Man, I must be delusionally biased, but it really surprises me that a message board of diehard Illini fans has a sizable contingent willing to readily see Texas as a superior job - and not in 2017 when Groce was fired but in the season after a Big Ten Championship. The arguments you would use for Texas being better than Illinois would likely apply to Michigan, Syracuse, Arizona, etc., and I doubt any of those fan bases would expect to lose a coach to Texas.
- Is Austin, TX better than Champaign, IL? I mean, yes, overall. Some people prefer a traditional college town, some people don't. Even if we give this a clear UT advantage, Austin is better than Lexington, KY. It's better than Ann Arbor, MI. It's better than Lawrence, KS and Durham, NC. While it's a perk, I think it would be pretty far down the list ... coaches want to go somewhere where they will be supported (by the fan base and administration) enough to WIN.
- Are Texas' facilities better than Illinois'? I would lean yes, but I am honestly not sure. Everyone gushes over that new arena and I'm sure it's fantastic, but it seats like 10k people for God's sake. Ask your average college hoops coach if they'd rather coach at Ohio State's "state-of-the-art" arena or age-old Allen Fieldhouse at Kansas. State Farm Center has its own unique charm AND it's been recently updated, not to mention the recent practice facilities improvements. Whatever advantage Texas might have in facilities, it is NOT going to be a tipping point ... this isn't a situation where one school's are lacking and the other's provide what the coach has always wanted/needed.
- Does Texas have better instate recruiting than Illinois? Honestly not sure, but it would be close. Most lists I have found show that there are more current NBA players from IL than from TX, but the current 247 rankings have more Texas players in the top 100. So, again - the difference is negligible.
- Does Texas have more NIL money than Illinois? Absolutely yes. It looks like Texas has 570k living alumni to Illinois' 470k, and Texas' absolutely insane endowment of $42 billion dwarfs Illinois' of just under $4 billion (yes, I know that isn't directly related to sports, but it's a proxy for alumni giving, no?). I don't think anyone would deny Texas could buy a football team we'd never dream of, but with basketball? I mean, there are only so many players, and there has been ZERO indication that Illinois has been anything other than ahead of the curve in this regard, from Kofi to Shannon to Mayer. In other words, while UT might be even better, I am not under the impression that Brad has really faced any NIL-related obstacles here.
The other things a coach usually considers are STRONGLY in our favor, IMO.
- The fan support here will always dwarf Texas for hoops, I'm sorry ... you can show me one game on national TV where their new arena is packed, and I'll raise you a sold out SFC every night with the Krush there an hour early and Illini fans completely taking over Vegas.
- With regard to tradition, we also clear. While neither program has won a National Championship and Texas' tradition isn't bad, I think Illinois CLEARLY wins here. And while some might say tradition isn't as important anymore, I would argue it provides a track record for what can be accomplished. I don't think enough people appreciate this, but the John Groce Era was a COMPLETE aberration from Illini Basketball. We are one of the most self-sustaining programs in the entire country, there hasn't been this one legendary coach who WILLED us to be a winner:
--- 5 of the last 6 Illini coaches have won at least one Big Ten title.
--- 4 of the last 5 Illini coaches have gotten a #1 seed.
--- 3 of the last 5 Illini coaches have reached the Elite Eight.
--- Since the AP Poll became a thing (1940s), John Groce is the only coach to coach us more than one season and not finish in the AP top 25 ... like, that doesn't sound that crazy at first, but just think about that. Most of our coaches did it several times.
--- In summation, if you are a SEMI-competent recruiter and a half-decent coach, you'll field top 25 teams here, and you'll have the backing of a very large and very loyal fan base, even in the down years. That IS a draw for a lot of true basketball guys.
I understand us all having our cups on for stuff that happens on the court, as this really has been a fairly unlucky program over the years, especially in March ... but off the court?? We have only ever lost a coach to his absolute dream job at a Blue Blood where he had roots (does not apply to BU) and to the NBA, where EVERY program loses coaches. We could all use just a LITTLE bit of swagger here. None of this even mentions our true secret weapon, Josh Whitman.
