Lovie Smith Named Illinois Football Coach

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#1,251      

robertgoulet

robertgoulet
IL Board Resident Crooner
Austin, TX
robertgoulet
Love My Alma Mater said:
Sorry to get off track, but years ago I was ripped (by name) on the score when I complained exactly about this issue via email about these two clowns.



But I guess this falls under any publicity is good publicity?
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Actually they love the hire and rarely talked over it. Only mentioning when Whitman ran long and when the feed dropped. Otherwise they didn't talk over it.
 
#1,252      

cjcastan

cjcastan
cjcastan
illini8507 said:
One thing that I think is a little lost in this is that there is a huge opportunity here to grab some new fans. There is a large population of sports fans in the stl metro area and a little beyond who have recently lost their pro team, and been soured on the NFL as a whole. These people have never been big illini fans because 1. The team has been mediocre at best for some time, and 2. The stl media gives little to no coverage of the illini football team, opting instead to cover mizzou. With this hire, the rams leaving, and mizzou being in a bit of a dumpster fire all around, this is a big opportunity to pick up some fans young and old
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Illinois - Saint Louis' big ten team
 
#1,254      

BananaShampoo

B
Captain 'Paign
Phoenix, AZ
BananaShampoo
illini8507 said:
One thing that I think is a little lost in this is that there is a huge opportunity here to grab some new fans. There is a large population of sports fans in the stl metro area and a little beyond who have recently lost their pro team, and been soured on the NFL as a whole. These people have never been big illini fans because 1. The team has been mediocre at best for some time, and 2. The stl media gives little to no coverage of the illini football team, opting instead to cover mizzou. With this hire, the rams leaving, and mizzou being in a bit of a dumpster fire all around, this is a big opportunity to pick up some fans young and old
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This is true. With enough success it's a chance to galvanize an entire state of hungry sports fans looking for a team to latch onto. Much like how in Ohio everyone is a tOSU fan whether or not they or anyone in their family ever attended the school. It helps the program financially through selling seats and jerseys and it helps future recruiting down the line. It brings people together and unites them in state pride - something seriously lacking for a long time in a politically corrupt and bankrupt state like Illinois.
 
#1,255      

EfremWinters84

E
S. Carolina
EfremWinters84
Griffinator said:
You know the way all of this has played out, it is no surprise that Barb Wilson while introducing Josh Whitman as the new AD alluded to him being able to "walk on water". I thought it was great praise for someone with no experience at D1 level. Seems like the lady may have known something was coming.
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Barb Wilson......

I'm voting to keep her in the role permanently. Obviously, I've only seen her in sports-related settings, but she's impressive. Very well-spoken and articulate. She certainly handled herself admirably given she was treading in unfamiliar waters.

And one would think that JW would echo these thoughts since she's the person who hired him.

Bonus points awarded if she continues her "hands off" approach and lets Josh make all of the athletic decisions.
 
#1,258      

ilphotog

ilphotog
The camera never lies
Champaign
ilphotog
We were packed like sardines in the room, when done the look on everyone's face was simply a big smile and true joy. It's been a long while since I've seen that.
 
#1,259      

CIIF

CIIF
Edwardsville
CIIF
So how long until we re-do the horseshoe? Then the next year, demolish the NEZ and fully enclose it?
 
#1,260      

Fillory

F
4th Floor Grainger
Fillory
CIIF said:
So how long until we re-do the horseshoe? Then the next year, demolish the NEZ and fully enclose it?
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No way that happens. The north end zone is great as is and built in the last ten years.
 
#1,265      

Franklin Delano Bluth

Franklin Delano Bluth
Franklin Delano Bluth
Fillory said:
No way that happens. The north end zone is great as is and built in the last ten years.
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NEZ doesn't need to be demolished (and they could hardly justify doing that to a builing <10 years old) but it definitely needs work. Need to put something on either side of it to tie it into the stadium, make it look/feel like it belongs there. And they need to adjust the seating a little bit, the students are WAY too far from the field.

but that comes after the horseshoe and east stand have been addressed, those need to be updated asap
 
#1,267      

The Rock Says

The Rock Says
The Rock Says
Silverman on WMVP ripping Kap

"Took the tiniest bit of spilled milk, and !!!!!ed and moaned. He took his eye off the ball here."

Not mincing words about a guy you do crossover with 5 days a week.:shield:
 
#1,268      

IrishIllini

I
IrishIllini
EthanM said:
The north end zone is a monstrosity and must be destroyed.
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I don't know if I'd say it's that bad. It could be better integrated into the rest of the stadium though. We may actually need more seating at Memorial Stadium if this pans out as well as all of us are hoping...

:chief::shield:
 
#1,270      

Fillory

F
4th Floor Grainger
Fillory
IrishIllini said:
I don't know if I'd say it's that bad. It could be better integrated into the rest of the stadium though. We may actually need more seating at Memorial Stadium if this pans out as well as all of us are hoping...

:chief::shield:
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If our program becomes that good, we are still talking about years before stadium updates. The economic climate simply doesn't support that big of a project.
 
#1,271      

The Rock Says

The Rock Says
The Rock Says
Fillory said:
If our program becomes that good, we are still talking about years before stadium updates. The economic climate simply doesn't support that big of a project.
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absolutely. Cart is miles ahead of the horse on that one. Enjoy that we're opening up the checkbook for staff, i think that's enough for now.
 
#1,273      

AeroIllini

A
3rd Floor talbot lab
AeroIllini
Just bought my student season ticket for next year, too much of a steal to pass up now. Even if the NEZ doesn't get demolished, the students should be moved somewhere a bit more integrated into the stadium (perhaps the new horseshoe if/when it gets built)
 
#1,274      

GallopingGhost

GallopingGhost
Denver, CO
GallopingGhost
BananaShampoo said:
The amazing thing to me out of all this is that not only did a brand new AD, who was literally hours into the job which was two steps up from any previous position that he had had, manage to change the perception of a University and football program from "uncool dumpster fire trainwreck" into "100% cool" in a matter of 48 hours, but the fact that he did it with the utmost level of skill, professionalism, and bravado that was so un-Illinois-like as for it all to seem like an incomprehensible dream. Josh Whitman has to be the coolest of the cool to pull off something like this, and probably made the biggest splash of any new hire in the history of employment. And he pulled it off with ease. Not even a hint of nervousness amid all the media inquiries and rumors and attention. Just smooth. I'm still in awe.
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With JW as our new AD, "skill, professionalism, and bravado" maybe become the new definition of "Illinois-like" :thumb:
 
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