A coach who brought Penn State fans agony and hours of football watching they will never get back is staying in the conference long term.
On Tuesday, Illinois announced a new six-year extension for head coach Bret Bielema through the 2030 season.
Bielema is 1-2 against Penn State while at Illinois, including a 9 OT victory at Beaver Stadium in the longest college football game of all time. The Fighting Illini defeated No. 7 PSU 20-18 on Oct. 23, 2021, and improved to 3-5.
Illinois only won five games that season, four coming in conference play. Penn State only had 227 total yards of offense and dropped to 5-2.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Penn State – once again No. 7 in the country – earned its revenge two years later, winning on the road, 30-13. PSU celebrated a primetime homecoming win last season in a 21-7 triumph.
Illinois took a major step forward last season finishing 10-3, and ended the year on a four-game winning streak. Illinois defeated No. 14 South Carolina 21-17 in the Citrus Bowl and ranked No. 15 in the final AP Poll of the CFB season Jan. 21.
Bielema previously coached at Wisconsin before moving on to Arkansas, and eventually back to the Big Ten. Penn State and Illinois aren’t scheduled to play in 2025 or 2026, returning to Champaign in 2027.
