Illinois football looks to cement its foothold in Chicago with events such as Illini Night at Wrigley Field
Members of the Illinois football team visited Wrigley Field on Tuesday for the second of three Illini Nights at major-league ballparks. It's one of many ways the program is looking to bolster its relationship with the city of Chicago.
Recruiting is always on the mind of college coaches, and Bret Bielema wants Chicago to be an Illinois hub. With Champaign located more than two hours south of the city and Northwestern labeling itself 'Chicago's Big Ten team,' the Illini could face disadvantages when it comes to local talent. Bielema wants to change that.
'Since I took the job, I've talked about building relationships with Illinois, (and) we've done a better job in state, collectively downstate and here in the Chicago area,' Bielema said Tuesday. 'Going into Year 5, we have a roster that is significantly different and about half of it is from Illinois.'
The current Illini roster lists 49 players from Illinois, including 33 from the Chicago area. Senior center Josh Kreutz from Loyola was among the players present for Illini Night.
'We weren't really a big 'go to Chicago all the time' family,' said Kreutz, who grew up in Bannockburn as the son of six-time Pro Bowl Bears center Olin Kreutz. 'I did go to a lot of Bears games growing up.'
Added senior left guard Josh Gesky, who's from Manteno, north of Kankakee: 'I've been up here a few times and played here at Wrigley (against Northwestern last season). It's a great city to be a part of and I'm very excited that they were able to bring me here.'
The Illini won that regular-season finale Nov. 30, beating the Wildcats 38-28 to reclaim the Land of Lincoln Trophy behind Aidan Laughery's career-high 172 rushing yards and three touchdowns and quarterback Luke Altmyer's 170 passing yards with two total touchdowns.
No footballs were thrown at Wrigley Field on Tuesday, but that didn't mean there weren't lessons to be learned from watching a professional team play — especially for players with NFL dreams.
'You can learn from any aspect of anything you can do,' Gesky said before the game. 'If you have an open mind and are willing to learn, there are opportunities everywhere. If they're down by three (runs) in the third, how do they handle that? And how would I handle it?'
Gesky's words proved almost prophetic. The Cubs fell behind 2-0 in the second on Isaac Collins' two-run homer for the Milwaukee Brewers, but they rallied for a 5-3 victory on Seiya Suzuki's three-run homer in the fifth and Pete Crow-Armstrong's solo shot in the eighth.
The White Sox previously hosted an Illini Night at Rate Field on May 20, and the St. Louis Cardinals will have one at Busch Stadium for Wednesday's game against the Cubs.
Tuesday's event included men's and women's basketball coaches Brad Underwood and Shauna Green throwing out ceremonial first pitches and Bielema singing 'Take Me Out to the Ball Game' with Altmyer during the seventh-inning stretch.
Some players questioned what Bielema's singing would sound like, but that didn't faze the coach.
'Super excited to be here,' he said pregame. 'Luke's going to duet with me (and) sharing the stage on the seventh-inning stretch is something I've never done before, so (it will be) a lot of fun.'
Bielema and Altmyer also share the same vision for the coming season after the 2024 Illini finished 10-3 with a Citrus Bowl victory over South Carolina. Taking the next step would include contending for the Big Ten title and a spot in the expanded College Football Playoff, which would bring more attention to the program.
'We understand what's important,' Altmyer said. '(It's about) working hard and understanding what got us there and using the gift that we've been given. It's another element that brings eyes to us, but we don't get distracted because of the individuals in our building and our leader, Bielema.
'All the media stuff is new in this world and it wasn't that way back in the '90s and early 2000s. It's a new world and it's easy to get off the straight and narrow path, but when we see (the attention), that's just a part of it.'
Before the season gets going, players find events like Illini Night helpful. They feel the intensity of football from spring practice through bowl season, so it's nice to focus on something else, even if just for a night.
'We do a lot of football,' Altmyer said, 'and to be able to get out of your environment, to just be yourself and to do something different with your school, especially with the people you love and the teammates you work really hard with, it's cool.'
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