Shannon’s attorneys said the suspension was a rush to judgment by the university and he was refused due process. The U of I said it will defend its student-athlete misconduct process.
Illinois suspended Shannon on Thursday after he was charged with rape for an alleged incident that happened when the football team played at Kansas in September. Whitman spoke at a news conference Friday before Illinois’ game against Fairleigh Dickinson.
The school suspended Shannon from “all team activities, effective immediately,” a day after the Douglas (Kansas) County District Attorney issued a warrant for his arrest. The alleged incident happened when he attended the Illini’s football game at Kansas on Sept. 8.
CHAMPAIGN — The Fighting Illini football team is headed to Florida. The team announced Sunday afternoon that it has accepted an invitation to play in the ReliaQuest Bowl in Tampa on Jan. 2. They’ll face the Mississippi State Bulldogs from the SEC. Both teams finished with 8-4 regular season records. Illinois head coach Bret Bielema
CHAMPAIGN — Illinois athletic director Josh Whitman drove from Indianapolis to Dayton right after the Illinois men’s basketball team was eliminated from the Big Ten Tournament to talk to Shauna Green about the Illini women’s basketball job. He drove from Pittsburgh to Dayton to talk with Green and her family again about the position last
CHAMPAIGN — University of Illinois football coach Bret Bielema has tested positive for COVID-19, the program announced on Tuesday. Bielema will miss this Saturday’s game at Iowa, where he played football in college, per team COVID protocols to help limit spread of the virus. In a statement, Bielema says he developed “mild symptoms” on Monday
CHAMPAIGN — The University of Illinois is turning to former Arkansas and Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema to lead its football program. Athletic director Josh Whitman announced Bielema’s hiring Saturday morning. He replaces Lovie Smith, who was fired Sunday after compiling a 17-39 record in five seasons. Bielema enjoyed his greatest success as coach at Wisconsin
CHAMPAIGN — University of Illinois athletic director Josh Whitman announced Sunday that he has fired football coach Lovie Smith, a day after the Illini lost decisively to in-state rival Northwestern. Hear athletic director Josh Whitman’s Sunday afternoon news conference here. Smith compiled a 17-39 overall record in five seasons at the helm of the Illini
URBANA — The Big Ten Conference announced Wednesday that it will resume its football season with an eight-game conference-only schedule beginning the weekend of October 23-24. The news came just over a month after league officials said the season would be postponed until at least next spring. But University of Illinois chancellor Robert Jones says
Urbana’s Stone Creek golf course is now property of the University of Illinois. The course, and surrounding parcels of real estate were donated by The Atkins Group, which developed Stone Creek in the late 1990s. University Chancellor Robert Jones and Urbana Mayor Diane Marlin joined a press conference Tuesday at the Stone Creek clubhouse, where