Illinois coach Bret Bielema reveals if he will ditch Champaign to replace Big Ten legend

Bret Bielema has zero intention to leave Champaign. In fact, he can’t. Not even for the school that gave him so much: the Iowa Hawkeyes.

With an inevitable retirement looming for Hawkeyes coach Kirk Ferentz, many college football enthusiasts may have assumed a Bielema reunion at his alma mater would be a possibility. Bielema said it is the furthest thing from plausible during “Pardon My Take.”

“Actually my new contract, I signed a non-compete with every school in the Big Ten,” Bielema said. “I’ve signed three contracts with Illinois. When my second one came up, Wisconsin was open and Nebraska was open. And I know they were concerned about that, so I volunteered. I said, ‘Hey, I know everybody thinks I want to go to Iowa. I don’t want to go to Iowa.’ 

Bielema said he is comfortable where he is right now. After all, entering his fifth year in the Big Ten, Bielema’s team couldn’t be talked about more than it is right now. Illinois went 10-3 and finally ended a bowl game losing skid that had nearly predated the 2010s.

“I spent five great years there, coached there for a long time, like I’m happy,” Bielema said about Iowa. “So I actually signed a non-compete with all of the Big Ten.”

So, Hawkeye fans are going to have to manifest a new hire for a bit longer with Bielema out of the proverbial sweepstakes.

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