In his annual media roundtable, University of Illinois Director of Athletics Josh Whitman presented his State of Illinois Athletics and spoke at length about the remarkable accomplishments of the Illinois Athletics program and individual sports while addressing several ongoing issues in college athletics and continuing his message of sustained success.
For all intents and purposes, the state of Illinois Athletics is strong.
The 2022-23 school year saw the Illinois Athletics program capture two Big Ten Team Championships in men's and women's golf, plus two student-athletes brought home individual national championships in women's gymnastics and women's indoor track and field.
The men's basketball program is one of only four Big Ten teams that made the NCAA Tournament three years in a row. Head coach Brad Underwood also has the winningest four-year performance in school history.
A resurgent women's basketball squad made the NCAA Tournament for the first time in two decades with head coach Shauna Green in her first year, leading the team to their best season in more than 20 years.
Football had its best season since 2007, was ranked in the top 25, and made a January bowl game for the first time in 15 years.
With the fiscal year winding down at the end of June, Illinois Athletics will finish with approximately $35 million in new fundraising business. It will be the sixth-consecutive year that Illinois Athletics surpassed $30 million in new business. It's the fourth-most successful year in the last 10. The active donor count is also over 7,300, the highest in the last decade.
Looking back on the year, Whitman said he'd characterize the season as a tremendous step forward. "This was a year that we had been building toward for really every year of my tenure. We were one of the 14 schools in the country to put our football and men's and women's basketball teams into the postseason."
He called the year a culmination of the tremendous work the staff, coaches, and student-athletes put in to make it possible. "Just getting to the postseason is not the objective. Pursuing our way through the postseason, winning more championships, not only at the conference level but ultimately at the national level, is the expectation. And the good news is, as we try and capitalize on what this year has meant, we are prepared for success."
"Our student-athletes continue to push the bar forward."
There's a reason "student" is first in the term "student-athlete." It is just as important to excel in the classroom as on the field, court, diamond, pitch, or track.
The graduation rate was 95 percent, the highest the department has on record. The combined GPA for student-athletes in the fall and spring was 3.45 – also, the highest on record, excluding COVID years. Those marked the 25th- and 26th-consecutive semester for student-athletes to post GPAs above 3.0.
Whitman said, "Our student-athletes continue to push the bar forward. Just when I think that they really can't raise it any higher, they find ways to do so. It's just a remarkable achievement. We grow accustomed to that here, but it doesn't mean that we should ever take it for granted. And what we've found is that a lot of the characteristics that make our student-athletes successful athletically also certainly make them very successful academically."
"Our day's coming."
It was the second-consecutive year the men's basketball program set a record in ticket revenue, with 12 sellouts, including every Big Ten matchup. The program has achieved at a high level with four-consecutive top-five regular season finishes.
The recent disappointing showings in the NCAA Tournament were not lost on Whitman. He believes fans should keep some perspective on what the men's basketball program has accomplished over the last several years.
"The best thing we could do is win the regular season, get the best seed we possibly can, and improve our chances of making a run," shared Whitman regarding basketball postseason success. "Does it mean we're going to? No, it doesn't. The regular season is a great snapshot of where our program stands. And ultimately, if you continue to do well in the regular season, then you put yourself in a position to do well in March. Our day's coming. We just haven't found it yet, but I've got tremendous confidence where we're headed and excited about what the future looks like."
On the women's side, the women's basketball program's 15-win improvement was the best year-to-year ever at Illinois and the third-largest improvement in Big Ten history.
"I'm really proud of the progress that we showed in women's basketball this year," said Whitman. "I think that's one of the great stories coming out of the 22-23 season. Shauna Green, in her first year leading us to our best season in over 20 years, speaks volumes about who she is as a leader. I think we now reset expectations, and we have continued to raise the bar around what's possible with women's basketball."
"We need to continue to fill Memorial Stadium."
Football had its best season since the 2007 team was invited to the 2008 Rose Bowl. It was also the first time since 1983 to beat Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota in the same season. The team featured five All-Americans, with two members of the squad in the hunt for several national awards. It culminated with four Illini drafted during the 2023 NFL Draft in April. Total ticket revenue exceeded $8 million, up 38 percent over last year and the highest number since 2011.
Sustained success is the goal of the Illinois football program, and it goes hand in hand with the fan experience. So far, 8,000 new season tickets have been sold, and it looks to exceed 9,000 before the season opener.
Whitman said, "We are thankful to our fans for stepping up in the way they have. If we're going to accomplish our goals, we need to continue to fill Memorial Stadium."
Regarding Memorial Stadium, Whitman has made incremental improvements in and around the facility. The turf was replaced last year, but other improvements are coming for fans heading to the stadium this upcoming season. New polished concrete floors are on the east side, and larger TVs are in the concourses. Also, all the bathrooms on the east side have new flooring and fixtures. After this coming season, there are plans to remodel the south bathrooms fully.
Further down the road, Whitman is working on new fan amenities.
Whitman called the latest plan the "Stadium Four-Pack." It would include in-stadium Wi-Fi, a new video board, new lights that can become part of the game day experience, and positioning of the sound around the entire seating bowl, not just directed out from the south end zone.
"The price tag on that right now is $25-30 million," said Whitman. "So, the timing of that will be driven by how soon we're able to identify funding sources."
"It's been a win-win."
Two of the most significant developments in college athletics are Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) and the transfer portal. Whitman feels Illinois Athletics has embraced this new reality and consequently has led in these areas. However, there are still ways to improve the process.
He's supportive of new rules regarding how and when the transfer portal opens and some restrictions on movement. He's also in favor of a federal legislative package focusing on standardized NIL contracts for student-athletes, agent certification and registration, and disclosure to develop a true marketplace.
Additionally, collectives such as Illini Guardians and Icon Collective offer a tremendous opportunity for student-athletes.
"I think that the development and creation of Icon in the late fall of 2022 was one of the most notable developments of this last year," said Whitman. "They've been able to develop meaningful relationships with a number of our student-athletes and local organizations – it's been a win-win. We've done things with the YMCA, the Boys and Girls Club, Eastern Illinois Food Bank, and several different local schools. It's been a great experience for everybody involved."
Whitman also has an eye on the future with student-athlete benefits and compensation. He predicted that this topic would become a significant issue across college athletics with increased activity in the courts.
Whitman said, "I think that as we get deeper into some of these discussions, as we create new revenue streams, as we sign television contracts, as we look to realign conferences, as we expand the CFP, then it's going to raise the stakes and the questions around when and how some of that money will be shared more directly with student-athletes. I continue to be somebody who believes we need to put that plan together."
He characterizes the NCAA as an unwieldy organization not built for "revolutionary change" but also sees the need to be able to manage the issues of the day.
"We need to take some steps to control our own future," said Whitman. "Because if we don't, somebody's going to write it for us. And I don't know that we'll love the way that it reads."
"Now is the time to accelerate."
After seven and a half years as Athletic Director, Whitman reflected on the changed landscape of college athletics and the challenges ahead.
"There are two things that keep me really excited," Whitman said. "Some people see challenge. I see opportunity. And so, the idea that by virtue of being the Athletic Director at the University of Illinois and being an Athletic Director in the Big Ten Conference, we now have an opportunity to have a seat at the table that's forming the solutions to these problems.
"I think the second part is that we are still about growing and developing people in our program. We're still about going out and competing at the highest level. We're still about educating student-athletes. We're still about doing all those things with integrity. Those are foundational pillars."
Taking the next step has always been about preparing for success. Whitman outlined how he sees Illinois Athletics maintaining an elite level. "The key is being ready for those moments of success so you don't have to delay. We're prepared for it, and we're looking forward. Now is not the time to rest. Now is the time to accelerate."
