The Illini Football team is being led by an accomplished family man in Head Coach Bret Bielema. As a coach, Bielema has carried with him the experiences of watching his family interact with their community and become student-athletes themselves.
Growing up in Prophetstown, Ill., with two older brothers, an older sister, and one younger sister, Bielema watched his siblings play and succeed in sports.
Bielema shared, “Seeing my older siblings -my two brothers and my older sister- participate in sports is what drove me,”
Bielema explained that his father, who was a farmer and business owner, and his mother, who was a daycare director serving community youth, were a huge source of inspiration to become a leader.
On his choice of profession, Bielema said, “I’d say football chose me.” He grew up watching his brothers play and even played the game himself, sometimes during his brothers’ games.
Bret Bielema Illinois Fighting Illini Football vs Nebraska Cornhuskers
The coach added that though he didn’t realize it at the time, all these little memories and connections he built with the game led him to develop a life-long passion for it.
Bielema also expressed that he always loved being a part of a team. A man of many talents, he was in a variety of clubs and groups including band and 4H.
Even though he is a coach now, Bielema didn’t even consider or really think about the option until he was playing as a defensive lineman as a University of Iowa Hawkeye.
Bielema explained, “That’s when I was around a group of coaches that probably really had a huge influence on my life ’cause it’s the first time I’d been away from home, so I naturally gravitated to the coaches I was around.”
Bielema values his proudest achievement from his own time playing the game. Originally being a non-scholarship walk-on player, earning his scholarship was a big source of pride for Bielema. It was a way for him to prove he belonged.
The experience even affects him now as recruits players for his team. He sees the importance of a scholarship and just how much it can affect the lives of players that receive them.
Breaking into the coaching side of football, Bielema’s first coaching job was under his former coach Hayden Fry.
Following that, Coach continued to work towards success as he set out to win his first coordinator title at Kansas State, before becoming defensive coordinator title at Wisconsin.
Soon after his move to Wisconsin, he became the head coach there and won his first Big Ten championship title. This was a big deal for him for several reasons, one being that the win was under an old format with no championship game, with the win solely being about a team’s entire season.
Bielema, sharing one of his proudest career milestones, said, “To win three in a row [is] something that hasn’t been done since I left and hadn’t been done in – I think – 30 years prior to that. So, three Big Ten championships in a row is a milestone that’s pretty hard to simulate.”
Now as the head coach for the University of Illinois Fighting Illini, Bielema wants to continue the work he has done at other schools.
Coach explained, “If you’re satisfied with yesterday, you might as well stay in bed,” Bielema repeats this to his coaches and players. He added, “You gotta continue to make progress.”
For Bielema, the key to the success is continuing to move forward.
Bielema said, “Improve on yesterday’s mistakes, attack today, and build for the future.” He wants to continue to build up the program.
Bielema believes the fans are a part of being successful and that they feed into what happens on the field. Better success on the field means more excited and invested fans; more energy and excitement in the stands feed into the team’s drive. He believes it all goes hand in hand.
Happy with the drive the players have, Bielema enjoys how eager they are to get better. He explained, “They’re a group that’s highly motivated to have success and I’ve been blown away with their desire to improve, even though it takes a lot of personal challenge and a lot of hard work.”
Head Coach Bret Bielema, Chase Brown (2) Illinois Fighting Illini Football vs. Wisconsin – 10/1/2022
As for the fans and the Fighting Illini community, Bielema recognizes the shared hunger for success and he loves that they take part in celebrating the wins of the team.
For those with coaching dreams, to wrap up the interview, Bielema touched on what his advice to student-athletes would be in order to make their dreams a reality.
Bielema said, “I encourage all players… to own their journey.” He added, “Everybody’s story’s a little different. Everybody has their own unique name. And even if they have the same name as someone else it’s usually a different set of DNA.”
He continued, “Sometimes you have to create your own momentum and your own breaks…I tell kids that you know, they do control their destiny.”
You can learn more about Bielema by going to the Fighting Illini’s staff directory. Be sure to check out the Fighting Illini in the upcoming 2023-2024 season and see Bret Bielema back in action as head coach.
