Josh Whitman Gets Contract Extension

Josh Whitman isn’t going anywhere. Not until 2036, anyway.

The Board of Trustees approved his extension Thursday. It raises his salary to $2.15 million for the 2026-27 season, then adds $100,000 every year after that. Over the full deal, that’s $26.1 million. It’s his fifth extension as athletic director.

You don’t lock someone up for ten years if you think they might walk. You do it when you can’t picture the place without them.

Whitman is 47. He’s run Illinois athletics since 2016, long enough now to be the fifth-longest-tenured AD in the Power Four. He also played football here, back before any of this. So the man in charge once wore its colors on a Saturday. That means something.

Then there’s the record.

The basketball team reached its first Final Four since 2006 this April. The women’s program has made the NCAA tournament in three of the last four years. Football has piled up marquee bowl wins. He hired Brad Underwood. He hired Bret Bielema. He hired Shauna Green. Three swings, three hits. Without question, he’s the best Athletic Director Illinois has had in decades.

Ten years in, the school asked him to do it all again. Same chair. Higher stakes.

I’d take that bet.