Following up on the United Center news, this is my personal/subjective wish list for similar series' like the Alabama one in the future. As some have pointed out, Birmingham is not necessarily the most lucrative city for us from a recruiting/exposure standpoint (absolutely no offense to Birmingham ... I am a native Peorian who loves that city and thinks all kinds of cities/towns are cool in their own rights!). So, I think these setups would be particularly beneficial to us:
1. KENTUCKY
Chicago, IL and Indianapolis, IN
I think this matchup is the ultimate homerun setup, specifically for us. Here are some of the reasons:
- The Orlando connection makes it more of a natural fit.
- The crowd advantage will work in our favor. While UK will definitely be more of the "home team" (at least IMO) in Indianapolis, I think there would be more Illini fans in Indy than Kentucky fans in Chicago. UK would bring a ton of fans to the UC, but it is still in our backyard; Indy is a "road trip" for both fan bases.
- Kentucky already recruits Chicago incredibly well, and we are unlikely to get a ton of Chicagoland recruits they want. However, we do NOT recruit Indianapolis very well, and exposure in that market vs. a high-profile opponent would be huge for us. In other words, as far as recruiting goes, we get a WAY bigger boost than they do.
- It is an absolutely HILARIOUS slap in the face to Indiana, haha. Hoosiers fans aspire to be big-time rivals with Kentucky once again, and UK fans look down on them so they settle for Purdue in the meantime. Meanwhile, many of them arrogantly claim to be ~above~ being rivals with Illinois, even as we have been a better program than them over the last 25+ years. Bypassing IU and showcasing two programs they hate in their most important media market is a hilarious way to work with UK to troll the Loosiers, lol.
2. ARIZONA
Chicago, IL and Las Vegas, NV
People might initially think that Phoenix is the more natural return game here (we have literally already done this exact set up with Arizona), but many in the Wildcats fan base see Vegas as a sort of "second home away from home" where they regularly outnumbered all other fan bases when they play there. It's a natural fit as far as series history goes (a ton of drama and great games between our two schools in the last 25 years), and we get to play in a fun destination for fans that produces a ton of high school talent. As a bonus, we have proven we can take that place over already!
3. UCONN
Chicago, IL and New York, NY (MSG)
I don't know about you guys, but I would enjoy the opportunity to hopefully put on a better showing against UConn, lol ... I would be open to other options here (Duke??), of course, but the point is to get back to Madison Square Garden as much as possible. Playing in "The Mecca" on national TV vs. big-time programs is how you convince the next generations of casual fans - the ones who drive the TV ratings and merchandise sales - that Illinois is a "cool" program.