| Illinois Fighting Illini Football News: |
| University of Illinois Head Football Coach Ron Zook, his coaching staff and players will host the 10th Annual News-Gazette Football Family Fun Fest Sat., March 3. Coaches and players will be in the Irwin Indoor Practice Facility between 1 and 3:30 p.m. The event is free, and parking is available in the NE Assembly Hall, Huff Hall and UI Law School lots. Registration will take place at the North entrance of the Irwin building at the corner of Fourth Street and Peabody Drive.
Fans will have the opportunity to meet, get autographs and take pictures with the 2007 Illini football squad. Inside the Irwin indoor facility, there will be field goal kicking, a quarterback challenge and, pass route running, an obstacle course and timed 20-yard dashes, all hosted by Illini football players. Additionally, there will be stations to try on an Illinois uniform, become a radio announcer, and the always-popular inflatable games. |
| Event | Date | Tickets | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
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Illinois Fighting Illini Football
vs. Minnesota Gophers Football
|
11:00 am
|
Memorial Stadium- IL
|
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Illinois Fighting Illini Football
vs. Indiana Hoosiers Football
|
7:00 pm
|
Memorial Stadium- IL
|
|
|
Wisconsin Badgers Football
vs. Illinois Fighting Illini Football
|
11:00 am
|
Camp Randall
|
|
|
Illinois Fighting Illini Football
vs. Iowa Hawkeyes Football
|
11:59 pm
|
Memorial Stadium- IL
|
|
|
Illinois Fighting Illini Football
vs. Ohio State Buckeyes Football
|
11:59 pm
|
Memorial Stadium- IL
|
|
|
Northwestern Wildcats Football
vs. Illinois Fighting Illini Football
|
11:59 pm
|
Ryan Field
|
| More Illinois Fighting Illini Football News: |
| University of Illinois head football coach Ron Zook and the Illini football team opened the spring season with a two-plus hour practice Tuesday afternoon on both the East practice fields and Memorial Stadium. The workout began outside until darkness forced the final period of practice to the stadium turf. One development coming out of today's practice was the decision of sophomore quarterback Brad Bower to leave the Illinois program.
When asked about the opening day, Zook had positive comments, while also emphasizing the reality of the difficulties of a team learning a new system. "I think we need about 27 more practices for that, but for the most part it was pretty good. The tempo was good. They were bouncing around with a lot of football going through their heads. They understand when you walk out of the meeting room and get on the field but you go fast and that stuff gets a little cloudy. I was impressed with the effort and for the most part, it went smooth." "I don't know if (the players) were nervous, because we didn't give them a chance to be. We were moving around pretty fast today. I thought the coaches did a good job of being organized and moved around pretty well. Once again, when things are new, things aren't going to look as crisp as you want it to look." "Two things I think will be important coming out of this spring. One is that we as a coaching staff come out of the spring knowing what we can do best. That is hard to do in 15 practices. The other thing is that the players come out of the spring having a good feel for what we are trying to accomplish. Obviously the more they understand of what we are trying to do, the smoother and the better it's going to be." |
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