I was there 76 through 80 and we were definitely a basketball school then. Moeller did a lot to push us in that direction.
Pregame: Illinois at Wisconsin, Saturday, October 1st, 11:00am CT, BTN
- Status
This. Maybe not one-time as we had a few good football years, but anyone who thinks we were not hoops first by the 88-89 season wasn't there then. Final nail was Mackovic leaving, it was such a drop to Tepper. In ability, style, culture.
Edit: Wrote this before reading @altgeld88 post above. Spot on.
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The Galloping Ghost
- Washington, DC
I don't think we settle for the disaster that was Thomas without the prolonged mediocrity of the Guenther years. Not that it ultimately matters who was worse. They were both abject failures that kneecapped our athletic department, whose sins we're still trying to get out from under.
Illinivek23
- Gurnee
His seat is already warm and he is being credited with their boring style of play.
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
Since we have a lot of grizzled veterans milling around today: is this correct?
Mackovic left for Texas and we were then without both a coach and an AD.
Guenther was working in a senior role at the DIA at the time, was he the face of the decision promoting Tepper? Was it his call? Was he the interim AD until his permanent hiring the next year?
It's never been clear to me exactly how that went down and the internet has not been helpful shedding light on it.
In any event, Tepper was a big, big part of Mackovic's success, as well as Bill McCartney's at Colorado before that and elevating him to HC is probably the decision most schools would have made, and probably the right one in some objective sense. I don't think the idea that we "settled" for Tepper is accurate.
Maybe not thought of as a dagger at the time, but Tepper was elevated without any kind of search. So kind of supports your point, but moreso I think supports the disarray that resulted from Mackovic leaving. And Tepper certainly was not ideal as it turned out. And call me old school or an internet tough guy, but this is not the opening language I want from my head coach. Nor do I want Beckman-level abuse...but Tepper was soft.
BZuppke
- Plainfield
And Mackovic was destroying the program - recruiting and the winning record were declining. He had player revolts at Arizona and Kansas City (and a player told me at least one at Illinois that wasn’t public). Mackovic’s strength was his play calling - very good in game coach. Horrible in PR.
We were a football school as well as BB in the 1980s and early 1990s. Had 28 or so sellouts at Memorial.
As to Tepper - we were the second winningest program in the B1G over a 12 year period prior and could have/should have conducted a national search. There were sitting head coaches campaigning for the job. Instead we promoted Tepper who was a great coordinator but not a head coach.
We were a football school as well as BB in the 1980s and early 1990s. Had 28 or so sellouts at Memorial.
As to Tepper - we were the second winningest program in the B1G over a 12 year period prior and could have/should have conducted a national search. There were sitting head coaches campaigning for the job. Instead we promoted Tepper who was a great coordinator but not a head coach.
altgeld88
- Arlington, Virginia
Wow. I had completely forgotten (if I ever knew it) that Tepper was promoted to HC the day after Mackovic left. That speaks even more to the disaster of a sudden AD vacuum at the time.
As to another question about Guenther's DIA status, my recollection is that when Stoner was fired RG served as interim AD but was passed over for the formal job given to Mackovic. He then went to work for the UI Foundation raising $$. I can't find any Web link substantiating that but recall I read it a while ago.
[EDIT: Here we go... https://fightingillini.com/honors/hall-of-fame/ron-guenther/
"Guenther was interim Athletics Director at Illinois in 1988, then named permanent AD from 1992 to 2011, when he retired from the University."]
I also believe he served as interim AD after Mackovic departed in Dec. 91, and then was given the job formally in early '92. Morton Weir was still UIUC Chancellor, IIRC. He's the one who forced Stoner to resign in '88 and may have been the one who hired Guenther for the full-time AD role.
Tepper was a good man and an excellent defensive coordinator, as someone pointed out above. But, as @BZuppke notes, he wasn't HC material at this level. I recall a glowing Wall Street Journal article from around '94 or '95 about the unusually strong racial harmony on Illinois' football team, a direct result of Tepper's active efforts toward that end.
Also, HT to @BZuppke. I was long gone from C-U and the U.S. by early '92. Never realized that Mackovic's manner was so abrasive, until I read years later about his Arizona problems.
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I had completely erased that dipstick from my memory. He was bad too.
Agreed, Tepper is a good man. He'd probably be a really top-notch Sunday School teacher. I don't mean that as snarky as it sounds, I think he's genuinely a good person. Just too nice. I can't forget him running onto the field with those clownish sunglasses he was wearing following some sort of eye procedure he had. I knew we were in trouble, seeing that.
I met him a few times and he was a good man, and a great defensive coach with the right head coach. He was a disaster as a BIG coach and destroyed the momentum we had built up, setting our program back a lot.
All the talk about the specific AD does miss the fact that the University as a whole became utterly apathetic towards athletics at a time that the arm's race was really heating up.
DeonThomas
- South Carolina
Football titles: (1914, 1919, 1923, 1927, 1951). After that, just one brief surge with Butkus/Nitschke/Grabowsky, and then again for ~10 years in the 1980's/early 1990's (Mike White and John Mackovic.)
Basketball Success started in the 1940's/1950's and the Whiz Kids with Doug Mills as coach. That success then continued rather consistently each decade with peaks in the 1980's (Lou probably cemented Illinois as a basketball school) and the early 2000's.
Therefore, I'd say basketball took over as #1 in the 1940's and 1950's. Just look at our all-time records in both sports. Football pales in comparison.
Ransom Stoddard
Ordained Dudeist Priest
- Bloomington, IL
IIRC re: the bolded, Tepper had a policy of racially integrated rooming arrangements. I was a very young alum at the time and the whole thing felt a bit cringy and forced, but I came to learn that the players really liked the guy and he was incredibly genuine in the way he handled himself.
The biggest problem with Tep, in my memory, is that he was a micromanager with regards to his assistants and position coaches, and his meddling resulted in some game-planning SNAFUs. It's regrettable because we had some players in those years, especially on the defensive side. Hardy, Holecek, Rice, and Scott Turner especially. On the O side there was Dilger, Cushing, Johnny Johnson, and Robert Holcombe. After Johnson left the QB room was pretty bleak until Ron Turner brought in Kittner.
Ransom Stoddard
Ordained Dudeist Priest
- Bloomington, IL
In my opinion, it's the AD's job to address and rectify that apathy. Guenther had his little fiefdom, never paid for dinner, and had loads of golfing buddies. I don't think he had any aspirations to build beyond what he had other than to take care of his high-roller buddies.
Epsilon
M tipping over
- Pdx
When I think of Tepper I think of two things. Some of the best defenders in Illini history (Rice, Hardy, Howard, and Holecek) and the gut wrenching loss to Ped State in 1994, which I got to witness in person. Ugh.
I was at that game also. It was an amazing start.
Epsilon
M tipping over
- Pdx
Just not so great a finish.
Mr. Tibbs
- southeast DuPage
I was there The game we lost in the last minutes, at around 5:30 pm . after being up by 21, correct ?
I was friends with a mega donor and we sat in Ikenberrys box with Stan and Stan's wife, on the east side on the 50, about 25 rows up
Epsilon
M tipping over
- Pdx
Yep. Started off 21-0.
Greatest Penn State Games of the Big Ten Era - 1994 Illinois
The Greatest Penn State games of the Big Ten era - 1994 Illinois
www.blackshoediaries.com
I was at the game vs Washington State at Soldier Field that year also. Simeon Rice was amazing in that game (and many others). I believe Ty Douthard was out for that game, and returned with a vengeance vs. Miznoz and Penn State.Yep. Started off 21-0.
Greatest Penn State Games of the Big Ten Era - 1994 Illinois
The Greatest Penn State games of the Big Ten era - 1994 Illinois
Mr. Tibbs
- southeast DuPage
I was at that game as well. Wasnt it a Thursday night game ? did they have Bledsoe at QB ?
BZuppke
- Plainfield
Teller said he only needed 21 points to win. He was wrong. 🫤
Guenther took a football program that had gone to 4 straight bowls and absolutely obliterated it. Thomas took over a train wreck, and did nothing to improve it.
Both sucked. But, only one of them took a program in decent shape and set it on fire. But enough of those 2 incompetent fools.
The good thing is Illinois is going to be 4-1 after this weekend and trending up. And it really feels like an actual program with an actual competent college football staff is being built vs one fluke year every 7-10 years.
You do recall correctly @Ransom Stoddard
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