2021 season opener moved from Ireland to Champaign
Illinois and Nebraska won’t be playing overseas.
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Illinois and Nebraska won’t be opening the 2021 in Ireland as scheduled.
According to a news release Wednesday, the Aug. 28 game will now be played in Champaign due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“This is very disappointing for our athletic program, our team and for the fans who were planning to attend the game in Dublin,” said Illinois Director of Athletics Josh Whitman in statement. “For our players, staff and fans, this would have been a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We will work diligently with Irish American Events and the Big Ten Conference to find a future opportunity for us to take Fighting Illini Football to the Emerald Isle.”
Bret Bielema is heading back to the Big-Ten as head coach of Illinois
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Bret Bielema is heading back to the Big Ten as head coach of Illinois
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Bret Bielema was a head coach at Arkansas and Wisconsin. (CNN)Bret Bielema is returning to college football as head coach at the University of Illinois.
Bielema is currently the outside linebackers coach for the NFL s New York Giants, but will be leaving at the end of the week after less than a season, according to the Friday announcement from Illinois.
The coach is no stranger to the Big Ten. He was the head coach at Wisconsin from 2006 to 2012, winning 68 games, three Big Ten championships and making six bowl appearances. He s also from Illinois and played college football at Iowa.
By Jim Scott
Dec 19, 2020 8:54 AM
(UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS ATHLETICS) CHAMPAIGN, IL â The University of Illinois and UI Director of Athletics Josh Whitman reached out to a native son today when naming Bret Bielema as the 26
th Fighting Illini Head Football Coach in the 132-year history of the program.
âIllinois and the Big Ten is home for me, and I canât be any more excited about the opportunity in front of me with the Fighting Illini,â Bielema said. âWe want to build a program that makes Illini Nation proud and regain the passion that Iâve seen when Illinois wins. We want the young men playing football in the state of Illinois from Freeport to Cairo and from Quincy to Danville dreaming of wearing the Orange and Blue and playing at Memorial Stadium. I look forward to re-connecting with the high school coaches around the state making it clear we intend to keep our players home.