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Jun. 26—CHAMPAIGN — Several lasting images from Illinois men's basketball's NCAA tournament run have stuck with Josh Whitman in the months following one of the best seasons in program history.
A packed lobby at the team hotel in Houston following the 71-59 victory against Iowa that sent the Illini to the Final Four.
Walking on to the court at Lucas Oil Stadium in downtown Indianapolis for the first time. Seeing 17,000 fans show up for a simple practice.
The contingent of 40,000 Illini fans on hand for the national semifinal game against Connecticut.
"The lobby in Indianapolis over the course of that week became almost like Illini Grand Central Station," Whitman said, discussing that team and that season for the first time since the Final Four.
"Every time you came to the lobby, you never knew who was going to be sitting there — donors or alumni or former players," the Illinois athletic director continued. "I remember it wasn't that long ago, when I first came here, that we thought, 'Boy, it sure would be nice to make the NCAA tournament.' We went through a long drought, including the first few years when I was here, where I had to imagine what it would be like to be in the field.
"I will never take that for granted. This year during Selection Sunday I remember sitting upstairs (at Ubben Basketball Complex) and (coach Brad Underwood) reminded the team of that. That no matter how long we've done this and how many tournaments we've made, just hearing our name called on Selection Sunday will never get old."
The goal is simple. Do it again — and again and again.
Illinois will try to make that push in the 2026-27 season with as much momentum as the program has had in decades. Season tickets are expected to sell out in the coming days and the expectation is, Whitman said, that will happen using only the wait list. New season-ticket offers for the public likely won't be offered.
And an already difficult schedule for the Illini received another challenge Thursday with the addition of a Jan. 30 game against North Carolina in Nashville, Tenn. Illinois hasn't played the Tar Heels since 2010 in a series tied 4-4 with North Carolina, of course, winning the biggest game of the bunch to claim the 2005 national championship.
"Our guy, Coach Underwood, he is a big-time competitor," Whitman said. "We're going to continue to play a rough schedule. We're going to learn a lot about ourselves throughout the course of the year, so that come March we're prepared. This year will be no exception."
The game against North Carolina joins a list of high-profile nonconference matchups already on the schedule. Illinois will play at Texas Tech and at Duke in November, get a rematch with UConn in Chicago in early December before the annual Braggin' Rights game against Missouri before Christmas.
"I credit the NCAA for this," Whitman said. "I think that with the quad system they have built, they have created a system that incentives people to play hard games. The reward for playing those games and winning dwarfs the penalty for the loss. It really is a credit to them for building the system they have, so coaches don't have to be afraid of what playing high-level competition can mean even if you're ultimately not able to secure the win."
Illinois wasn't scheduling that many high-profile games early in either Whitman's or Underwood's tenure in Champaign. Securing those matchups is a result of a successful program. Providing the necessary support to keep the Illini at that level is at the top of Whitman's list.
That's why the Illinois athletic director worked with Underwood on a contract addendum that could keep the Illinois coach in Champaign for the next decade. That will, in all likelihood, make the Illini the last team the 62-year-old Underwood will coach.
It's also why such an effort was made to retain as much of last season's roster as possible for the 2026-27 season.
"(Underwood) believes firmly in the University of Illinois," Whitman said. "He believes in the bright future of Fighting Illini men's basketball. And he believes as clearly as the sky is blue that we're going to win a national championship under his leadership.
"At the core, those (returning players) want to be someplace that they know they have a chance to win at the highest level. They want to be at a place that cares about them and can help them develop and ultimately realize their goals. There's a reason that we were able to bring so many of them back and have a chance to repeat and take those final steps as we head into next year."
Other avenues of support have been fulfilled. State Farm Center received a $169.5 million renovation a decade ago. Ubben's $40 million renovation and expansion was completed in 2023.
"The changes at this point will be incremental," Whitman said. "I don't see any sort of big, dramatic thing coming for basketball, but what's important is we keep the pressure on our staff, our student-athletes and the people who support our program to make sure we look for ways — even the smallest ways — to continue to try and raise that program up.
"I can promise you there's not an ounce of complacency in Brad Underwood or me. That is a focal point of every offseason is trying to look at the places we can continue to raise the bar."
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A packed lobby at the team hotel in Houston following the 71-59 victory against Iowa that sent the Illini to the Final Four.
Walking on to the court at Lucas Oil Stadium in downtown Indianapolis for the first time. Seeing 17,000 fans show up for a simple practice.
The contingent of 40,000 Illini fans on hand for the national semifinal game against Connecticut.
"The lobby in Indianapolis over the course of that week became almost like Illini Grand Central Station," Whitman said, discussing that team and that season for the first time since the Final Four.
"Every time you came to the lobby, you never knew who was going to be sitting there — donors or alumni or former players," the Illinois athletic director continued. "I remember it wasn't that long ago, when I first came here, that we thought, 'Boy, it sure would be nice to make the NCAA tournament.' We went through a long drought, including the first few years when I was here, where I had to imagine what it would be like to be in the field.
"I will never take that for granted. This year during Selection Sunday I remember sitting upstairs (at Ubben Basketball Complex) and (coach Brad Underwood) reminded the team of that. That no matter how long we've done this and how many tournaments we've made, just hearing our name called on Selection Sunday will never get old."
The goal is simple. Do it again — and again and again.
Illinois will try to make that push in the 2026-27 season with as much momentum as the program has had in decades. Season tickets are expected to sell out in the coming days and the expectation is, Whitman said, that will happen using only the wait list. New season-ticket offers for the public likely won't be offered.
And an already difficult schedule for the Illini received another challenge Thursday with the addition of a Jan. 30 game against North Carolina in Nashville, Tenn. Illinois hasn't played the Tar Heels since 2010 in a series tied 4-4 with North Carolina, of course, winning the biggest game of the bunch to claim the 2005 national championship.
"Our guy, Coach Underwood, he is a big-time competitor," Whitman said. "We're going to continue to play a rough schedule. We're going to learn a lot about ourselves throughout the course of the year, so that come March we're prepared. This year will be no exception."
The game against North Carolina joins a list of high-profile nonconference matchups already on the schedule. Illinois will play at Texas Tech and at Duke in November, get a rematch with UConn in Chicago in early December before the annual Braggin' Rights game against Missouri before Christmas.
"I credit the NCAA for this," Whitman said. "I think that with the quad system they have built, they have created a system that incentives people to play hard games. The reward for playing those games and winning dwarfs the penalty for the loss. It really is a credit to them for building the system they have, so coaches don't have to be afraid of what playing high-level competition can mean even if you're ultimately not able to secure the win."
Illinois wasn't scheduling that many high-profile games early in either Whitman's or Underwood's tenure in Champaign. Securing those matchups is a result of a successful program. Providing the necessary support to keep the Illini at that level is at the top of Whitman's list.
That's why the Illinois athletic director worked with Underwood on a contract addendum that could keep the Illinois coach in Champaign for the next decade. That will, in all likelihood, make the Illini the last team the 62-year-old Underwood will coach.
It's also why such an effort was made to retain as much of last season's roster as possible for the 2026-27 season.
"(Underwood) believes firmly in the University of Illinois," Whitman said. "He believes in the bright future of Fighting Illini men's basketball. And he believes as clearly as the sky is blue that we're going to win a national championship under his leadership.
"At the core, those (returning players) want to be someplace that they know they have a chance to win at the highest level. They want to be at a place that cares about them and can help them develop and ultimately realize their goals. There's a reason that we were able to bring so many of them back and have a chance to repeat and take those final steps as we head into next year."
Other avenues of support have been fulfilled. State Farm Center received a $169.5 million renovation a decade ago. Ubben's $40 million renovation and expansion was completed in 2023.
"The changes at this point will be incremental," Whitman said. "I don't see any sort of big, dramatic thing coming for basketball, but what's important is we keep the pressure on our staff, our student-athletes and the people who support our program to make sure we look for ways — even the smallest ways — to continue to try and raise that program up.
"I can promise you there's not an ounce of complacency in Brad Underwood or me. That is a focal point of every offseason is trying to look at the places we can continue to raise the bar."
Continue reading...
