Since being named University of Illinois Athletic Director on the Urbana campus in February 2016, Josh Whitman has been busy. Very busy. Whitman discussed his "whirlwind" first year on the job with Illinois Public Media's Brian Moline.
We do ONE LAST (for real) Olympics check-in, discuss the Paralympic Games for a few minutes, entertain Illinois soccer head coach Janet Rayfield in the friendly confines of Studio A, talk about the Lovie Effect on U of I sports, and Lisa confesses her obsession with a ping-pong playing cat.
Graduates receiving diplomas at the University of Illinois Urbana campus over the weekend included 119 student-athletes. Two received scholarships from the Big Ten Conference to attend graduate school.
The University of Illinois says former NFL coach Lovie Smith will be named the next football coach at the University of Illinois. Athletic Director Josh Whitman will annouce the former Chicago Bears coach as the Illini's 25th head coach at a Monday afternoon news conference.
With the Super Bowl on Sunday, all eyes are on football. The sport also happens to be Kevin Jackson’s area of scientific expertise. He came to the University of Illinois to play football while pursuing a career in science, and now he’s developing a cooling helmet that may help with athletes’ head injuries. Through his research with the University’s Beckman Institute and the Athletics Department, Jackson wants to reduce the side effects of concussions and other brain injuries for athletes.
