Illinois
Illinois awards AD Josh Whitman a new contract worth more than $31 million over the next 10 years
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Illinois has extended athletic director Josh Whitman’s contract through 2036, committing more than $31 million over the next 10 years on the heels of a series of standout seasons for the department and its teams.
The university’s board of trustees approved the new deal for Whitman at its regular meeting on Thursday. The fifth-longest tenured AD among the four power conferences will make $2.15 million during the 2026-27 school year, a salary increase of more than 40%.
Whitman is scheduled to receive $100,000 raises annually before a $200,000 bump to $3.15 million in the final year of the agreement and a $500,000 retention bonus each June 30 that he remains on the job at Illinois.
The contract also includes additional incentives of up to $500,000 annually related to performance goals set by the university chancellor and three automatic one-year extensions through 2039 if certain Illini football and men’s basketball performance measures are met.
Whitman, a former Illinois football player, was hired in 2016. This was the fifth time his contract has been amended. The men’s basketball team reached the NCAA Final Four in April for the first time in 21 years. The football team won 19 games over the last two seasons, a program record for that span. Illini athletics also set a revenue record for a fourth consecutive year and topped $200 million for the first time in 2025-26, according to the board of trustees meeting memo.
A scoreboard fell during its installation at Illinois’ O’Fallon Township High School last week, smashing as it hit the ground. Thankfully, nobody was hurt.
Superintendent Dr. Beth Shackelford said in a statement that “athletic activities and events will continue with adjustments as needed, and we are actively evaluating scheduling and facility options to minimize any disruptions.”
Nevco, the company installing the scoreboard, said the gym would be repaired in the next two to three weeks and the scoreboard would be replaced within six to eight weeks. Nevco will be handling the costs of those repairs.
Why is IMG Academy our Preseason High School Football No. 1?
USA TODAY Sports national high school sports reporters Logan Newman and Alex Martin break it down.
Eisenhower High School (Decatur, Illinois) is cancelling its 2026 high school varsity football season, just two weeks ahead of the season opener.
Week 1 of the 2026 Illinois High School football season is scheduled to open on Aug. 20. While Eisenhower will not play a varsity schedule, it will continue to field a junior varsity team.
The school announced the cancellation of the season in a Facebook post on Monday, Aug. 11.
“Eisenhower High School Announces 2026 Football Program Update:
“Decatur Public Schools #61 announces that Eisenhower High School will not field a varsity football team for the 2026 season due to low participation numbers and a concern for student safety.
“The school’s junior varsity football program will continue as scheduled, providing student-athletes with the opportunity to participate and develop within the program.
“The school has notified the Illinois High School Association, scheduled opponents, student-athletes, families, and coaching staff of this decision.”
The Panthers finished the 2025 season with a 1-8 record, which included a 27-21 win over Lanphier in week eight. It was the fifth straight season with a 1-8 record for the program, which follows up a pair of 0-9 seasons the two years prior.
Eisenhower’s opponents for the 2026 season included: MacArthur, Lincoln, Southeast, Lanphier, Mascoutah, Mt. Zion, Rochester, U-High and Glenwood.
According to IHSA Associate Executive Director Matt Troha, Eisenhower’s opponents will have two options:
- Accept a forfeit win and not play a Varsity game that week
- Schedule a different opponent and take the result of what happens on the field vs. the new opponent
“In most cases, it is too late, but there are a few teams out there that only have eight games on the schedule, so it’s possible that a few add games, but unlikely they all do,” Troha said via email to USA TODAY Sports.
“In recent years, we have also had some teams choose to double-up and play a conference team twice. So, they could choose to do that within their league as well.”
Meet Journal Star business and government reporter JJ Bullock
Journal Star reporter JJ Bullock writes about local government, politics and business in and around Peoria.
SHIRLEY — Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker does not think the Chicago Bears actually want to leave Illinois for a new home in Indiana, the governor said Monday.
Pritzker addressed the future of the Chicago Bears, which in June announced their intentions to build a new stadium in Hammond, Indiana, during an agriculture event in Shirley on Monday, saying he did not believe the team actually want to make the move across the border.
The Bears and Illinois lawmakers went back and forth for months over a potential deal that would keep the team in Illinois at a 326-acre site in Arlington Heights, a Chicago suburb, which the Bears have owned since 2021.
However, the Illinois legislature failed to pass a bill this spring solidifying a deal, and in June the Bears announced they intended to build a stadium in Hammond at a site that sits atop a slag heap and near hazardous wastes drop sites.
Pritzker, however, does not think the Bears truly want to make this move. He said Monday he is “hopeful” a deal can still be struck that will keep the NFL team in Illinois.
“I love Indiana, love Indiana, but I don’t think the Bears really want to go to Indiana and I think that the most unpopular governor in the entire country Gov. (Mike) Braun, is attempting to make the case that he is winning the Chicago Bears over to Indiana, but I don’t actually think that’s happening,” Pritzker said. “But maybe he thinks he can get reelected just by saying that.”
Republican Darren Bailey, who is running against Pritzker in November’s gubernatorial election, cast the possible move to Indiana by the Bears as a done deal on Monday, saying it was too late to convince the team to stay.
Bailey said he talked to Braun about Indiana’s deal with the Bears and was assured “that ship sailed about five years ago.” He called any words from Pritzker about keeping the Bears in Illinois “empty promises.”
“I do believe, unfortunately, that the Bears are gone,” Bailey said.
Bailey also said he does not want to see any more deals done “off the backs of taxpayers,” especially given the Bears are a multi-billion-dollar franchise.
“But, unfortunately, I believe the Bears are gone because proper entities of leadership did not work timely,” Bailey said. “And you will have my word that as your governor that we will be front and center with communication and there will be no more businesses leaving this state for failure of communication or failure of leadership.”
Will the Bears actually leave Illinois?
If you take what leadership from the Chicago Bears franchise has said at face value, then yes, the Chicago Bears are going to be moving forward with a plan to construct a multi-billion-dollar stadium, using $2 billion of their own money and $1 billion of money from the state of Indiana to fund the project.
“We believe a world-class stadium project in Hammond will transform the region, connecting Northwest Indiana to the South Side of Chicago through the Loop and across neighborhoods and suburbs stretching north of the city,” Bears chairman George H. McCaskey and team president and CEO Kevin Warren said in a June statement. “It will bring Chicagoland together and deliver new opportunities to its residents and businesses.”
However, much like an actual football game, nothing is done until the clock strikes zero, and if you take what Pritzker said Monday seriously, there is still plenty of room for the Bears and Illinois lawmakers to strike a deal when the state legislature returns to work in November.
The Illinois Senate and House each passed bills this spring that offer proposals to keep the Bears in Illinois, however, neither bill was passed by the other chamber before legislative session ended.
It is now up to the Bears, Pritzker said Monday, to take those two bills and figure out which pieces of the legislation they can work with. However, Pritzker did say he is not in favor of giving a team valued at $9 billion and owned by billionaires to give away taxpayer money so they can build a new stadium.
“I’m sorry, but most people can’t afford to go to a Bears game,” Pritzker said. “Most people can’t afford to buy hot dogs at Bears games. So yes, I want them to stay, they’re a business in the state of Illinois. We can provide incentives, attractions for businesses to come into Illinois and stay in Illinois. But I’m telling you, writing a check for $2 billion to build a stadium doesn’t make sense to me.”
Pritzker did say the state would build roads and sewers and “every kind of infrastructure they need.” The Bears have said they would need to state to pay $855 million for infrastructure improvements around the Arlington Heights location.
When does the Chicago Bears season begin?
Despite the questions about their future still hanging over Halas Hall, the Chicago Bears still have a season to play in 2026.
The Chicago Bears kickoff their regular season on Sunday, Sept. 13, against the Carolina Panthers in Carolina. The Bears first home game is the following week on Sunday, Sept. 20, against the Minnesota Vikings.
-
Crypto6 minutes agoBitcoin Stalls at $63,400 as ETFs Outpace Network Issuance
-
Finance12 minutes agoHealthcare CFOs face growing decision-making expectations. Many say they aren't ready
-
Fitness18 minutes agoThese Basic Fitness Tests May Reveal How Long You’ll Live
-
Movie Reviews30 minutes ago‘Above and Below’ Review: A Slick and Entertaining Shark Thriller – Film Focus Online
-
Lifestyle1 hour agoHere’s how gyms, salons and ice cream are changing America’s Main Streets
-
Technology2 hours agoSaber denies replacing Rideshare Stimulator’s writers with ChatGPT
-
World2 hours agoNorth Korea launches another ballistic missile as US, South Korea prepare for military drills
-
Politics2 hours agoEx-New Jersey mayor, her husband charged for using fake ballot signatures after she pleaded guilty to DUI
