Whitman’s Illini excelling in the chaotic college landscape: ‘I feel really good about our ability to do that’ – 247Sports

CHAMPAIGN — During the past few years, college athletics have existed largely in the absence of rules. Guidelines have been treated as suggestions, and lawsuits have helped circumvent the best laid plans.

On top of that, athletic departments face the competitive pressure to win, particularly in the top two revenue sports: football and men’s basketball. The college landscape has been a perpetually spinning wheel of change for the better part of five years: unlimited transfers; athletes finally profiting off their name, image and likeness; and, more recently, schools being able to pay athletes directly via revenue sharing to the tune for roughly $20 million per athletic department. The latter has all but established a new baseline of finances for schools nationally. 

Illinois athletics director Josh Whitman is a proponent of being governed — a believer in the College Sports Commission and has a seat on the Division I Council to help rewrite the rules of college sports — but he also knows there’s a competitive pressure that comes with the job. 

In the middle of the chaos that has become college sports, the Illini have found success in both revenue sports and women’s basketball, the third-most prominent sport on campus. The men’s basketball team has been to the Elite Eight in two of the last three years and is coming off the first Final Four appearance in 21 years, football has won 19 games over the past two seasons and women’s basketball has made the NCAA Tournament in three of four seasons, with wins in the last two.

In the chaos, Illinois has found success.