Lovie Smith aims for full program revival at Illinois

IOWA CITY — No Big Ten football program blessed with so many resources within its state borders has underachieved so quite inexplicably like Illinois.

Raw data shows the Illini (6-26 in Big Ten play the last four seasons) are way behind their Big Ten West Division peers in just about every category. Illinois boasts the largest population in the Big Ten's 11-state footprint and produced 37 four-star or three-star Rivals' recruits in the class of 2016. Yet the state's flagship institution managed to sign only two, while Iowa grabbed five of the 37 prospects. Michigan State snagged half of the state's eight four-star recruits. Heck, Western Michigan inked as many three-star recruits as Illinois.

But where most Illini observers shake their heads and close their eyes, new Coach Lovie Smith views opportunity. He looks two hours north of Champaign and sees the nation's third-largest metro market in Chicago. He glances three hours southwest and stares at St. Louis. He can twirl in Champaign and peak at an in-state recruiting base that stretches from Wisconsin to SEC country where the variance of accents are just as deep.

'The priority, first off, is our state,' Smith said. 'We have to take care of Illinois. Of course to take care of Illinois is Chicago, the Chicago area. We have some good players from Chicago now, and that's our No. 1 recruiting area we will have.

'We had one big function down in St. Louis and the players down there let me know (previously) there were 15-20 players from St. Louis, on our roster from St. Louis. I think we have one coming in the fall right now. We have to change that. St. Louis will be another area we will recruit. Then you can go to Indianapolis, there's a triangle that's fairly close around us.'

Smith is well-known around the state. He won three division titles and one NFC championship in nine years with the NFL's Chicago Bears. A late-season swoon in 2012 kept the Bears out of the playoffs despite a 10-6 record, which cost Smith his job. He spent the last two years with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and returns to college for the first time in 20 years.

Smith has cache and commands respect, which could help the turmoil-prone Illini improve in other areas. In 2011, the Illini opened 6-0 only to lose their last six games, which cost Coach Ron Zook his job. Tim Beckman's chaotic three years (12-25 record, one bowl appearance) came to an abrupt end one week before the 2015 season when he was fired for cause. A university investigation accused Beckman of forcing players to delay medical attention for injuries and were otherwise treated inappropriately. Beckman settled a lawsuit with the university for $250,000 last week.

Bill Cubit served as interim coach last year and he agreed to a two-year contract to remain the team's full-time coach. But new athletics director Josh Whitman opened his first day on the job by firing Cubit. Two days later, Whitman officially hired Smith, who received a six-year contract paying him $2 million this year and $5 million for his sixth season.

Proclaiming Smith as 'a man of integrity' during the coach's inaugural news conference, Whitman set a bold vision for Illinois football.

'This brings a level of stability and enthusiasm to a football program that needs it,' Whitman said.

'I have so much respect for the men on our football team. It was one of the most resilient, tough-minded group of people I've ever seen.'

Smith's arrival has inspired his players. Quarterback Wes Lunt, who now has his third head coach in three seasons at Illinois, said the transition has been 'pretty smooth.'

'Finally, we have a lot of stability with Josh Whitman and Coach Lovie,' Lunt said. 'I think the guys are excited to just kind of be back to football.'

There's also a financial benefit of bringing in a big-game coach like Smith. In fiscal year 2015, Illinois earned just $7.09 million in football ticket revenue, according to numbers obtained by The Gazette via state open-records laws. That's far below neighbors Iowa ($21.75 million) and Wisconsin ($20.15 million) and ahead of only Purdue ($5.49 million) and Indiana ($5.14 million) among Big Ten public universities. When compared with Nebraska ($30.17 million) or Ohio State ($52.17 million), well, it's no comparison.

Smith immediately helped elevate interest in Illinois football. Within two days of his hiring, the Illini announced that 2,000 new season tickets were purchased, and the school had sold out of its popular Family 4-Pack.

'We understand the impact that a successful athletic program can make on an university community,' Whitman said at Smith's hiring. 'Every person involved in Illinois benefits from the opportunity to put a strong football team on that field on Saturday afternoons.'

l Comments: (319) 339-3169; scott.dochterman@thegazette.com