Illinois reaches settlement agreement with Tim Beckman
Illinois reaches settlement agreement with Tim Beckman
The University of Illinois will pay former football head coach Tim Beckman a one-time sum of $250,000 to complete a settlement agreement.
“In resolving these matters, the university and Coach Beckman seek to avoid protracted and costly litigation that would by necessity require the involvement of a number of current and former student-athletes, as well as coaches, staff, trainers, and team…
Apparently, it was more bad than people thought in Champaign, Illinois, as Coach Tim Beckman is fired the week before the season begins for the Fighting Illini.
Recall that this turkey had posited in my season predictions that this would be Tim Beckman’s final year as head football coach at Illinois: “We all hope this will be Asshole Tim Beckman’s (ATB) last year…”. We didn’t have to put up with him for another year. The University of Illinois fired Tim Beckman today. My prayers have been prematurely answered. Thank you to the fine folks at University of…
Illinois has fired football coach Tim Beckman amid allegations of influencing medical decisions and pressuring players to play hurt, athletic director Mike Thomas announced Friday
Just one week before their season opener, the Illinois Fighting Illini have fired football coach Tim Beckman amid allegations of influencing medical decisions and pressuring players to play hurt, athletic director Mike Thomas announced Friday.
In a statement, Thomas said the dismissal was related to preliminary results of an external review into the allegations, which also included efforts to avoid reporting players' injuries.
Former offensive lineman Simon Cvijanovic raised similar allegations on Twitter in May, leading to the university's launching of the review, which is not yet complete.
"The preliminary information external reviewers shared with me does not reflect our values or our commitment to the welfare of our student-athletes, and I've chosen to act accordingly," Thomas said. "During the review, we have asked people not to rush to judgment, but I now have enough information to make this decision in assessing the status and direction of the football program."
Thomas, who informed the team Friday of the decision to fire Beckman, also said in the statement that there were instances in which players were treated inappropriately as to whether they could remain on scholarship during their senior year if they weren't on the team.
"Both of those findings are unsettling violations of University policy and practice and do not reflect the culture that we wish to create in athletic programs for our young people," Thomas said in the statement. "I expect my coaches to protect players and foster their success on and off the field."
The school said Beckman, who went 12-25 -- and 4-20 in Big ten play -- in three seasons at Illinois, will not receive the $3.1 million remaining on the final two years of his five-year contract.
Cvijanovic first raised his allegations on Twitter and said that Beckman forced him to play through shoulder and knee injuries in 2013 and 2014. He accused the team's medical staff of removing the meniscus in his left knee without his consent. A few former players came forward to echo Cvijanovic's claims, although others came out in support of Beckman.
He expects the findings of the review, which was conducted by an independent law firm, to be publicly released at some point during the season. More than 90 people have been interviewed and nearly 200,000 documents have been inspected during the investigation, and practice and game film have also been reviewed.
Bill Cubit, who was hired as offensive coordinator in 2013, will take over as the team's interim coach for the 2015 season, pending approval by the Board of Trustees.
Illinois opens the season next Friday against Kent State.
Less than an hour before the announcement, Beckman made reference to the team's upcoming opener on his Twitter account.
Spread Options: Dr. Saturday's Week 14 picks against the spread
View photo.A 4-6 week makes it 55-74-1 un t'seesen. .500 is nairy happenin thishere seesen. Geergia Tech (+12) at Geergia, Noon ET: Seve spots n' t'College Football Playoff rankings plus homefield advantage ekwals 12 points fer Geergia, apparantlee. Wile Tech’s big game is...
by Sean Neumann | The Daily Illini | November 18, 2014
Illinois head coach Tim Beckman said Monday he has been given no assurances by athletic director Mike Thomas regarding his job security for next season.
“It’s about winning and I understand that,” Beckman said.
The Illini are 4-6 (1-5 Big Ten) this season and have been 10-24 (2-20) in the past three seasons under the head coach.
Beckman said he and Thomas meet in the coach’s office every Wednesday morning to discuss what they can do to improve the Illini football program.
“He’s a phenomenal athletic director,” Beckman said. “He’s always asking me, ‘What can we do to help build this program?’”
There’s been speculation on Beckman’s firing since an early October loss to Purdue at home. The team has lost six of its last eight games.
“I’ve been around winning my whole life,” Beckman said. “This isn’t something that I enjoy by any means.”
Facing the possibility of his third consecutive losing season at Illinois, Beckman has focused on the team’s improvements — increasing the number of wins each year and still fighting for bowl eligibility heading into the final two games this season.
“I want to win for these kids,” Beckman said. “I want nothing but for these kids to experience what it’s like to change something.”
Injuries on the offensive line
Illinois’ offense struggled to get anything going against Iowa on Saturday, gaining a season-low 235 yards of total offense.
Two starting offensive linemen — junior guard Ted Karras and senior tackle Simon Cvijanovic — were absent with injuries against the Hawkeyes, leaving jumbled protection for quarterback Wes Lunt.
Karras will be out for the rest of the season after tearing his ACL and MCL in his knee in a 55-14 loss to Ohio State.
Cvijanovic suffered a left shoulder injury against the Buckeyes. Beckman would not comment on the nature of the injury but said the senior is day-to-day and a decision will be made Thursday if he will play against Penn State.
Offensive coordinator Bill Cubit said redshirt freshman Christian DiLauro and junior Chris O’Connor were impressive while filling in Saturday.
“We have to figure out what we want to do with the center and the guard,” Cubit said. “With Joe (Spencer) and Alex (Hill), is Joe a better center? If Joe plays center, is Alex better there? Who knows with those guys there, so we’ll fool around with that.”
The Illini will need to be strong up front against Penn State with pass protection and opening lanes rushing the ball, going up against the third-ranked defense in the country of the Nittany Lions.
Offensive mistakes
Illinois’ mental lapses on offense were costly in the loss to Iowa.
Lunt threw for a season-low 102 yards and completed a season-low 56 percent of his passes in his first game since early October.
“There’s going to be a higher intensity this week just knowing we have to win these last two,” Lunt said.
Illinois had eight penalties against Iowa, while the Hawkeyes had one. It was the biggest difference between Illinois and its opponent this season, and the mistakes proved costly, stalling drives, taking away first down conversions and setting the team back 59 yards in total.
And when talking about fixing those mistakes, Cubit echoed a sentiment about the Illini players that applies to the mood of the program all around.
“It’s not lack of effort,” Cubit said. “It’s just sometimes you’ve got to be almost perfect.”
Sean can be reached at [email protected] and on Twitter @neumannthehuman.
