Illini Track & Field

#3      
BRucks
Dan said:
https://twitter.com/x/status/1544758848703135744
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Absolutely the right thing to do. Should have been done many years ago. Track and cross country are arguably the top historical programs on campus with dozens of B10 championships and many national championships going back to WWI. Both men's and women's programs are now jokes. Hope Whitman doesn't go for the low hanging fruit and just promote an assistant or bring in a coach from a directional school in the area.
 
#4      
bluemountain
We have historically been one of the top programs in the Big 10 but are now an also ran, so glad to see Whitman make this move
 
#5      
oldman
Recently upgraded facilities. Foundation in place for improved programs.
 
#6      
illinibb76
I actually was going to talk with Josh about this very thing. He is the right man for this job. As others have said Illinois track used to be a first-class program and it has fallen so far that the surrounding state schools were handing us our hats. We can do better, and we will!!! Bravo !
 
#7      
dbeaverfg
Watching the world championships and I've become interested and have some observations re: equipment.

1. I'm thinking that Phil Knight has to be just livid that these championships are "presented by" ASICS. Lots of ASICS logos all over Hayward Field, on volunteer uniforms etc. Not too many swooshes to be seen.
2. Noticed that athlete's shoe brand does not always match their country uniform brand. That's understandable based on them having shoe contracts and being comfortable performing in a certain brand.
3. Got me thinking, I know NIL rules across most all schools right now do not allow for athletes signing with competitors to companies the schools have contracts with. What happens when NIL starts to trickle down to HS level (especially in mostly individual sports like track, tennis, golf. maybe some others) and those high schoolers already have a contract with a competitor? Will a high school runner who is comfortable running in Adidas eliminate Illinois because they are a Nike school? Will a golfer who has only ever worn Puma not consider us? Will some changes to NIL rules be coming to drop things like shoes?

Interesting topic for speculation.
 
#8      
IllinoisssssssVarsity
dbeaverfg said:
Watching the world championships and I've become interested and have some observations re: equipment.

1. I'm thinking that Phil Knight has to be just livid that these championships are "presented by" ASICS. Lots of ASICS logos all over Hayward Field, on volunteer uniforms etc. Not too many swooshes to be seen.
2. Noticed that athlete's shoe brand does not always match their country uniform brand. That's understandable based on them having shoe contracts and being comfortable performing in a certain brand.
3. Got me thinking, I know NIL rules across most all schools right now do not allow for athletes signing with competitors to companies the schools have contracts with. What happens when NIL starts to trickle down to HS level (especially in mostly individual sports like track, tennis, golf. maybe some others) and those high schoolers already have a contract with a competitor? Will a high school runner who is comfortable running in Adidas eliminate Illinois because they are a Nike school? Will a golfer who has only ever worn Puma not consider us? Will some changes to NIL rules be coming to drop things like shoes?

Interesting topic for speculation.
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I work mostly with jumpers and this purely anecdotal and on a very small scale. Nike is obviously the prime name for most sports apparel, but the kids I’ve worked with over the years seem to prefer adidas and ASICS shoes over Nike to jump. I originally guessed that it had to do with price tag, but that includes my kids who have gone on to do it in college, where it’s not an issue.

At my current school, I think most of our sprinters still wear Nike. But sprinters are divas 😂
 
#9      
dbeaverfg
IllinoisssssssVarsity said:
I work mostly with jumpers and this purely anecdotal and on a very small scale. Nike is obviously the prime name for most sports apparel, but the kids I’ve worked with over the years seem to prefer adidas and ASICS shoes over Nike to jump. I originally guessed that it had to do with price tag, but that includes my kids who have gone on to do it in college, where it’s not an issue.

At my current school, I think most of our sprinters still wear Nike. But sprinters are divas 😂
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My daughter and son both ran distance in college (D1 for her and D3 for him) and neither one liked Nike. She went to a Nike school and was forced to wear them, had a lot of foot problems. My son was a steeplechaser and thought Adidas was the best by far.
 
#18      
BRucks
Outstanding hire. He left Georgia because they didn't have an indoor facility. He was earning weii over $300k there. Wonder if we beat that? If you watched the recently completed world championships you would have seen several of his former athletes.
 
#19      
BRucks
BRucks said:
Outstanding hire. He left Georgia because they didn't have an indoor facility. He was earning weii over $300k there. Wonder if we beat that? If you watched the recently completed world championships you would have seen several of his former athletes.
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I just read that he made $430k in his final year in Georgia!!!
 
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