Illinois Football Shocks Fans with Bret Bielema’s Record-Breaking Contract Extension—What’s Next for the Program?
The Fighting Illini have weathered plenty of ups and downs during Bielema’s first four years in Champaign, but the team experienced nine straight losing seasons before he arrived. While he was unable to end that miserable streak in 2021, the tides started to turn. Illinois earned eight victories in 2022 and then claimed its first bowl game win in over a decade in 2024, edging out the talented and tenacious South Carolina Gamecocks in the Citrus Bowl on New Year’s Eve.
The university is pleased by the considerable growth the football squad has enjoyed, especially in an expanded Big Ten Conference, and it is going to great lengths to lock in the face of this resurgence. Although not all the details are clear, this lucrative extension could make Bielema one of the 20 highest-paid coaches in the country.
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