What a $100 Million Donation From Alum Larry Gies Means to Illinois Athletics

The tide keeps coming in for Illinois athletics. As many of its programs thrive – including the flagship basketball and football teams – the community has become increasingly engaged. Following a 10-win 2025 for Illini football, student season tickets sold out by mid-August and three Memorial Stadium sellouts (and counting) are the program's most since 2008. Doesn't get much better than that.

And then it did. Last week, philanthropist and University of Illinois alum Larry Gies made a $100 million "gift" to the Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics (DIA) – the largest ever in DIA history and one of the biggest ever received by a college athletics program. If a cool $100 million doesn't quite convince you of Gies' devotion, consider that in 2017 he gifted $150 million to what is now called the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois.

Similarly, Illinois will rename, in a sense, its football venue to Gies Memorial Stadium – a tribute to Gies' father, Larry Gies Sr., a United States Army veteran who enlisted during the Vietnam War, that will also continue to "inspire remembrance, gratitude and continued support for our nation's men and women in uniform," according to a press release from the university.

Gies Memorial Stadium will always serve as a beacon of hope, service and sacrifice for those who have transformed the University of Illinois; just like Larry and his father. pic.twitter.com/hIogWKCNyb
— Illinois Athletics (@IlliniAthletics) September 9, 2025

What's in a name?

Naming conventions are a tricky thing. Illinois' Memorial Stadium has a long history and sacred origin that makes it more than just a place to watch football games. The name stood as long as the structure itself – through last year's centennial anniversary – and was chosen to honor the students and alumni who died in World War I, their 183 names etched into the very columns that hold up the edifice. That's a heavy legacy – and not only because of the millions of pounds of cement, steel and bricks. How can you forget when "Memorial" is literally built into the name?

School officials seemingly understood the assignment, or at least how to manage the situation. The stadium name wasn't altogether changed, and the addition of the Gies surname at least dovetails with the builders' original intent – to honor those who served in the U.S. armed forces. Athletic director Josh Whitman went out of his way, deftly but repeatedly, to emphasize that fact in the press conference announcing Gies' gift.

"With this investment, we can ensure that this stadium continues to be a place where their sacrifices will never be forgotten – and a shining light for every American who protects our freedom in the future," Whitman said.

A free public event followed last Friday, between the announcement and Saturday's Western Michigan game, where Gies was named an honarary captain and even addressed the team at one point. What did you expect? A hundred million bucks earns you a little more than a sideline pass, a dog and a beer.

#illini Larry Gies in the house with a Gies jersey

Gies Memorial Stadium pic.twitter.com/BHBhbzmiRT
— Carson Gourdie (@GourdieReport) September 13, 2025

What the donation means for Illinois athletics

In the announcement press conference, Whitman spoke at length about Gies, his father, the stadium naming convention and the long process of arriving at a number and a plan for the money – "the result of years of thought-provoking conversations and ... the continuation of a long-term partnership with Larry that will benefit generations of student-athletes and advance this program to even greater heights," Whitman said.

What the 41-plus-minute pressure was a little short on were details. Whitman did divulge that much of the funding from Gies' gift will go toward stadium renovations – which is where talks began four years ago when the prospect of a donation was first raised. An architecture agency has already been engaged in plans for a new video board package, the south scoreboard, a new sound system, new lights.

But left unsaid (or least not fully explained) was what would be done with the entirety of the nine-figure gift. Would other programs receive new facilities or upgrades? A groundswell to elevate Illinois' club ice hockey team to a full varsity sport sprung up on social media last week. Whitman offered little in the way of specifics beyond the football stadium reno.

"There are a lot of new opportunities in college athletics, a lot of places where our expenses are growing, a lot of chances for us to make strategic investments to ultimately advance our success," Whitman said. "Of course, a gift like this is going to have an impact on our opportunity to do those things and take full advantage."

A transformational gift at a transformational time.

University of Illinois alumnus Larry Gies has made a $100 million gift to the Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics, the largest gift in the history of the department. In recognition of Gies’ contribution, Illinois’… pic.twitter.com/ijGvGEeFtw
— Illinois Athletics (@IlliniAthletics) September 9, 2025

Are we talking NIL? As universities, athletic departments and the NCAA white-knuckle their way through unclear name, image and likeness guidelines and waves of litigation suits and threats, it isn't entirely clear to the layman what kind of an advantage – if any – a school might derive from a few dozen million lying around. Whereas once there were tighter rules around the use of huge sums burning a hole in a wealthy alum's pocket, we are currently in a Wild West phase of college sports. With that in mind, Illinois on SI decided to reach out to a leading expert on the subject.

"Yes, donor funds can be used by schools to make 'rev share' payments to their athletes," Mit Witner, an attorney at Kennyhertz Perry with a focus on college athletics and NIL, told me via email last week. "Unless the donor puts specific restrictions on what the funds can be used for. But if funds are just given to athletics generally then athletics can use the funds as they see fit, including using them to pay athletes."

That isn't to say Illinois will use a certain portion, or even any, of Gies' gift toward player NIL payments. But that isn't to say it won't, either. The fact that Illinois, at least for now, can use the funds on player compensation – assuming Gies has dictated no restrictions – gives Whitman and the department flexibility, if nothing else. Whether you or I would prefer to see, say, a dedicated facility built for the women's swimming and diving team or a top-notch transfer quarterback behind center after the graduation of Luke Altmyer may not factor into the athletic department's decision-making. But it's always nice to have options.