He played for and coached under Hall-of-Famer Hayden Fry, helping the Hawkeyes share the 1990 Big Ten title with Illinois. The Badgers shared or won Big Ten championships three straight seasons from 2010-12 and led Wisconsin to victories in the first two Big Ten championship games.īielema's coaching pedigree and list of football mentors matches that of any coach in the nation. Bielema won 17 of his first 18 games with the Badgers. He was the first coach in Big Ten history to win 10 games in his first season, the first Wisconsin coach to win 11 games prior to a bowl game and became the third coach in NCAA history to win 12 games in his first season. In Bielema's debut season at Wisconsin in 2006, the Badgers finished 12-1, including a victory in the Capital One Bowl against Arkansas. After inheriting a depleted roster and enduring a difficult first season, he led the Razorbacks to three consecutive bowl games, including victories against Texas in 2014 and Kansas State in 2015. Bielema then spent five seasons as head coach at Arkansas from 2013-17.
These qualities, combined with his commitment to education and his track record of success, give me great confidence in his leadership of our football program."įrom 2006-12 Bielema was the head coach at Wisconsin, where he led the Badgers to three Big Ten championships (2010-12), six consecutive bowl games and a 68-24 record (.739). "Bret's blue collar work ethic and genuine, authentic manner will allow him to form strong connections to his players and staff and positive relationships in our community and our state. "Importantly to me, Bret, a native of our great state, grew up an Illini fan and is committed to seeing the football program at our state's flagship grow and prosper," continued Whitman. "In our conversations, it became clear to me that he is a life-long learner who is continually looking to grow and improve, and he has enjoyed unrivaled mentorship from some of the game's most distinguished coaches, including Hayden Fry, Kirk Ferentz, Bill Snyder, Barry Alvarez, and Bill Belichick – all of them current or future Hall of Famers. With three Big Ten championships to his credit, few coaches can match his familiarity with, and success within, the Big Ten Conference," said Whitman. Go Illini!"Ī native of Prophetstown, Illinois, Bielema (pronounced BEEL-ma) has 24 years of collegiate coaching experience and compiled a 12-year record of 97-58 (.626) as head coach at Wisconsin and Arkansas. Jen and I, along with our girls, are excited to get to Champaign-Urbana and get started on the journey. We will hold the young men on our team responsible both on and off the field while coaching them to be champions in life. The University of Illinois has incredible facilities and is known as one of the world's outstanding academic institutions. "We will build an outstanding staff for both player development and recruiting. I look forward to re-connecting with the high school coaches around the state making it clear we intend to keep our players home. We want the young men playing football in the state of Illinois from Freeport to Cairo and from Quincy to Danville dreaming of wearing the Orange and Blue and playing at Memorial Stadium.
"We want to build a program that makes Illini Nation proud and regain the passion that I've seen when Illinois wins. "Illinois and the Big Ten is home for me, and I can't be any more excited about the opportunity in front of me with the Fighting Illini," Bielema said. 2021 Football Season Ticket Interest FormĬHAMPAIGN, IL – The University of Illinois and UI Director of Athletics Josh Whitman reached out to a native son today when naming Bret Bielema as the 26th Fighting Illini Head Football Coach in the 132-year history of the program.
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