It’s been nearly three months since IL let go of athletic director Mike Thomas after a rough finish to his tenure at the school.
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But surely IL finally settling on a successor to Thomas has to be seen as a positive, finally getting someone in place on a permanent basis.
The University of IL made it official Wednesday, confirming reports that former Illini football player Josh Whitman is the school’s new athletic director.
Whitman, who played football for the University of IL from 1997 to 2000, is familiar with the university’s athletic department from his time as assistant to the former director of athletics, Ron Guenther, from 2005 to 2008.
Patrick Chun, Florida Atlantic’s director of athletics, was recently targeted for an opening at the University of IL as a candidate for a position of the same name. George, a former IL football player, stated early in the process that he was content at Colorado. A law firm hired by the university found no evidence that Bollant had done anything wrong.
When news of Whitman’s likely hiring began to circulate, a former Illini teammate of Whitman’s, placekicker Peter Christofilakos of Springfield, posted on his Facebook page: “Just got off the phone with reporter and Josh Whitman will be our new Athletic Director at the University of IL”.
While Whitman was at UW-L, the Eagles won four national titles in gymnastics, outdoor and indoor track and field, and more than 20 WIAC titles.
“Turner also said, “(Whitman) will bring the department together.
During his time as a law student at Illinois, Whitman worked in the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics on several key initiatives, including endowment and naming-rights proposals and strategic planning for marketing and funding of the now-completed $121 million renovation of Memorial Stadium.
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Before joining Washington University, Whitman served as the director of athletics at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. “Everyone will feel a part of it”. He also joined the Washington, D.C., law firm Covington & Burling LLP, which is well known for its counsel work with the NFL. “He was a really good player on top of it”.
