Bill Cubit agrees to two-year deal as Illinois head coach
Illinois interim coach Bill Cubit has agreed to a two-year, $2.4 million deal to become the school’s new head coach, the team announced Saturday.
Cubit took over the team on Aug. 28 after the firing of Tim Beckman, leading the Fighting Illini to a 5–6 record. With a victory on Saturday, the school would become bowl-eligible.
“Bill has stepped in during an extremely difficult period and done an outstanding job in leading our football program since August,” interim athletic director Paul Kowalczyk said in a statement. “Our student-athletes have responded in a positive manner and we feel he is the best person at this time to be the head coach. We wanted to allow Bill to make decisions regarding the program as the head coach without the interim title, and lead the Fighting Illini into Saturday's game without speculation.”
Later, Kowalczyk described the two-year contract as “not ideal.”
Cubit has been at Illinois since 2013, serving as the team’s offensive coordinator up until his promotion in August. He served as head coach at Widener from 1992–96, and Western Michigan from 2005–12.
- Kenny Ducey
