When Nick Anderson (left) suited up for the Flyin' Illini in the late '80s, the percentage of African-American students was roughly 4.8 percent.
The number of African-American administrators on campus was even smaller.
So when the retired NBA star heard Tuesday that an African-American scholar had been selected as the next chancellor of the state's flagship university, he said he experienced the same emotions he felt after learning Barack Obama had been elected president.
"I'm ecstatic," Anderson said from Orlando. "I've always been proud to say I'm a University of Illinois alumnus. I'm even prouder now.