MONDAY August 31, 2015
THE DAILY ILLINI
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5he independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871 Vol. 144 Issue 6 |
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BYE BYE BECKMAN Thomas dismisses head coach due to preliminary report, Cubit named interim with one week before season opener
2011 2012
Dec. 9, 2011 – New coach: Hired as head football coach at Illinois.
Sept. 1, 2012 – First game, first win: Coaches Illinois to 24-7 win over Western Michigan in his first game as an Illini.
Nov. 24, 2012 – Tough first year: Illinois loses to Northwestern 50-14 to end 2013 2-10.
2013 2014
Nov. 23, 2013 – A B1G win: Beckman picks up his first Big Ten win, Illinois’ first in more than two years, with a 20-16 victory over Purdue.
Nov. 22, 2014 – Penn State comeback: Kicker David Reisner hits three field goals against Penn State, including a game-winner, to keep Illinois’ bowl hopes alive. Nov. 29, 2014 — Land of Lincoln winners: Illinois defeats Northwestern 47-33 in Evanston, Illinois, to qualify for a bowl game.
Sept. 22, 2012 – Louisiana Tech disaster: Illinois loses to Louisiana Tech 52-24 in what would be the first of eight straight losses.
Oct. 4, 2014 – Call for firing: Illinois loses to Purdue 38-27, causing many fans to call for Beckman’s firing.
Dec. 26, 2014 — Beckman’s final game: Illinois loses 35-18 to Louisiana Tech in the Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl, ending the season with a 6-7 record.
Oct. 6, 2012 – Tobacco incident: Beckman was caught by TV cameras chewing tobacco on the Illinois sideline during the team’s game against Wisconsin.
Oct. 25, 2014 – Minnesota Homecoming win: Illinois rallies to beat Minnesota 28-24, the only top-25 victory in Beckman’s time at Illinois.
May 10, 2015 — Allegations arise: Former Illinois lineman Simon Cvijanovic sends out a series of tweets alleging Tim Beckman of player abuse and medical mistreatment.
2015
COACH
YEAR
PLAYERS DRAFTED
Mike White John Mackovic Lou Tepper Ron Turner Ron Zook Vic Koenning Tim Beckman
1980-87 1988-91 1991-96 1997-2004 2005-2011 2011(interim) 2012-present
2013:
NAME Hugh Thornton Akeem Spence Terry Hawthorne Michael Buchanan
ROUND 3 4 5 7
RECORD 47-41-3 30-16-1 25-30-2 35-57-0 34-51-0 1-0-0 12-25-0
PICK(OVERALL) 24(86) 3(100) 17(150) 20(226)
POSITION OG DT CB DE
RECORD UNDER BECKMAN 2012: 2-10 (0-8 Big Ten) 2013: 4-8 (1-7) 2014: 6-7 (3-5) 2015: ED
FIR
TEAM DRAFTED Indianapolis Colts Tampa Bay Buccaneers Pittsburgh Steelers New England Patriots
2014: None 2015: None
May 13, 2015 — Investigation time: Former Chancellor Phyllis Wise announced the University hired Franczek Radelet of Chicago to investigate the allegations made against Beckman.
August 28
Beckman fired: Preliminary findings in the investigation claimed Beckman had made efforts to deter injury reporting and influence medical decisions that pressured players to avoid and delay treatment. Thomas judged that Beckman had treated student-athletes inappropriately with respect to remaining on scholarship. Offensive coordinator Bill Cubit was named interim head coach for the season.
RECRUITING RANKINGS
ACCORDING TO RIVALS.COM
2012: 65th overall, 12th Big Ten 2013: 47th overall, 9th Big Ten 2014: 75th overall, 14th Big Ten 2015: 45th overall, 6th Big Ten
TOP-5 RECRUITS 1. Aaron Bailey, quarterback, 4-star, .9277 composite
BECKMAN’S
ILLINI FOOTBALL COACHES SINCE 1980 ILLINOIS YEAR-BY-YEAR
May 11, 2015 — Thomas speaks: Illinois Athletic Director Mike Thomas voices his support of Beckman following Cvijanovic’s accusations.
RANKINGS ACCORDING TO 247SPORTS.COM
2. Gabe Megginson, offensive lineman, 4-star, .9182 3. Ke’Shawn Vaughn, running back, 4-star, .8953 4. Jihad Ward (transfer), defensive end, 3-star, .8825 5. Paul James, defensive end, 3-star, .8753
AVERAGE MARGIN OF DEFEAT 2012: 24.6
2013: 18.1
2014: 21.6
Amid chaos, confidence in Cubit remains BY CHARLOTTE CARROLL STAFF WRITER
Bill Cubit issued a rallying cry in his first press conference as interim head coach for the Illinois football team. As he spoke to the media, his words were more directed toward Illini nation and the five players standing in the room watching their new coach try to quell a whirlwind of emotions. His message was clear from the moment he took the lectern to when he was asked about staying past this season. “I love this place,” Cubit said. “I really do, from when I first got here — I love the people here, I love the student athletes, I love the fans and believe it or not, I love
(the media). I just like this place. And when you like something, you can be passionate about it. I have two rules, know what you want and love what you do. I love what I do.” As Cubit assumes a new role, he’ll be stepping out of his supporting role and into the spotlight of the hot seat. A self-described “mushroom,” when he’s working just on offense, Cubit will have to use these skills and call upon old ones as he takes over the entire team. At Illinois as offensive coordinator since 2013, Cubit has transformed the Illini offense. In his first year at Illinois, Cubit helped take the offense from 122nd to 71st. But he has also played head
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coach twice before. His first stint was at Widener University from 1992-96 and then again from 2005-2012 at Western Michigan. He was out for morning breakfast with his wife when the call came Friday. “For me, it was a no brainer to go in there and take it over,” Cubit said. “And that’s what I’m going to do. I love these kids.” An abrupt halt to the morning was also felt among the players who were informed of the situation only hours before word was officially released. Players at the press conference expressed shock, but also confidence. “Coach Cubit is a well respected guy on our staff,” defensive lineman Mason
Monheim said. “Guys look up to him because he’s a straight shooter and he demands a lot. As players, that’s what you want, not all the time you might like it but at the end of the day, that’s what you want. You want someone that’s going to bring out the best in you and he does that.” Cubit said he hadn’t seen the preliminary report that prompted former head coach Tim Beckman’s firing, but the focus — as stated by Athletic Director Mike Thomas and President Timothy Killeen — is on the student athletes. “Whether it takes 16-80 hours it doesn’t really make a difference,” Cubit said. “When you understand about these student athletes, that they have one shot at
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TYLER COURTNEY THE DAILY ILLINI
Formerly the football offensive coordinator, Bill Cubit addresses the media after being named interim head coach after Tim Beckman’s dismissal on Friday. this thing, they’re there at the University of Illinois ... They play in a great conference and it’s my job and all the other coaches jobs to go out there and give 120 percent because that’s the only way you go about this busi-
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ness and that’s the way we do it in our profession.” Cubit currently earns $515,000 and will receive $100,000 extra a month for four months as interim coach.
cmcarro2@dailyillini.com THEDAILYILLINI
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