Ron Guenther

Ron Guenther (born October 3, 1945) is the Director of Athletics for the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is best known for the hiring of Fighting Illini athletics coaches, the development of the men's tennis team into a national power (including an NCAA title in 2003), and the development of many athletics facilities.

Background

Guenther is a graduate of the University of Illinois, having earned a Bachelor of Science in physical education in 1967 and an M.S. in administration in 1968. Guenther also played football at Illinois, lettering in 1965 and 1966 as an offensive lineman as well as being named second-team All-Big Ten and the team MVP in 1966.

University of Illinois Chancellor Richard Herman was quoted in July, 2006 as saying: "If he's not the best AD in the country, I want to know who is." and "He does a wonderful job of bringing in great coaches and building a team that understands what athletics is and needs to be about." [cite web |title=BOT wants Guenther long-term | publisher=Daily Illini | date= July 12, 2006 |url=http://www.dailyillini.com/home/index.cfm?event=displayArticlePrinterFriendly&uStory_id=fd3d5432-e3de-4c39-91c2-cd3f37115c93 |accessdate=May 23 |accessyear=2007]

Coaches Hired

Football

* Ron Turner, 1997-2004
* Ron Zook, 2005-current

Men's basketball

* Lon Kruger, 1996–2000
* Bill Self, 2000–2003
* Bruce Weber, 2004-current

Women's basketball

* Theresa Grentz, 1995-2006
* Jolette Law, 2007-current

Women's volleyball

* Don Hardin, 1996-current

Men's tennis

* Brad Dancer, 2006-current

Facility Construction

* Atkins Tennis Center
* Reconstruction of Memorial Stadium.
* Pending decision to renovate Assembly Hall or build a new basketball arena, expected in early 2009.

Criticism

As a former college football player himself, Guenther refers to himself as a "football guy". However, he has been criticized by fans for the poor performance of the football team. Since becoming athletic director in 1992, the football team is 64-106-2 with only 4 bowl appearances in 15 seasons. Under previous AD John Mackovic the team appeared in 4 consecutive bowl games. The football team had finished last in the Big 10 conference and was 2-30 in Big 10 games from 2003 to 2006, but showed considerable improvement in the 2006 campaign. In 2007, Illinois finished 9-3 in the regular season, tying for second in the Big Ten; it lost 49-17 to the University of Southern California in the Rose Bowl.

Mr. Guenther also came under fire for an outburst during the 2007 NCAA Tournament. [cite web |title=Illinois AD yelled at coach, called player ‘idiot’ |url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17726760/wid/7279844/ |date=March 21, 2007 |accessdate=May 24 |accessyear=2007]

References

External links

* [http://fightingillini.cstv.com/ Official Website of University of Illinois Athletics]