1999 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

1999 Illinois Fighting Illini football
MicronPC Bowl champion
MicronPC Bowl, W 63–21 vs. Virginia
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 25
AP	No. 24
Record	8–4 (4–4 Big Ten)
Head coach	Ron Turner (3rd season)
Offensive coordinator	Ron Turner (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Tim Kish (3rd season)
MVP	Kurt Kittner
Captains	Ray Redziniak Danny Clark Neil Rackers Steve Havard
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium
Seasons ←  1998 2000  →

1999 Big Ten Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 4 Wisconsin $		7	–	1					10	–	2
No. 7 Michigan State		6	–	2					10	–	2
No. 5 Michigan  %		6	–	2					10	–	2
No. 11 Penn State		5	–	3					10	–	3
No. 18 Minnesota		5	–	3					8	–	4
No. 24 Illinois		4	–	4					8	–	4
No. 25 Purdue		4	–	4					7	–	5
Ohio State		3	–	5					6	–	6
Indiana		3	–	5					4	–	7
Northwestern		1	–	7					3	–	8
Iowa		0	–	8					1	–	10
$ – BCS representative as conference champion % – BCS at-large representative Rankings from AP Poll

The 1999 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1999 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their third year under head coach Ron Turner, the Fighting Illini compiled an 8–4 record (4–4 in conference games), finished in a tie for sixth place in the Big Ten, and outscored opponents by a total of 325 to 252. ^[1] Illinois was the first team in 50 years to win road games against both Michigan and Ohio State in the same season.

The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Kurt Kittner (2,448 passing yards, 22 touchdown passes), running back Steve Havard (715 rushing yards), and wide receiver Michael Dean (43 receptions for 566 yards). ^[2]

The team played its home games at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 4	2:30 pm	Arkansas State *	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL		W 41–3	34,227	[3]
September 11	2:30 pm	San Diego State *	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL		W 38–10	35,798	[4]
September 18	6:00 pm	at Louisville *	Papa John's Cardinal Stadium Louisville, KY		W 41–36	40,332	[5]
September 25	2:30 pm	No. 19 Michigan State	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL		L 10–27	52,417	[6]
October 2	11:00 am	at Indiana	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN (rivalry)	ESPN2	L 31–34 OT	30,381	[7]
October 16	11:00 am	Minnesota	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IN	ESPN2	L 7–37	49,152	[8]
October 23	11:00 am	at No. 9 Michigan	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (rivalry)	ESPN Plus	W 35–29	110,188	[9]
October 30	2:30 pm	No. 2 Penn State	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	ABC	L 7–27	50,014	[10]
November 6	1:00 pm	at Iowa	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA		W 40–24	61,350	[11]
November 13	11:00 am	at No. 25 Ohio State	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	ESPN2	W 46–20	93,429	[12]
November 20	1:00 pm	Northwestern	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL		W 29–7	50,137	[13]
December 30	6:00 pm	vs. Virginia *	Pro Player Stadium Miami Gardens, FL (MicronPC Bowl)	TBS	W 63–21	31,089	[14]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

Roster

1999 Illinois Fighting Illini football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class RB 34 Jameel Cook Jr G 64 David Diehl Fr QB 15 Kurt Kittner So WR 17 Greg Lewis So WR 86 Aaron Moorehead So OT 59 Marques Sullivan Jr TE 87 Josh Whitman Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB 48 Danny Clark Sr CB 6 Brandon Lloyd Fr DE 99 Fred Wakefield Jr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class LS 51 Nathan Hodel Jr K 98 Neil Rackers Sr	Head coach Ron Turner Coordinators/assistant coaches Craig Ver Steeg (QB/RC) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster

Team players in the NFL

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL club
Neil Rackers	Kicker	6	169	Cincinnati Bengals

References

1. "1999 Illinois Fighting Illini Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 24, 2025.
2. "1999 Illinois Fighting Illini Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 24, 2025.
3. "Illinois rolls in opener". Iowa City Press-Citizen . Associated Press. September 5, 1999. p. 6B. Retrieved October 6, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
4. "Big strikes boost Illini". Herald and Review . Associated Press. September 12, 1999. p. C1. Retrieved October 6, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
5. Wishart, Nick (September 19, 1999). "Illinois outlasts Louisville to move to 3-0". St. Louis Post-Dispatch . p. D3. Retrieved October 6, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
6. Dye, Dave (September 26, 1999). "Spartans' defense shuts down Illini". Detroit Free Press . p. 1E. Retrieved October 6, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
7. Hutchens, Terry (October 3, 1999). "Randle El-led comeback lifts Indiana over Illinois in OT". The Indianapolis Star . p. C1. Retrieved October 6, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
8. Reinmuth, Gary (October 17, 1999). "Illini spiral continues". Chicago Tribune . p. 3:7. Retrieved October 6, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
9. Chengelis, Angelique S. (October 24, 1999). "Porous defense costs U-M again". Detroit Free Press . p. 1E. Retrieved October 6, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
10. Reinmuth, Gary (October 31, 1999). "Penn State leaves Illinois without ghost of a chance". Chicago Tribune . p. 3:7. Retrieved October 6, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
11. Peterson, Randy (November 7, 1999). "Hawkeyes finish on wrong end again". Des Moines Register . p. 1D. Retrieved October 6, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
12. "Illini bowling, and they're not done yet". The Dispatch . Associated Press. November 14, 1999. p. C6. Retrieved October 6, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
13. Albright, Mike (November 21, 1999). "Illini finish job". Herald and Review . p. C1. Retrieved October 6, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
14. O'Brien, David (December 31, 1999). "Illinois humbles Virginia". South Florida Sun Sentinel . p. 1C. Retrieved October 6, 2022– via Newspapers.com.