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Illinois won’t be named Co-Big Ten Champions, but sights are set higher

Illinois won 16 conference games this season, the most in the program’s illustrious history. However, despite leading the conference in wins, the Illini will not receive any recognition from the Big Ten.

Michigan (19-3, 14-3 Big Ten) was named outright champions of the Big Ten with its .824 winning percentage. Illinois (20-6, 16-4 Big Ten) sits in second place with its .800 winning percentage, despite being 0.5 games up on Michigan in the standings.

Illini athletics director Josh Whitman released a letter to Illini nation after his plea with the Big Ten for a co-championship.

“As a result, for the first time in my memory (and, truly, maybe for the first time ever), the team that has won the most games – in this case, two more games – is not recognized with even a share of the conference championship,” Whitman wrote in his open letter.