Retention and Illinois athletics have gone hand-in-hand over the past few seasons.
It is a big reason the “FamILLy” slogan has been used so frequently across promotional material for the Illini.
Now, with the newest NCAA ruling, members of the “FamILLy” will be able to stick around for a little bit longer.
Recently, the NCAA adopted a new age-based eligibility model. It eliminates redshirts and grants athletes five total years of eligibility starting when they enroll or the academic year following their 19th birthday.
Pertinent to Illinois, ever since rumblings of this act started, both Bret Bielema and Brad Underwood have been vocal supporters of it.
Immediately, this NCAA ruling can be seen as a major win for Illinois sports in the near future
For football, key contributors like Kaden Feagin will receive another year of eligibility following this season.
Likewise, Andrej Stojakovic and Jake Davis, integral parts of the team that made it to the Final Four and who project to be important pieces yet again this season, will be able to play another year if they so choose.
Moreover, with both teams having a plethora of young faces on their roster, the elimination of redshirts opens up those players to more playing time.
Given the way in which both coaches are able to utilize their rosters to the best of their abilities, the emergence of talented youngsters being staples in the lineup could be prevalent in both sports.
At a time where the rules of the NCAA are being tested and pushed to their limits, this ruling acts as a rare win for college sports, and its ramifications on the Illini should be extremely beneficial.
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