Memorial Stadium: 1990s-2000s

The final decade of the 20th century and the first decade of the new millennium at Memorial Stadium contained plenty of highlights and withstood a few seasons of lesser accomplishments.

The coaching quartet of John Mackovic, Lou Tepper, Ron Turner, and Ron Zook all led University of Illinois football to varying degrees of success from 1990 through 2009. A pair of Big Ten championships in 1990 and 2001 and a Rose Bowl appearance in 2008 helped offset a handful of other less memorable campaigns. 

This 20-season period got off to a bang in 1990, when Illinois celebrated its football centennial. Among the key elements of the commemoration were historical books and videos, banners on the streetlights surrounding and leading to the stadium that featured each of the 100 teams, and the selection of a 25-man All-Century Team that included Red Grange and Dick Butkus. 

Each of the six home games at Memorial Stadium honored a different segment of Illini football, with more than 500 former Illinois gridiron stars ultimately returning to their alma mater and being individually introduced to their adoring fans. 

Said one alumnus, “It was a thrill to once again walk onto the field, this time in the presence of my wife, son, and daughter.” 

Mackovic’s 1990 squad underscored the season by gaining a four-way share of the Big Ten championship and a berth in the 1991 Hall of Fame Bowl.

Two Illini home games particularly stood out that year. One was the 23-22 defeat of eventual national champion Colorado, while the other was a victory over Southern Illinois that included a record-setting eight-touchdown performance by running back Howard Griffith.

Mackovic, who compiled a four-season record of 22-10-1 in conference games, departed Champaign-Urbana following the 1991 campaign. The affable Tepper replaced his former boss and took Illinois to postseason bowl games in two of his first three seasons (1992 Holiday Bowl and 1994 Liberty Bowl). From 1988 through 1992, Illinois defeated Ohio State five consecutive times, including three straight victories in Columbus.

A bevy of individual all-stars included back-to-back Butkus Award winners Dana Howard (1994) and Kevin Hardy (1995). Hardy and Simeon Rice were the respective second and third picks in the 1996 NFL Draft. 

Turner took over the Illini reins in 1997. A winless record that first season eventually evolved into an 8-4 record in 1999 and an appearance in the MicronPC.com Bowl, then a memorable 10-1 regular-season mark in 2001. Spoiled only by a game-four loss at 17th-ranked Michigan, Illinois’ ‘01 squad swept the remaining seven games of its league schedule behind an offensive unit triggered by quarterback Kurt Kittner. Two days after Illinois’ thrilling 34-28 win over Northwestern on Thanksgiving Day, Ohio State did the Illini a favor by defeating Michigan, thus handing Illinois its first outright Big Ten title since 1983. Though the season ended disappointedly on New Year’s Day at the Sugar Bowl in a 47-34 loss to LSU, Illini fans still had a lot to smile about.

Zook took over Illinois’ football program in 2005, and it reached its peak in ’07. That year crested on Nov. 10, when the Illini went to the Horseshoe in Columbus and upset top-ranked Ohio State. The key offensive series occurred late in the fourth quarter. While the 16-play drive did not produce any points, it milked the final 8:09 off the clock and sealed the Illini’s 28-21 triumph. It marked Illinois’ first win over a No. 1-ranked team sine 1956 and ultimately catapulted the Orange and Blue to a second-place finish in the Big Ten and a berth in the 2008 Rose Bowl.

Memorial Stadium Scores - 1990-2009