On Fridays, columnist Tom Kacich answers your questions (submit them here). This week, that includes this doozy: “Who fires Mike Thomas if it comes to that — Killeen? Wise? The trustees? What is the protocol at UI and has an athletic director ever been fired from UIUC?”
Kacich's answer:
I consulted the Dean of Everything Illini, the esteemed Loren B. Tate, and he gave me a surprising answer: at least four Illinois athletic directors have been shown the door, although some were allowed to resign.
They include Wendell S. “Weenie” Wilson, 1941; Doug Mills, 1966; Cecil Coleman, 1979; and Neale Stoner, 1988.