Can Bret Bielema Transform Illinois Into a College Football Powerhouse?

Fourth-year Illini coach Bret Bielema appears to be on the cusp of something big – but can he finish the job?

Aug 29, 2024; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Bret Bielema greets running back Ca'Lil Valentine (5) before the first half at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images / Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

Nick Saban. Urban Meyer. Jimbo Fisher. Poof! Gone.

Time gets away from us all, and in the what-have-you-done-for-me-today world of college football, it moves even faster. The game is an ever-increasing grind, the coaching churn to be expected. Before you know it, stalwarts and icons move on to greener pastures – or simply head off to pasture. Even the greats have a shelf-life.

What does it all mean?

Opportunity.

Just look at the Big Ten, where Jim Harbaugh left a national championship-sized void at Michigan when he bolted for the Bolts and the NFL. Kirk Ferentz, the dean of Big Ten football coaches, remains a force, but, at 69, must feel retirement tugging at his hoodie. Who's left? James Franklin? Greg Schiano? Fine coaches, sure, but not exactly Schembechler and Hayes in terms of name value.

Curt Cignetti? Red-hot. But also in his first season in Bloomington. Let's see where it goes. Oregon's Dan Lanning? Entrenched on the mountaintop. But the Ducks are still plucking most of their talent from the West Coast and Texas, not the Big Ten's longtime backyard of the Midwest. Ryan Day? He can't catch a break, despite winning almost 9 of every 10 games he coaches, because he lost consecutive Peach Bowls and last week's big showdown with Lanning's Ducks.

This is all a roundabout way of approaching the question in the back of minds in Champaign and perhaps further and wider: Can Bret Bielema, who has led Illinois to an unexpected 5-1 start ahead of a Saturday matchup with Michigan (2:30 p.m. CT, CBS) that feels like an inflection point, turn the Illini into a college football power?

The short answer: Kind of.

Bielema is a good coach. Ask around. You'll get the same answer from a lot of longtime football people who know a thing or two about a thing or two.

"I've known him all the way, I've seen him grow up."

Brad Nessler had watched @BretBielema at every stop along his career and had high praise for what he's accomplished with @IlliniFootball @WCIA3sports pic.twitter.com/IblfjjXc4s

— Courtney Layne Brewer (@courtneylaynebr) October 18, 2024

Bielema is an Illinois guy (from Silvis, outside the Quad Cities), a Big Ten vet (seven seasons coaching Wisconsin to six bowl games) and a former player (a walk-on defensive lineman at Iowa who was named captain as a senior). He's no-nonsense, yet in touch enough to crack a little bit when thinking on one of his guys:

Bret Bielema got a little emotional talking about Josh McCray's big Week 7 🥲#B1GFootball pic.twitter.com/9Ka3eocQlL

— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) October 13, 2024

Point being, Bielema already has many of the pieces in place to turn Illinois into a consistent winner. But what any Power Four coach really needs – and especially one hoping to turn a (too-often) middling Big Ten program into a regular College Football Playoff contender – is talent. Great college football coaches consistently land great talent. That's no coincidence.

And how does one land talent? You guessed it: money. Lots of it. All the top college football programs have state-of-the-art facilities and luxurious amenities, and Illinois – in part thanks to plenty of generous alumni donors – is fortunate to have kept up with joneses there. But with NIL having grown into a cottage industry, it is money more than ever that draws athletic talent. Just take a look:

Highest athletics department expenditures among NCAA Division I schools (fiscal year 2022):

1. Ohio State: $225.7 million
2. Texas: $225.2 million
3. Alabama: $195.9 million
4. Michigan: $193.6 million
5. LSU: $192.8 million
6. Texas A&M: $177.7 million
7. Oklahoma: $176.0 million
8. Florida: $174.4 million
9. Penn State: $170.5 million
10. Georgia: $169.0 million

How many of those schools are currently ranked in college football's top 10, you may ask? Seven. Now guess how many national champions come from that list. Each of the past five, and 15 of the past 19. The others: Clemson (twice), Florida State and Auburn rank 17th, 15th and 11th. We're a long way from "Rudy," kids.

Back to the finer point: Illinois athletics, according to that USA Today analysis, spent $129.1 million in 2022, which ranks 31st out of 232 Division I public schools whose data expenditures were available. The university's athletics department ranked even higher in revenue – No. 24, in the same neighborhood as Oregon, Tennessee and even Clemson. Now, I'm no CPA, but it seems that Illinois has the resources to compete with college football's elite.

Even with the right support, making inroads on the recruiting trail takes time. Beyond the promise of NIL money, high school football stars want to know a few things: Is coach sticking around? Can he send me to the NFL? Are we gonna win?

On those fronts, the Illini are slaying. Bielema, 54, is building something in Champaign, and he seems to have the full support of AD Josh Whitman and the administration. He's not going anywhere. Pros? When NFL teams cut down to their 53-man rosters in August, 24 former Illini remained – a respectable number that includes a boatload of linemen and defensive backs, the unsung but vital building blocks of any winning program.

And winning? Look, the Illini have beaten a couple of fringe Top-25 teams, fell to a very good Penn State team in Happy Valley and nearly spit the bit against Purdue. At the end of the day, they have exceeded expectations and enter Saturday's colossally important matchup against the defending national champions at 5-1. What's not to love?

A win looks mighty impressive to an Illinois farm boy or a kid in Chicago or St. Louis, from where the Illini have always stocked their best teams. Beat Michigan, and Bielema's program suddenly has the kind of cachet to parlay its resources into a pipeline of talent – and perhaps an enduring college football pedigree at Illinois.

Hours from kickoff, gearing up for a glorious game day, and with every possibility still lingering in the mid-October air, is there anyplace Illini fans would rather be?

More From Illinois on Sports Illustrated:

Illinois Football Faces Crucial Test Against Michigan in Week 8

Illinois Football Legend Red Grange: His Legacy and Impact

Illinois Football Coach Bret Bielema Named to Coach of the Year Watch List