The Illinois football program isn't slowing down anytime soon.
Tuesday evening, coach Bret Bielema continued his commitment to lead the team through the end of the decade with a lucrative contract extension through the 2030 season.
Bielema said in a statement that he is grateful to remain in Champaign and coach Illinois toward future success. The Fighting Illini are attempting to build off a 10-3 season, defeating South Carolina in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl to achieve a milestone that hadn't been reached since 2001: double-digits.
"Thank you to Josh Whitman, our administration, and the Board of Trustees for their continued commitment and support for our football program," Bielema said. "Over the last four seasons, our program has been built on tough, smart, dependable people in every facet: from our players, to our coaches and staff, to our administration. I am fortunate to work every day with an athletic director that fully believes in our football program and a coaching staff that fully believes in our players. A special thank you to those players — I could not be more excited about where our program is going because of you."
Whitman spoke fondly of Bielema's turnaround of the program, which could only muster up between two and six wins per year in the five years before Bielema succeeded then-coach Lovie Smith.
"I want to thank Bret for his exceptional leadership and bold vision for the future of Fighting Illini Football," Whitman said. Under Bret's guidance, our program has gained national relevance and is steadily rewriting the Illinois record books. As a former player, it is a privilege to partner with him to develop and execute a plan aimed at achieving sustained success. The future of our program has never been brighter. I value Bret's friendship and look forward to accelerating our upward trajectory in the years to come."
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Illinois returns 18 starters from last year's bowl-winning team. Pending board approval on May 22, Bielema's salary would be $7.7 million a year.
At least for now, Illinois' football relevance from a national perspective is something to pay attention to in the coming years.
Champaign is committed to winning, and anything other than that is a disservice.
By August, Bielema can prove the institution made the right decision.