After watching his Illinois Fighting Illini collapse after an inspiring 6-0 start to the 2011 season, head coach Ron Zook is on the way out.
Early on Sunday, both Bob Asmussen of the Champaign News-Gazette and John Surpinie of GateHouse News Service reported via twitter that Illinois had fired Zook with an announcement coming later in the day.
Illinois athletic director Mike Thomas quickly made the firing public early on Sunday afternoon, making it official that Zook was out at Illinois.
Illinois finished the season with a 6-6 record and are bowl eligible, but the team finished just 2-6 in Big 10 play and played flat out terrible during the home stretch, dropping their last six games of the season.
Zook has long been known as an excellent recruiter, but has been unable to translate the success on the recruiting trail to success on the football field.
During his seven seasons in Champaign, Zook compiled a 34-51 record. His time at Illinois was highlighted by a Rose Bowl appearance in 2007, a season that saw Illinois go 9-3 during the regular season before losing the Rose Bowl to USC by the score of 49-17.
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Early on Sunday, both Bob Asmussen of the Champaign News-Gazette and John Surpinie of GateHouse News Service reported via twitter that Illinois had fired Zook with an announcement coming later in the day.
Illinois athletic director Mike Thomas quickly made the firing public early on Sunday afternoon, making it official that Zook was out at Illinois.
"I believe we need new leadership to take the program to the level to compete for championships on a consistent basis. This is an extremely competitive conference, and we are determined to go head-to-head with the very best."The firing comes less than 24 hours after Zook's team dropped their last game of the season on the road to Minnesota by the score of 27-7.
Illinois finished the season with a 6-6 record and are bowl eligible, but the team finished just 2-6 in Big 10 play and played flat out terrible during the home stretch, dropping their last six games of the season.
Zook has long been known as an excellent recruiter, but has been unable to translate the success on the recruiting trail to success on the football field.
During his seven seasons in Champaign, Zook compiled a 34-51 record. His time at Illinois was highlighted by a Rose Bowl appearance in 2007, a season that saw Illinois go 9-3 during the regular season before losing the Rose Bowl to USC by the score of 49-17.
Sources:
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