If you weren't entirely bought in on Illinois Athletic Director Josh Whitman yet, you will be after hearing this story about him at the Illini's last appearance in the Final Four.
In 2005, when the Fighting Illini played the Louisville Cardinals in the semifinal of the NCAA Tournament, Whitman was just an alumnus of the University. Well, when I say "just" an alumnus, I mean a former Illinois football player who had spent five years in the NFL.
Nonetheless, he was a 26-year-old former student who desperately wanted to attend the Final Four game, and by desperate, I mean desperate.
Whitman recently shared his tale of seeing the Illini play the Cardinals, and it included a toilet stall and sneaking into the arena.
Josh Whitman snuck into Illinois's last Final Four appearance
Whitman shared that he and his friends snuck into Edward Jones Dome well before the doors actually opened to the general (ticket-holding) public.
Then, they camped out in stalls in the bathroom for about an hour before the crowd got big enough for them to slip out undetected, blending into the throngs of other fans in attendance. The best part? It worked, and Whitman was in the arena when Illinois beat Louisville to go to the National Championship.
So, if you ever find yourself questioning whether Whitman is truly bought in to the Illinois athletic department or not, just keep in mind that he hid out on a toilet for an hour just to see the Fighting Illini in a basketball game.
The last time that @IlliniAD attended the Final Four in Indianapolis was 1997, when he and friends snuck in early and he hid in a toilet stall for nearly an hour until blending in with all the fans filing in when the doors officially opened. pic.twitter.com/Dik9xYA0cL
— 104.3 The Score (@thescorechicago) April 2, 2026
This time around, Whitman obviously won't have to sneak into the arena to see Illinois in action as the Illini take on the UConn Huskies in the Final Four; he'll most likely have a front-row seat to the game.
After three years at Washington University, Whitman returned to his alma mater, named as the Illini's newest Athletic Director in 2016. Since then, he has built the program back into a powerhouse, including making the move to hire men's basketball head coach Brad Underwood in 2017.
With Whitman (legally) in attendance, the Illini and the Huskies are scheduled to tip off at 5:09 p.m. CT on Saturday, April 4, in their Final Four clash. The game will be broadcast on TBS, truTV, and HBO Max, and will be followed by the semifinal game between Michigan and Arizona.