When Josh Whitman arrived at Illinois as a freshman tight end from Harrison High School in West Lafayette in 1997, not many had him pegged as a future athletic director who would bring Illini sports back into solid relevancy.
He would play in 44 games over his career, known more as a blocking tight end; he caught 51 passes for 545 yards and seven TDs. After five cup-of-coffee stops in the NFL and European football between 2001 and 2004, Whitman came back to Champaign to get his law degree, where he graduated
summa cum laude. He stayed close to football, working as a special assistant to Illinois Athletic Director Ron Turner from 2005-08. Then he spent two years working for a Washington, D.C., law firm that was the outside legal counsel for the NFL. He then became the Athletic Director for the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse (2010-2014). In that time, UW-L teams won four national championships and 21 conference titles. He became the Athletic Director for Washington University in St Louis (2014-16) before taking the reins at Illinois in 2016.
Whitman makes his mark!
After being announced as the new AD, Josh went to work, firing then-head football coach Bill Cubit and hiring Lovie Smith. He also hired Nancy Fahey to head the women’s basketball program that same year. Fahey was the women’s head coach at Wash U when Whitman was AD there. He extended the services of then-head men’s basketball coach John Groce. Now, unfortunately, those hires didn’t pan out so well for Josh, and he was forced to make changes.
Enter Brad Underwood (2017); Illinois basketball had reached a plateau that was all too familiar. Inconsistent tournament appearances, and early exits when they were there. Whitman wanted Illinois to lead, not follow. It took Underwood a couple of years to put his stamp on things, and we see today what this program has become. From a middle-of-the-pack bubble team to being a final-four weekend contender.
In 2121, it was apparent that football, the sport that Josh loved, was mired in mud. It had become stagnant; there was no fire or excitement. Whitman set out to change that, bringing a Big Ten championship-caliber coach in Bret Bielema. It has been a roller coaster, but football at Illinois is back and raising the bar. Back-to-back 9-win or more seasons ending in bowl victories!
Then you have Women’s basketball head coach Shauna Green (2022). In just four years, Coach Green has made huge strides. In her first season, she won more conference games (11) than the previous six seasons combined (10)! The Illini won 22 games her first year, only one fewer than the win total for the three previous seasons under Fahey. She is the ONLY Women’s basketball coach at Illinois to average 21 per season and do it in her first four seasons. To put this in perspective, the only men’s coach at Illinois to do that was Bruce Weber! Under Green, the U of I women secured their first-ever postseason title in 2022-23, winning the first-ever WBIT.
ALL of them are under contracts to keep them in Champaign until at least 2030!
Whitman is building up sports at Illinois
Just look around campus, and you will see the vision the Illini AD has in mind.
The Ubben Basketball Complex
- In 2023, 40,000 Square feet of space was added, with extra practice courts, expanded locker rooms, expanded training and medical facilities, and nutritional facilities as well.
Illinois baseball
- New Turf was put down in 2020.
- The Atkins Baseball Training Center, opened in 2023.
- Now, plans to renovate Illinois Field for baseball include larger dugouts and a 1,500-seat bowl with permanent seatbacks. New seating down first and third baselines. As well as tech upgrades and restrooms.
Gies Memorial Stadium
- There have been consistent upgrades to concessions in and around the stadium
- 2023 New turf installed
- 2024 Several structural upgrades took place, including Restroom and concession renovations on the south side of the building.
- 2025 A new wireless system was installed to enhance ticketing and concessions
- 2026 New for this season, the largest mega-scoreboard in the NCAA, along with an additional video board on the North end of the stadium and the ribbon boards on the east and west sides, will be enhanced as well. In fact, there will be 19 new video displays throughout the stadium. There will also be a sound system upgrade and a new LED lighting system.
Other sports
- The donation of Stone Creek Golf Club by the Atkins group. The course is now the home course for the Illini men’s and Women’s golf teams.
- There is talk of a new combined practice facility to house Wrestling and Volleyball
Donors love Whitman
Josh Whitman has paid for all of the projects largely from the generosity of Alumni and others. The $40 million renovation to the Ubben Complex; over $34 million of it was paid for by donated funds. The projects at Gies Memorial Stadium and Illinois Field were funded by donations.
Whitman is constantly on the lookout for partnerships that benefit not only the athletic department and the university but also the community.
It is not hard to see his passion and his dedication to his Alma Mater. It is also equally as hard to see where U of I athletics would be without him at the helm.
Those are my thoughts. What are yours about Josh Whitman?
Let me know in the comments or on X @tsotbgcs or my Facebook page, Talking Sports with Uncle Don!
