Interim Chancellor: Illinois Football Needed Stability

In case you missed the news this past weekend, the University of Illinois announced before Saturday's loss to Northwestern that Illini interim coach Bill Cubit agreed to a two-year contract to remain in Champaign.

The deal was revealed by the interim athletic director who serves under the interim chancellor and if you think that's at least two "interims" too many you'd be right.

The decision was a bit controversial, as the team was not bowl-eligible this season and many Fighting Illini fans were hoping for an upgrade. However, interim chancellor Barbara Wilson says never considered hiring a new head football coach, saying she wanted to let the new athletic director make that call:

Wilson told The News-Gazette that one of her primary goals was restoring stability to the program.

"We are impressed with what he's accomplished in a tough situation. He's really risen to the occasion," Wilson said. "He's helped provide a lot of stability for the team. He will help us in the near-term recruitment. We needed some stability."

Wilson said she hopes to announce an athletic director search committee by the end of the week.

In the meantime, Illinois still might be heading to a bowl game. Not enough teams reached the 6-win mark this year, so the NCAA has ruled that at least two 5-win teams will play in the postseason.