Happy 74th birthday to former Illini football coach and director of athletics John Mackovic. His four Illinois teams won 70 percent of its games in Big Ten play, and he's the only conference coach to post a perfect 4-0 record versus Ohio State during his time in Champaign-Urbana.
Other trivial facts you might not have known about Mackovic and his Illini teams:
— Mackovic was the first man in Big Ten history to win Big Ten Coach of the Year accolades in each of his first two seasons.
— From 1988-91, a total of 10 different players (on 16 occasions) earned first-team All-Big Ten honors during Mackovic's stint as UI's head coach.