Reliving memories and moments with the 2001 Big Ten champs

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Sep. 19—CHAMPAIGN — It had been five years since many of them had seen each other.

But it was like no time had passed at all, continuing conversations, swapping stories and catching up on their families.

That's what happens when a college football team shares a magical season together.

And one rooted in the pain of an 0-11 season four years prior in 1997.

The 2001 Illinois football team that is the last one to win a Big Ten championship got together this past weekend in Champaign-Urbana to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the special season.

Those Illini, coached by Ron Turner, finished 10-2 with the lone losses in the Big Ten opener against Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich., and in the Sugar Bowl against LSU.

Normally, the Big Ten champion would have played in the Rose Bowl. But in 2001 the Granddaddy of Them All was obligated to host the BCS national championship game between Miami and Nebraska.

"It was very disappointing, honestly," Turner said. "You win the Big Ten, you go to the Rose Bowl."

Not this time. So, Illinois, the Big Ten winner, needed a different postseason home. Turner had some ideas for former Illinois athletic director Ron Guenther at the time.

Anywhere but the Sugar Bowl. Bring on the Fiesta Bowl, Orange Bowl or Cotton Bowl.

Guenther told his coach he would work on it. Then came back and gave Turner bad news.

"He said, 'We're going to the Sugar Bowl,'" Turner said. "Then he said, 'I've got worse news. We're playing LSU.'"

Coached by Nick Saban and playing 80 miles from home, the Tigers' crazed fans helped fill the Superdome.

What could go wrong for Illinois? In the first half, almost everything as the Tigers took a 34-7 lead. Illinois played much better after the break, outscoring the home team 27-13 in an eventual 47-34 loss.

The bowl loss didn't put a damper on Illinois' 10-win season, the best of Turner's head coaching career.

"It was the most fun I've ever had coaching," Turner said.

When they saw Turner at the reunion last weekend, some of the players worried they had been a handful back in the day.

Turner could have laid a guilt trip on them but went another way: Don't give it a second thought.

Turner set the record straight.

"I said, 'Your issues off the field were minor and when something happened, I knew you were going to show up to prepare, to work,'" Turner recalled. "'I knew how important football was to every one of you guys.'"

The lone loss of the conference season came at Michigan, with the Wolverines winning 45-20 on Sept. 29, 2001. Early on, Turner tried to convert a fourth down that failed.

"I told them after the game I screwed that game up with that fourth-down call," Turner said. "They had my back."

Old stomping grounds

The weekend finale for the 2001 returnees, a dinner last Saturday night at Champaign Country Club, took them back to their playing days. Forever, the team has spent part of Friday night dining at the Country Club located off Prospect Avenue.

The players passed a microphone around the room. Telling tales. Laughing a lot. Getting choked up, too.

About 15 former players and coaches talked. Including current Illinois athletic director Josh Whitman, who started his Illinois football career in 1997 and didn't redshirt. Meaning the former Illini tight end wasn't part of the 2001 team, missing out on it by just a year.

Turner, running back Rocky Harvey, 2026 Illinois Athletics Hall inductee Brandon Lloyd, defensive lineman Mike O'Brien (now a Chicago police officer), wide receiver Walter Young and long snapper/townie Patrick Rouse expressed what that team meant to them.

In the past century, you can count the number of outright Big Ten football titles by Illinois on two hands. The 2001 team's was No. 6 in that span.

"We all kind of had the same feeling. We don't know how we all got so lucky to get together the way that we did," Rouse said. "What a special group of guys."

Now, that he's 25 years removed from the season makes it that much more meaningful and personal to Rouse.

"Being part of that team is the most influential thing that ever happened in my life," he said. "It taught me about toughness and resiliency and teamwork and sacrifice. It's real. You talk about that group going from 0-11 in 1997 to winning that championship. As we get older, it doesn't matter as much how much you played. Everybody had such a role on that team. Everybody played their role to a T.

"I've got an amazing wife (Amy) and two great kids, but the proudest thing I've ever done in my life aside from those two things is being a part of that group."

The unanswered question: Why did it work?

"I don't know," Rouse said. "If we could bottle it up and figure it out, we could make a billion dollars."

The early adversity in 1997 certainly played a part. Then came an infusion of talent in the 1998 class that included linchpin quarterback Kurt Kittner.

"There was so many great players, we could have been jealous of them," Rouse said. "We all just loved each other so much."

The 0-11 season created a mantra for the team that led to success: never again.

Four years later, Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany handed them the big trophy.

"It was a remarkable turnaround," Rouse said. "We always believed it was going to happen. There was never any doubt."

Their victories have continued after football.

"They're all successful in their own way," Rouse said. "They're all good husbands. Good fathers. Good men."

The gathering of about 100 included players, coaches, staff members and their families.

Turner was there with his wife, Wendy, and their daughters, Cally and Madison. Their sons, Morgan and Cameron, are assistant coaches at Arkansas and with the Indianapolis Colts, respectively, and couldn't make the trip to back C-U.

The long snappers were out in force, with Rouse joined by starter Mike Malczyk and backup Andrew Shaw.

"I had not seen Andrew since we left New Orleans the morning after the Sugar Bowl," Rouse said. "It was amazing."

Pregame fun

Starting at about 11 a.m. last Saturday, Rouse hosted a tailgate in Lot 31, a short Kittner pass from Gies Memorial Stadium. The 2001 players and their families ate, drank and were merry. Maybe not in that order.

About 30 minutes before the Illini and Duke kicked off shortly after 2:30 p.m., the honorees started to make their way to the House of Grange.

Inside the building, the players and coaches were scattered. Turner and some of the others sat with Whitman in his box. Rouse had his usual seats in the Colonnades Club, where he welcomed linebacker Jerry Schumacher and his wife, Megan. Some of the team members sat in Section 103 on the east side of the stadium.

Somehow, everyone managed to gather and make their way onto the field between the first and second quarters to be recognized. Public-address announcer Gene Honda mentioned Turner, Lloyd and Kittner.

Next time, maybe for the 30-year celebration, I'd make a couple of suggestions. First, put everyone together in one place. The building is big enough to handle it.

Second, a two-minute walk and wave when many of the players have traveled a long distance doesn't seem like enough. Much better to introduce the players individually and let each person soak in the applause.

Mac came back

Few Illinois assistant coaches ever reached the same height of popularity as Greg McMahon.

The pride of Rantoul High School and a former Eastern Illinois player worked 13 seasons at Illinois under two coaches. He was Lou Tepper's receivers coach from 1992 to 1996. After Tepper was fired, McMahon remained at Illinois with Turner as his special teams coordinator and tight ends coach. McMahon is currently a special teams assistant at Florida. He wasn't planning to return for the reunion until his good-guy Florida boss Jon Sumrall intervened.

The Gators had a game last Saturday against Campbell and McMahon expected to be in Gainesville, Fla. Until Sumrall heard about the reunion.

"He said, 'You have to be here.' He gets it big-time," McMahon said. "Very, very fortunate to work with Jon. We're having a blast."

Only one small problem existed: all of McMahon's Illini gear is at the family home in Baton Rouge, La.

"I had to buy all my Illinois gear at Dick's Sporting Goods," McMahon said.

McMahon spent game day in Whitman's box with Turner and former defensive coordinator Mike Cassity. Former assistant coach Mike Mallory planned to be there, too, but his flight from Florida got canceled late.

By the way, Florida survived last Saturday without McMahon on the sidelines, beating Campbell 52-3. He will be back for this Saturday night's game at Auburn.

McMahon came back for both the reunion and to see Lloyd get inducted into the Illinois Athletics Hall of Fame.

"Of my 43 years, the two greatest ball skills I've seen are in this order: Brandon Lloyd and Odell Beckham," McMahon said. "He's rare."

Especially when it came time to catch a pass thrown into a crowd.

"It was never a 50-50 ball," McMahon said. "More like 90-10."

McMahon is spending the season with the Gators and will finish his run at Florida's final game. His high school sweetheart now wife Linda recently relocated to Gainesville for the season.

The 66-year-old's future at Florida beyond this season is to be determined. He joked, though, about two longtime News-Gazette sports writers — Loren Tate and myself — when asked about his retirement.

"When you and Loren retire," McMahon said, "I'll retire."

Bad news Coach: You are going to be working a while.

McMahon won a Super Bowl with the New Orleans Saints and a national title at LSU. Where does the 2001 Big Ten title fit on his "best moment" list?

"I told Terrell Washington this and I'm being very sincere, but this Big Ten championship team means more than any other team," McMahon said. "I used to know how hard it is to win a championship here. History shows you that. This ring means more to our family than anything."

Of course, it helps that Illinois is home. He grew up following the program.

"It's really, really special," McMahon said.

Let it grow

Thankfully, Matt Minnes tapped me on the shoulder and told me who he was.

Back in the day, when the pride of Urbana High School punted for Illinois, his hair was short with little or no facial hair.

Now Minnes has gone all rock star, with long hair and a goatee.

Minnes works in agricultural sales near Indianapolis.

After college, Minnes tried to keep punting.

"I knew I'd have regrets if I didn't try to take a shot," Minnes said. "I found out that I wasn't one of the best 32 out there."

He played semipro football, winning a national title with Urbana and Illinois teammate Morris Virgil.

It's a snap

Malczyk spent most of his time during the 2001 season upside down, then firing a rocket into the hands of punter Steve Fitts.

Why was the 2001 team so good?

"I think it's just because we loved each other," Malczyk said. "Especially, the guys that were around the whole time. We were 0-11 freshman year. We ran the whole gamut. We got to see the lowest of the lows, and we helped build the success.

"When we beat Michigan and Ohio State in '99, it was like, 'OK this is real. We can do something here.'"

Malczyk works in Deerfield at Fortune Brand Innovations. He lives in Wauconda with his wife, Miranda.

Future receiver

Mark Kornfeld came to Illinois from St. Louis University High as a quarterback. In 2001, he was third string behind Kittner and Dustin Ward.

But he changed positions and became a reliable receiver, catching a combined 58 passes in the 2003 and 2004 seasons.

"If you would have told me I would finish my career playing wide receiver, I would have told you you were out of your mind," Kornfeld said.

But the son of successful high school coach Gary Kornfeld listened to Turner and made the move.

"I ended up coming out of spring ball starting in the slot," Kornfeld said.

Living in St. Louis with his wife and three children, Kornfeld works in commercial real estate.

What made the 2001 title team a success?

"That group of guys was as close as you could possibly be off the field," he said. "That is big factor of what translated to all the on-field success we had."

Family matters

Tight end Brian Hodges joined the program during the winless 1997 season.

"Our senior year, we won the Big Ten," Hodges said. "The season was amazing. The only people that thought we were going to win the Big Ten that year were the people that were in that locker room."

One of Hodges' career receiving highlights came in 1999 at Michigan. He scored the touchdown to set up Rocky Harvey's high-flying game-winner.

Hodges works for Bradley University in Peoria and lives in Champaign with his wife and two cats.

Hodges got to enjoy the 2001 title with his brother, Aaron on the team, with Aaron an offensive lineman.

Tackling machine

It's fair to call Schumacher the "J Leman" of the 2001 title team.

Like Leman was with the 2007 Illini, Schumacher led the 2001 team in tackles. Also, sacks and tackles for loss. Did it again in 2002, too.

"I knew we were good," Schumacher said. "I thought our best team was our sophomore year (in 2000), and then Brandon Lloyd broke his leg."

Before the 2001 season, the Illini had planned to go to Rantoul for training camp. But the fields at Camp Rantoul died because of a fertilizer malfunction, so the team trained at home instead. To the delight of everyone but the coaches.

The season was interrupted by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

"It was a crazy time in the world, and we're just kids," said Schumacher, who lives in Chicago and works as a project manager for unions.

Jerry and his wife, Megan, have three kids.

Illinois had clinched at least a tie for the 2001 Big Ten title with a Thanksgiving Day home win against Northwestern. Two days later, Illinois needed Ohio State to beat Michigan to claim an outright title. The Buckeyes won 26-20.

"We had WGN News at our house," Schumacher said. "The only time my dad (Jerry, a former Wolverine for legend Bo Schembechler) rooted for Michigan to lose against Ohio State."

Do you ever age?

Lloyd looks like he could still play. So does 2001 starting punter Steve Fitts.

"It's wonderful being back, seeing all the guys again," said Fitts, who owns a signage company in his native South Carolina. He brought his son, William, with him to the reunion. Steve and wife Leah also have daughters, Eliza and Molly. Fitts still stands second on the school list for career punts and yardage. He is third in career average.

He's got a simple answer to explain the 2001 success.

"I think it was the camaraderie we had," Fitts said. "It was a group of guys that just believed. There was a little bit of swag, a little bit of confidence, maybe a little bit of arrogance."

Fitts came back to C-U for Kittner's Hall of Fame induction in 2025. Before that, it had been 20 years since he last visited the Illinois campus.

"It's unrecognizable," Fitts said. "I tried to find the old apartments that I lived in, and I can't find them."

Pride of Rantoul, part II

McMahon isn't the only former Rantoul product who was part of the 2001 team. Sean Bubin was in the first of his three seasons as a starting offensive tackle.

"It was an amazing time," Bubin said. "Great team, great guys, great coaches. It amazes me still to this day how awesome and wonderful and great that season was."

After college, Bubin spent three years in the NFL. He is now back in Champaign, working in his family's restaurant business. He runs the campus KoFusion location.

Sean and his wife, Anne, have three kids.

Can't get away

Twenty-five years later, Carey Davis remains connected to the Illinois football team.

The St. Louis native is now the analyst on the Illinois radio network broadcasts.

Following a disappointing, bowl-less 2000 season when Illinois finished 5-6, Davis and his buddies were ready to get back at it.

"In the summertime, we knew we had something special," Davis said. "We did a softball league. We would do our workouts, class and whatever. After everyone was done, we would have a softball league. We had a great group of guys. We all held each other to a high standard."

The 2001 game at Michigan still haunts Davis to this day.

"We were one loss away from being an undefeated team," he said. "Overall, we had a fantastic season."

At the Sugar Bowl, LSU handed Illinois its second loss.

"It felt like they had 12 people on the field on defense," Davis said.

Keeping in touch

The first time the 2001 team celebrated the Big Ten title was a 10-year anniversary reunion in 2011. They decided then to celebrate every five years.

But they might be rethinking the plan to "whenever possible."

Three vital members of the 2001 team are no longer with us: defensive lineman Robby Long, who started two games that season, passed away in 2024. Running backs coach Robert Jackson, who brought sons Bobby and Marc to the team, died in 2019. Defensive line coach Osia Lewis passed away in 2020.

"We had some emotional moments thinking about those guys," Rouse said. "Robby was one of those guys who really loved it. He was always in touch with guys, encouraging them to be back.

"He was certainly missed."

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