No Big Ten program went through a more surprising offseason upheaval than Illinois.
The Fighting Illini shockingly changed head coaches in March, as new athletic director Josh Whitman wasted no time in making his first big move on the job. Out went Bill Cubit, who had been named head coach just months earlier. In came Lovie Smith, well known to Illinois fans as the former coach of the NFL's Chicago Bears (and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers) but who had never been a college head coach.
So, it's been quite a change. Smith has engendered lots of hope and optimism in Champaign, though even he acknowledged that his program building will take time.