Improved with each set. Biggest I think was our block knowing where Washington wanted to go with it. Well scouted? Inspired D and some confidence! And a perfect finish time for BBall!
Illini Volleyball 2025-2026
rbillini
- Redondo Beach, Ca
And they ended it before the start of the basketball game.
Illini volleyball returns back to loss column with a 3-set defeat to #11 Wisconsin on Saturday night. Our record now stands at 13-12 overall and 8-8 in the conference.
They make the west coast trip next weekend for a Thursday night match vs UCLA and a Saturday night contest vs #17 USC.
They make the west coast trip next weekend for a Thursday night match vs UCLA and a Saturday night contest vs #17 USC.
So I'm old and had to go to bed after the third set vs UCLA last night, and was disappointed to wake up to the 5-set loss.
Tomkinson has something like 14 or 15 kills in the first three sets, but finished with 18. Looks like that drop off matched the rest of the team.
They really had the blocking and defense working in the three sets that I watched.
Will be interesting to see what happens with Tamas if they lose out. They've got a decent young core to build around right now.
Also, say what you will about Huff, but how embarrassing is it for UCLA that they still play their home matches on a basketball court?
Tomkinson has something like 14 or 15 kills in the first three sets, but finished with 18. Looks like that drop off matched the rest of the team.
They really had the blocking and defense working in the three sets that I watched.
Will be interesting to see what happens with Tamas if they lose out. They've got a decent young core to build around right now.
Also, say what you will about Huff, but how embarrassing is it for UCLA that they still play their home matches on a basketball court?
Fire Tamas.
Fan Since '70
- OBS, Florida
I can not support Chris Tamas. He and his staff are bad recruiters and can not put a contending caliber team together. Only teams he has that were contending were with players he inherited from Hambly. Time to part ways.
Tamas' contract was just EXTENDED...Volleytalk message board on Nov 11, 2025 at 6:49pm ..."Chris' contract is being extended til 6/30/2029 (previously extended to 2027, so this is essentially a 2 year extension), per public documents for Thursday's UI trustees meeting. Salary of $430,000 by the end of the contract ($10K raise per year). This is about the time I expected action on his deal, and those trustees votes are usually rubber stamps."
I've been saying this for the last two years. Soccer, Softball and Volleyball needed coaching changes. Rayfield finally retired last year. Tamas and Perry are next. We will find out if Whitman is really serious about Volleyball and Softball in the next few weeks.
I don’t see it happening
The question is not whether it is possible that the program could do better with someone other than Tamas.
Let's say the direct cost of firing Tamas and hiring a proven winner is $1 million because you'd have to pay Tamas and his staff, possibly buy out the new coach's deal and pay them more. If it's a coach in high-demand, you might also have to make some sort of commitment to facilities upgrades.
Of course, the new coach could always flop, but even if they succeed, to what extent? Nebraska level? Penn State? Highly unlikely. A few more bigtime wins and Sweet 16 appearances and better attendance/more excitement at Huff seems like a feasible success level. That would make Illini fans who care about volleyball feel a little better, but the sport still costs the DIA money, perhaps more than now with the upgrades.
Is that enough to divert funds away from football and basketball? For most Illini fans, the cold, hard truth is probably no. We have successful coaches we want to keep at the three most important, visible sports. We're not an unlimited-fund athletic department. I'd prefer the money go to Bielema, Underwood, Green and their programs.
Josh just extended his contract (with a raise) less than 3 weeks ago. And Tamas' wife is drawing an asst. coaching salary as well (2008 Olympic volleyball player). Just really odd timing for a new contract.
I think it's within the realm of possibility that Jen Tamas is making less than she might at another school and less than what we'd have to pay a similar assistant with her credentials. She was a volunteer for several years until the NCAA outlawed that type of position.
Whether it's true or not, for decades, the mostly unspoken feeling among UI/DIA bigwigs was that our resources allowed us to invest fully in either volleyball or women's basketball. Through the '80s and first half of the '90s, VB won. A standard explanation was that the game was more appealing because women can generate tremendous power spiking on an eight-foot net, but not dunking on a 10-foot hoop.
Mid-90s as WBB gets bigger nationally and the WNBA launches, Guenther switches course, letting Mike Hebert go to Minny and devoting resources to hiring Theresa Grentz. Sometimes decisions are shaped by success, rather than design. As WBB waned and Kevin Hambly emerged as a top coach, things tilted that way, but not enough for bigtime investment to keep him or get a new facility.
Shauna Green didn't drop out of the sky. Given her record at Dayton, she was getting a bigtime job and whatever school got her would have to pony up. Josh Whitman followed probably his worst decision with his best and made the investment, presumably knowing that VB and other non-revenue sports would have to sacrifice. She's been a home run, but in non-rev sports that usually doesn't translate to profit. In some cases, the extra ticket/merch funds are completely used for higher salaries and other expenses needed to compete at a high level.
Nevertheless, there's no more push-pull between WBB and VB. The pecking order now and likely many years in the future is as follows:
Football
Men's hoops
Women's hoops
Non-revenue programs where we can compete for national championships
Non-revenue programs where we want to be respectable
As of now, women's volleyball is in the last group. The fact that we can't play at home for the first few weeks of the season should be an indication that we're not doing anything to change that on spec. Maybe Tamas goes on a recuriting run or a new coach comes in at some point and pushes the program to the next group up, but that's as far as it will go.
Thanks for all of this. It seemed obvious if Tamas was retained, it was because Whitman knew the program was competing at a disadvantage against a.....Wisconsin or Purdue. Two programs where women's basketball is down. They seem to have spent the money on their VB programs.
I guess the question is, are you willing to take money from football and basketball (both) to help volleyball? There's going to be very very little support for that.
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It’s time for a change. Josh can concentrate on the non revenue sports this offseason.
Women's basketball is supported thru very generous donations from Sheila Johnson, I believe.
14 of our 16 losses were to teams that made the Tourney. Only Iowa & NW. The wins were a little too depressing though to focus on. I think its only Purdue & mighty Eastern IL.
We were pretty much the barometer the selection folks used to decide in vs out.
We were pretty much the barometer the selection folks used to decide in vs out.
Covid really did a number on our athletic department. Before that hit, I think Josh was a matter of weeks away from cementing a deal for a new arena in the Downtown Champaign (Illinois Terminal) project, that would have housed a new ice hockey program, Volleyball, Gymnastics and maybe wrestling.
In hindsight, however, with the later advent of revenue sharing, NIL and the expanded B1G, it can be seen that Josh dodged a bullet by NOT committing to the big additional expenditures of an arena and new program in 2020.
If football continues to progress over the next several years, some of the money that generates can eventually be used to help the non-revenue sports . . . including Volleyball. We really do need a new facility for that, gymnastics and wrestling. (a I really would love to also have hockey some day).
In hindsight, however, with the later advent of revenue sharing, NIL and the expanded B1G, it can be seen that Josh dodged a bullet by NOT committing to the big additional expenditures of an arena and new program in 2020.
If football continues to progress over the next several years, some of the money that generates can eventually be used to help the non-revenue sports . . . including Volleyball. We really do need a new facility for that, gymnastics and wrestling. (a I really would love to also have hockey some day).
I agree it is a good thing the hockey/volleyball venue was not built, as much as volleyball needs a new arena, as does gymnastics and wrestling.
Please don’t encourage putting a volleyball and hockey arena together. All of the intimacy of Huff, perhaps its only redeeming attribute, would be lost, the fans would be too far from the court and unless United Center kind of money is spent on the floor there will be constant problems with the playing surface during matches. Condensation is a real issue, even with expensive dehumidifier systems and significant costs associated with transforming the arena from one sport to another. NBA games have been cancelled and basketball players have been injured. The equipment is expensive and difficult to maintain.
The athletic department has to find a solution for the Huff problem, hopefully before the program sinks beyond redemption, and hopefully one that does not include putting a court on an ice surface.
We came thisclose right before COVID, but I think the chance that we’d even consider varsity hockey again is nil. Maybe the most expensive non-rev sport and in the new age of athletic department economics, we’re quietly looking at programs to cut, rather than add.
Of course, we do need a new building that can create a great atmosphere with 5,000 seats for volleyball/wrestling/gymnastics. Ignore the exterior, but perhaps the way to get it built and funded is to combine the arena with a student gym facility, similar to what Northeastern is doing with a similarly sized arena.
news.northeastern.edu
Of course, we do need a new building that can create a great atmosphere with 5,000 seats for volleyball/wrestling/gymnastics. Ignore the exterior, but perhaps the way to get it built and funded is to combine the arena with a student gym facility, similar to what Northeastern is doing with a similarly sized arena.
Northeastern unveils plans for a new multi-purpose athletics and recreation complex
The new state-of-the-art recreational and sports complex will open on the site of Matthews Arena in September 2028.
news.northeastern.edu
Can someone tell me why the wrestling practice building was cancelled? I believe it had a $15 million price tag, with alumni donating $10 million and the school coming up with the rest. Now it is no more. Did the $10 million go poof? Would $10 million get you a facelift at Huff? And if the Cal pension fund gives Josh a check for (at least) $100 million on day one, where does that go?
Based on numbers I’ve seen, the Men’s Hockey programs in the B1G mostly are revenue neutral to slightly accretive, and I would expect the same at Illinois especially if the capital cost of a 5000-6000 seat arena is fully funded by donations and/or shared with private development (like The Yards project proposed).
The money sink on hockey comes with the women’s program that would be required by Title IX, especially if the chosen sport is Women’s hockey, which is expensive and draws a fraction of fans. I’ve wondered why no school other than Miami (OH) has gone the much lower cost option of standing up a Varsity Synchronized Skating team.
(sorry for taking this thread completely off-topic; probably time to start a new thread
)
The money sink on hockey comes with the women’s program that would be required by Title IX, especially if the chosen sport is Women’s hockey, which is expensive and draws a fraction of fans. I’ve wondered why no school other than Miami (OH) has gone the much lower cost option of standing up a Varsity Synchronized Skating team.
(sorry for taking this thread completely off-topic; probably time to start a new thread
)
it was a shame it got shelvedWe came thisclose right before COVID, but I think the chance that we’d even consider varsity hockey again is nil. Maybe the most expensive non-rev sport and in the new age of athletic department economics, we’re quietly looking at programs to cut, rather than add.
Of course, we do need a new building that can create a great atmosphere with 5,000 seats for volleyball/wrestling/gymnastics. Ignore the exterior, but perhaps the way to get it built and funded is to combine the arena with a student gym facility, similar to what Northeastern is doing with a similarly sized arena.
Northeastern unveils plans for a new multi-purpose athletics and recreation complex
The new state-of-the-art recreational and sports complex will open on the site of Matthews Arena in September 2028.
and the only way Hockey happens now here, is if it occurs like PSU got theirs up and running. Another Gies type donor funds 100% of it.
odds are not good