Here is a good reason for now, if it is Lovie Smith as everyone seems to think. It obviously brings instant name renegotiation to the program. And I doubt with the Cubit situation season ticket sales would have seen any measurable increases if any at all. Now if Lovie Smith is the Head Coach, walking into a recruit's home anywhere in America, his name will probably be more well known than Bill Cubits name (no disrespect intended).
On season tickets, this is only a guess, but I would assume an uptick in sales. So Illinois could stay stuck for a year where they were, or move forward as they did. Time will tell if they made the right move.
This. This is why this could be a huge hire.
Long-time lurker, barely ever post, but this is about as excited as I've been for Illini football since the Big Ten Championship season.
How do you know this could be a huge hire? When I mentioned to my wife that the rumors were pointing to Illinois hiring Lovie Smith, she said, "The Bears coach?" Never mind that he hasn't been the Bears coach for a few years, the fact that: 1) she knew who he was, and that 2) he was an NFL coach - she even got the team correct! - tells you all you need to know about name recognition. This is huge. To steal Robert's phrase, this is, like, 5 Tom Cruises.
Also, has Josh Whitman, in his first day as an AD, out-AD'd our previous 2 ADs? This is a serious question.
Next up, women's basketball!