Shortly after being named the UI’s 14th athletic director, Josh Whitman reached out via email to the school’s I-Fund donors. Tagged “A Special Message from AD Josh Whitman,” the note read:
To my dear friends and fellow Illini,
As a graduate of our esteemed Colleges of Business and Law and a former Illini football player, it is with unspeakable pride that I pen this, my first letter as your new director of athletics. From the moment I realized, nearly 20 years ago, that this job existed, I have dreamed of being the athletic director at Illinois. Today that dream becomes a reality.