a game room decked out with orange walls and blue track lights, and J.R. wore an Illinois tie to work on game days, even if it occasionally drew some friendly banter from local Indiana or Purdue fans.
The Hoffmans eventually had their own homecoming in June 2012, when they moved back to Champaign. One of their daughters opted to attend Indiana University, though J.R. and Rose made regular visits to Bloomington. That included a weekend trip to watch an Illinois-Indiana football game, though they continued to demonstrate their Illini loyalty, rooting for the Orange and Blue in enemy territory.
The family's second-oldest daughter, Honor, became the first child to follow in their parents' footsteps and attend Illinois, ultimately graduating from the College of Education in 2017. After their oldest son, Joe, originally spent his first year of college elsewhere, he opted to transfer to U of I as a sophomore and continue the family legacy, graduating in 2022 from the College of Agricultural Consumer and Environmental Sciences.
JP Hoffman became the third Hoffman child to attend Illinois. Currently a senior in Gies College of Business, JP joined the cheer team ahead of his junior year despite never participating in the sport. After playing soccer through high school, JP thought he would give it a try.
"Freshman year, I ended up meeting the now-captain of the cheer team," JP Hoffman said. "At that point, I was able to do a back flip. We became friends, and he was like, 'Hey, you can do a back flip. You're pretty athletic. You're pretty strong. Maybe you should try to join the cheer team.' They're always looking for more guys to join the team because it's pretty rare to find male cheerleaders. I was like, 'OK, I'll give it a shot.' I tried out, they took me in, taught me the ropes, and I've been a cheerleader ever since."
JP became the family's first cheerleader at Illinois, but he was not the last. His younger brother, Anthony, who is the sixth and youngest child in the Hoffman family, opted to join the team in August. A freshman in the College of Applied Health Sciences, Anthony was excited to cheer alongside his brother, especially after missing the opportunity to play soccer together in high school.
Though the brothers will only get the chance to cheer alongside each other for one year, Anthony is making the most of every game and practice they spend together.
"I just realized that this is home and any other mascot is betraying the Block I," Anthony Hoffman said. "If JP did cheer on a whim and he was strong enough and athletic enough, I was like, 'If I'm going to the U of I, this place that I feel has been home for years and years, then I might as well be a cheerleader. If JP was able to do it, maybe I'll be able to do it.'
"The regret of not being able to experience playing with JP was a big, big regret for a long time, and then this opportunity arose. I took it, and I couldn't be happier with that. I think it's awesome that it's with my brother, and our family can experience that. It's crazy all around. It's crazy for our family. It's crazy for us. We picked it up, ran with it, and we're doing well at it. It's an awesome experience all around. It's been a full circle moment that I'm very thankful for."
The Hoffman family is making the most of JP and Anthony's time together, and J.R. and Rose attend every football game to cheer on their sons on the sidelines. Whether it's during Illini Walk at Grange Grove or inside Memorial Stadium on game days, Illinois cheerleading has become a family affair, an experience Rose, a proud mother, will never forget.
"My favorite sports memories are now," Rose Hoffman said. "It about brings me to tears when at the end of the game, they stand there singing the Alma Mater, swinging back and forth. We went to school here, and now they do, too. I just feel super blessed."
