Illinois grants two-year extension to coach Lovie Smith despite nine wins in three years

Illinois has announced that he has agreed to a two-year extension with coach Lovie Smith until 2023, after a record of 4-8 in 2018. Smith is 9-year-old. -27 in three seasons as head coach of Illini.

"This extension demonstrates my confidence in Lovie Smith, his staff and the plan they have for the future success of Illinois Football," said athletic director Josh Whitman. "I have studied our program a lot and I see constant progress, both in the development of our current players and in the talent that we add to our list." To date, we have remained one of the most young college football teams, with just nine seniors and close to 80 freshmen and sophomores – as our players gain strength, skills and experience, more wins will follow. "

Illinois has lost eight of its last ten games in 2018, including a 46-7 loss to Purdue on 13 October and a 63-0 loss to Iowa on 17 November. Smith was only 4-23 in Big Ten during his tenure.

"We recognize that our work is far from over and that improvements are needed at every stage of our program development, but our plan is strong and our resolve stronger than ever," Whitman said. "As I have said time and time again, stability and continuity are essential to laying the foundation for long term success.With the opening of our new facility next summer and the continued efforts of our staff and student-athletes, this achievement I applaud Coach Smith, his staff and our team for their commitment and steady progress, and I'm ready, as we should all, to help them, in every possible way, to continue their momentum. "

Prior to joining Illinois, Smith was a long-time NFL coach with the Chicago Bears (2004-12) and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2014-15). He won the NFL Coach of the Year award in 2005 and led the Bears in the Super Bowl XLI in 2006, but lost to the Indianapolis Colts.

"The University of Illinois is an incredible place to coach and teach," Smith said. "We love to live here in Champaign-Urbana and represent the flagship institution of our state and we will continue to work every day to advance our football program.Our new performance center, the Smith Football Center, which will be completed Next summer, will be among the best in the nation.I want to thank Josh Whitman and the Chancellor Robert Jones to continue to believe in what we are working to accomplish. Those of us who attend the program are seeing the progress we are making every day and we plan to compete for the championships very soon. Our incredible fans and everyone on our campus deserve nothing less. "

Smith inherited the program under difficult circumstances. Tim Beckman was fired for mistreating players after the 2014 season and temporarily replaced by Bill Cubit. After a season at the helm, Cubit was fired on March 5, 2016 – shortly before spring training began.