Illinois coach Bret Bielema has signed a new six-year contract that will pay him $6 million per year, the team announced Tuesday. Here’s what you should know:
- The new deal will tie the coach to the program through the end of the 2028 season and includes “annual raises and the opportunity to earn various bonuses, including a $500,000 annual retention incentive,” per the school’s announcement.
- Over two seasons at Illinois, Bielema has amassed a 24-13 record.
- The Fighting Illini will face Mississippi State in the ReliaQuest Bowl on Jan. 2.
Championship-level coaches stay in Champaign. @BretBielema inks a new six-year contract with the Fighting Illini. #Illini // #HTTO // #famILLy pic.twitter.com/zjP1Xt1xGO
— Illinois Football (@IlliniFootball) December 20, 2022
Backstory
After leading Illinois to a 5-7 record during his first season with wins over Big 10 foes Nebraska, Penn State and Minnesota, Bielema guided the Fighting Illini to bowl eligibility in 2022. Illinois’ most recent bowl appearance was the Redbox Bowl against California in 2019, and the program’s last bowl win was a victory over UCLA in the 2011 Fight Hunger Bowl.
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What Bielema has brought to Illinois
Bielema has led Illinois to its best season in 15 years, as the Illini enter the ReliaQuest Bowl at 8-4 overall and 5-4 in the Big Ten. This also marks the program’s first season above .500 in conference play since 2007. The Illini had the Power 5’s top rusher in Chase Brown, one of the best offensive lines in the country (it was one of nine semifinalists for the Joe Moore Award), the nation’s top-scoring defense and No. 2 overall defense.
The old-school, smash-mouth style replicates the formula Bielema succeeded with at Wisconsin, where he won Big Ten titles in each of his final three years (2010-12). His defensive coordinator, Ryan Walters, was just named the head coach at Purdue, becoming the latest Bielema protege to earn a top job, joining the likes of Dave Doeren, Charlie Partridge and Paul Chryst. — Fortuna
Success in Season 2
Illinois made its first-ever appearance in the College Football Playoff rankings this season, debuting at No. 16. The program was ranked for five straight weeks in the AP poll, as it jumped out to a 7-1 start.
Illinois went 5-7 during Bielema’s debut season of 2021, scoring upset road wins over ranked Penn State and Minnesota teams. The turnaround in Year 2 was evident early, as the Illini beat Virginia by 21 after losing to the Hoos by 28 last year, beat Wisconsin by 24 after losing to the Badgers by 24 last year, and beat Iowa by three after losing to the Hawkeyes by 10 a year ago. — Fortuna
(Photo: Ron Johnson / USA Today)