As Super Bowl 59 approaches this Sunday, it's a good time to be reminded of the bodacious bling possessed by Illini Coach Bret Bielema. In addition to the Rose Bowl ring that he earned during his playing days (1990 Iowa Hawkeyes, Big Ten Co-Champions, who lost to Washington 46-34), he also has a ring Super Bowl ring. It's from Super Bowl LIII, when he served as the defensive … [Read more...] about Bret Bielema Has an $88,000 Super Bowl Ring
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Illini Return 18/22 Starters, Look Very Strong in 2025
Is 2025 going to be the year that the Illinois Fighting Illini football program finally starts stacking winning seasons? It certainly looks that way on paper. And while there was obvious cause for optimism in 2000, 2002, 2008 and 2023 (four seasons that followed major program breakthroughs), it just didn't work out that way, and all four of those years were mere five-in … [Read more...] about Illini Return 18/22 Starters, Look Very Strong in 2025
Illini Football Replaying Their Unfortunate History
The Illini football program just seems allergic to consistent success. The last time Illinois went to back-to-back bowl games was 2010-2011, and that was with two six-win regular seasons. The last time Illini football went bowling to consecutive years before that was 1991-1992, and again, it was with two six-win regular seasons. So there have been times when Illini Football … [Read more...] about Illini Football Replaying Their Unfortunate History
