Illinois Football Makes Push for Scooter Safety on Campus
University of Illinois running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn runs through an obstacle drill during spring practice on April 12. Vaughn took many hard hits last season as he carried the ball over 150 times. Mike O'Neill
Many football players at the University of Illinois use scooters to get around campus. But come this fall, that will no longer be the case.
Head coach Lovie Smith says he hopes the new ban on scooters will decrease the players’ risks of injuries.
"It is a safety concern," Smith said. "When I first got here, guys all had scooters. That will be a part of our past."
The coaching staff emphasized that athletes must wear helmets until the end of the school year, even though Illinois law does not require it.
"It’s pretty hard to have everybody rid of the scooters in the middle of the semester," Smith said. "But the end of the fall you won’t see any scooters with an athlete."
Illinois offensive lineman Jordan Fagan says the majority of his teammates ride scooters.
Mike O’Neill is a journalism student at the University of Illinois. This story is the result of an ongoing collaboration between WILL and journalism faculty at the U of I College of Media.