[3] In July 1892, several days after graduating from Dartmouth, Edward K. Hall was hired by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to serve as head football coach and director of physical training at a salary of $1,000.

He announced at the time that he would spend the summer working as a waiter at a hotel in Old Orchard Beach, Maine, before reporting to Illinois.

[24] The team was selected retroactively as the national champion by the Boand System, College Football Researchers Association, Helms Athletic Foundation, and Parke H. Davis, and as a co-national champion by the Berryman QPRS system, National Championship Foundation, and Jeff Sagarin (using the ELO-Chess methodology).

[26] Though the team had no consensus All-Americans and was known for its lack of prominent names, center Robert Reitsch and guard Russ Crane made a handful of first-team selections.

[32] In 1946, the Illini won the Big Ten Conference title and completed an 8–2 season with a 45–14 win over UCLA in the Rose Bowl.

Additionally, Al Brosky had 8 interceptions that season bringing his career total to 30, an NCAA record that still stands today.

[41] A few months after the end of the 1966 season in which the Illini finished 4–6,[42] Elliott was forced to resign as head coach in the wake of a slush fund scandal in the athletic program.

[48] Guard Doug Redmann was selected by the Newspaper Enterprise Association as a second-team player on the 1969 College Football All-America Team.

[56] San Francisco 49ers offensive line coach Mike White succeeded Moeller and brought moderate success to Illinois' football program, compiling a 47–41–3 record in his eight years.

[84] His best team was the 1983 unit, which won a school-record 10 games en route to Illinois' first conference title and bowl appearance in 20 years.

[87] In 1988, the Illini compiled a 6–5–1 record, finished in third place in the Big Ten Conference, and lost to Florida in the 1988 All-American Bowl.

Redman stated that he had committed to Illinois based on the recruiting efforts of Illini offensive coordinator and former NFL Pro Bowl quarterback Greg Landry.

[102][101] The NCAA decided to void the LOC based on the unusual circumstances, allowing Redman five full years of eligibility and no transfer restrictions.

[101] Tepper hired former Ball State head coach and veteran Big Ten assistant Paul Schudel as Landry's replacement.

[120] Despite his team's past struggles, Zook improved the ability of Illinois to recruit top football talent.

[123][124] More recently, Zook also won over Simeon High School standout Martez Wilson[125][126] along with Florida prospect D'Angelo McCray.

[133] After making the 2008 Rose Bowl, Illinois was squashed, 49–17, by the USC Trojans, putting a bit of a damper on an otherwise great season.

Illinois lost their next four games by 10 points or more (including a 27–14 loss to Indiana, which was the Hoosiers' only Big Ten win of the season), sinking to 1–6 overall.

Zook's team then put together a stunning blowout of the Michigan Wolverines in Memorial Stadium, and followed it up with a 35–32 upset of Minnesota the very next week.

However, running back Mikel Leshoure was, and he proved to be an invaluable asset on offense, where Illinois started freshman Nathan Scheelhaase at quarterback.

On the Tuesday before the Wisconsin game, Zook opened his weekly press conference by warning the reporters not to ask questions about his job status.

When reporter Shannon Ryan of the Chicago Tribune asked Zook if he had talked to his players about the rumors pertaining to his future, he walked out of the press conference.

[143] On August 28, 2015—just a week before what was to be his fourth season—Beckman was fired after the preliminary results of an internal investigation substantiated accusations of gross player mistreatment.

[145] In a statement, Beckman called his ouster a "rush to judgment" that violated the terms of his contract, and stated that he intended to "vigorously defend both my reputation and my legal rights.

"[146] On April 11, 2016, Beckman settled with the university for a one time payment of $250,000 with the decision of firing "for cause" due to the mistreatment of players standing.

[152][153] After five years without a winning record, the hiring of a leader who had taken a professional football team to the Super Bowl invigorated fans and students.

Illinois also played 18 true freshman student athletes overall, tied for the second most in the nation,[156] and posted records of 2–10 overall and 0–9 in Big Ten games.

Chase Brown ran for 223 yards, the most ever by a Big Ten opponent at Beaver Stadium, and Brandon Peters connected with Casey Washington in the back of the end zone of the ninth overtime to stun the Penn State crowd.

Two games later, Illinois earned its first ever win over a College Football Playoff ranked opponent by taking down #20 Minnesota, 14-6, in Minneapolis behind a dominant effort by the defense.

[172] The history and rivalry between Illinois and Michigan has been marked by crazy games, upsets, and tensions between the two schools and fanbases.