Sippin' On Purple Another day, another case of HIDEOUS AFFRONTS in the HEATED, VICIOUS, LIFE-DEFINING rivalry that is Northwestern-Illinois. Our first shot fired came from the radio, where Tim Beckman, John Groce, and Mike Thomas did a spot on Chicago's 670. I didn't listen, but some people did, and this happened: @sippinonpurple It was apart of Illinois' new deal with them. Among other thing he said "our motto is W.I.N. Whatever Is Necessary Today." — Kiernan Ambrose (@chisoxinmob) May 8, 2013 First up, buddy: that's "WINT." This isn't the first time in recent days our Illini pals have miscalculate...
Northwestern Wildcats May 9, 2013Inside Illinois | Chicago Sun-Times Here's my initial story on Illinois changing its Chicago radio outlet, followed by the news release from the university confirming the switch, with comments from athletic director Mike Thomas and Illinois' broadcast partners. . . . _____Illini basketball will move to...
Illinois Fighting Illini April 17, 2013IlliniHQ | News Gazette CHAMPAIGN — Mike Thomas likes what he sees with the Illinois men's basketball program. So much so that the Illinois athletic director announced Saturday a one-year extension and a $200,000 raise for coach John Groce that increases his compensation to $1.6 million. read more
Illinois Fighting Illini April 13, 2013IlliniHQ | News Gazette It’s crunch time already. Mike Thomas has less than two months before he meets with the UI Board of Trustees to announce funding plans for the Assembly Hall. At that point, 80 percent of the funding must be in place. So we can be relatively certain that a major naming-rights corporation has stepped forward. Here are aspects rattling my brain: read more
Illinois Fighting Illini March 30, 2013IlliniHQ | News Gazette It's a busy weekend for Illinois athletic director Mike Thomas. On Thursday, he provided updates on renovation plans at the Assembly Hall. Read about it here. read more
Illinois Fighting Illini March 29, 2013Columbus Dispatch A long-discussed plan to renovate Illinois’ 50-year-old Assembly Hall should start next year and, while cutting seating capacity, will include adding air conditioning and suites, athletic director Mike Thomas said.
Ohio State Buckeyes March 29, 2013
St. Louis Post-Dispatch CHAMPAIGN, Ill. • University of Illinois Athletic Director Mike Thomas says construction should begin in March 2014 on the long-planned renovation of Assembly Hall.
Illinois Fighting Illini March 28, 2013IlliniHQ | News Gazette Illinois athletic director Mike Thomas is providing an Assembly Hall update during a 1 p.m. news conference Thursday. Staff writer Julie Wurth is at the briefing and will tweet updates here if you care to follow along. Also, basketball beat writer Marcus Jackson is weighing in here. read more
Illinois Fighting Illini March 27, 2013Chicago Colleges Blog | ESPN Chicago In about a month, the Chicago River will be dyed green for the city's St. Patrick's Day celebration. If Illinois athletic director Mike Thomas gets his way, the river could soon turn a different shade. "There's certainly things we can do to brand and market our program better to create a much greater presence up there," Thomas told ESPN.com on Thursday, "whether it's on billboards or whether it's dyeing the river orange. I know that may not go over well with the powers-that-be.
Illinois Fighting Illini February 14, 2013
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