Recent content by Pikeillinifan

There is a surprisingly large amount of $ around Champaign and some crazy wealthy alums. But as others have said, basketball takes a lot of the NIL $. Still, the university (administration and environment) has also done a great job pissing off several billionaire alums that could have been...

I agree that NIL has created an even bigger mess and will divide teams even more unless there is some system that limits things or somewhat levels the playing field. That said, we need to do more to keep up, or when those top 20-30 teams eventually break away, we're left behind. In this new...

That explains a a lot, so we’re about where we’re going be with recruiting rankings. It’s going to be tough sledding if we can’t crack the top 35 or so for football NIL.

How does our football NIL compare to the rest of the SEC/B1G? Are we that far behind most? I figured we’d be in the top 25-35 in the nation for football.

Brutal day, doesn't look like a win is in the cards for the Illini.

Only if the mom comes along.

My daughter is graduating this year but wants to live in the city and choose UIC (over Loyola), and she does have a few friends going to UIUC. I was thinking more in the football world, where we did get Nick A, but we missed on Henning, the O'Rourke kids, and others. Then again, I'm not sure...

As was stated, it's usually the head coach, but also (I grew up in the area and went to Brother Rice for a year), the south side is full of Notre Dame fans and other Big Ten schools, it's really odd IMO. I'm in Frankfort now (Lincoln-Way East), and there are some Illini fans, but not nearly as...

I heard all the rumblings, but really didn’t think we’d be able to pull this one off. Now let’s go win it all.

I believe Bret will help take this program in the right direction; he is a pro and an excellent coach. It gives me hope for Illinois Football, and I have not had any hope we'd build a solid program in a long time. Seven+ wins are on the table for us this year, but I'll take six and a bowl...

While I stopped eating Pringles years ago (I'd rather poison myself with cold beer), I still miss them; they are delicious in an ultra-processed, powdery sort of way.

He didn't shoot 84.7% when they played UConn. . . and didn't get a single rebound either.

We will need to step up NIL and make sure we remain a desirable, competitive program people watch. Sooner or later, a new realignment will come, and if we're left behind, we will lose a lot of potential media revenue that helps support all programs for men and women. I'm sure Josh and the...

Not sure why this seems to be news, I thought we moved on from Storr a little ways back and there was zero expectation that he was coming here.

The chemicals aren’t hard and it makes perfect sense how to balance water, but I still can’t read the test kits and be confident, even with the ‘best’ ones. The ridiculous part is I’ve owned several reef tanks and maintained pristine water to grow coral and I can’t read the pool test kits as...