Illinois Alumni

Illinois Alumni Your home for alumni pride. Stay connected, celebrate memories, and be part of the Illinois FamILLy.

Some Saturdays stay with you for more than what happens on the scoreboard. 🧡💙Last weekend brought together the sights, s...
09/18/2026

Some Saturdays stay with you for more than what happens on the scoreboard. 🧡💙

Last weekend brought together the sights, sounds, and traditions of a day at GIES Memorial Stadium, along with meaningful moments of remembrance and recognition surrounding 9/11.

Now, another Saturday in Champaign is almost here.

🏈 Illinois vs. Southern Illinois
📅 Saturday, Sept. 19
⏰ 1 p.m. CT
📺 Peacock
📻 llini Sports Network

Can’t make it back to Champaign? Find an Illini Club game watch party near you: go.illinois.edu/illinigamewatch

Fighting Illini Football

From caring for injured wildlife to inspiring future veterinarians. 🐾🩺💙Julia K. Whittington, ’93 LAS, DVM ’97, spent mor...
09/18/2026

From caring for injured wildlife to inspiring future veterinarians. 🐾🩺💙

Julia K. Whittington, ’93 LAS, DVM ’97, spent more than two decades at Illinois expanding animal care, strengthening the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, and creating new opportunities for veterinary students to learn and lead.

Her service has made a lasting impact on thousands of animals, students, and the College of Veterinary Medicine.

We’re proud to recognize her with the 2026 Distinguished Service Award. 🏆

Meet Whittington and the rest of this year’s Alumni Awards recipients: https://go.illinois.edu/AlumniAwards26

Liberal Arts & Sciences at Illinois University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine

For more than 50 years, La Casa Cultural Latina has been part of the Illinois experience for generations of students and...
09/17/2026

For more than 50 years, La Casa Cultural Latina has been part of the Illinois experience for generations of students and alumni. 🧡💙

During Latine Heritage Month, we’re revisiting the story of how La Casa grew from a student-led effort in 1974 into an enduring campus community and a place of connection and belonging.

Explore La Casa’s history and the alumni who helped shape its legacy: https://uiaa.org/2024/05/03/la-casa-cultural-latina/

The Fall 2026 issue of ILLINOIS ALUMNI magazine is available NOW online! 🍂https://go.illinois.edu/AlumniMagazineDive int...
09/17/2026

The Fall 2026 issue of ILLINOIS ALUMNI magazine is available NOW online! 🍂https://go.illinois.edu/AlumniMagazine

Dive into “Well Plotted,” featuring the remarkable legacy of the Morrow Plots, and discover more stories that reflect the ideas, people and progress shaping Illinois and the world.

09/17/2026

Think our fountain impressions were accurate? Come judge for yourself. 😂

Then stay for free pancakes, the Marching Illini, special guests, and the moment we dye our fountain orange to officially kick off Homecoming Week. 🥞🎺🧡

⛲ Homecoming Kickoff Celebration
📅 Sunday, Sept. 27 | 10 a.m.
📍 Hallene Gateway Plaza
🙌 Free and open to everyone

It all starts here, because Once an Illini, Always an Illini. 🧡💙

ℹ: https://go.illinois.edu/HCkickoff

B1G schedule day for Fighting Illini Athletics The 2026–27 Fighting Illini men’s and women’s basketball schedules are he...
09/16/2026

B1G schedule day for Fighting Illini Athletics

The 2026–27 Fighting Illini men’s and women’s basketball schedules are here. 🧡💙

Stay tuned for details on Illini pregame events and watch parties near you!

Fighting Illini Men's Basketball Fighting Illini Women's Basketball

Q: Did the U. of I. really invent Homecoming? (Roger A. Reeves, ’69 ENG) 🧡💙A: It’s complicated. The idea that Illinois i...
09/16/2026

Q: Did the U. of I. really invent Homecoming? (Roger A. Reeves, ’69 ENG) 🧡💙

A: It’s complicated. The idea that Illinois invented Homecoming comes from The Daily Illini, which ran an enthusiastic editorial after our first Homecoming in 1910 that called the U. of I. “the originator.” That claim proliferated and was passed down from generation to generation of students. However, in 2005, the historian John Franch found evidence that half-a-dozen schools had held Homecoming-like events before 1910. Nevertheless, those events were one-offs and not created to be annual traditions, as ours was. So, while we were not the first, we can claim the longest continuous Homecoming tradition.

And the tradition continues! 🧡💙 This year’s Homecoming theme says it all: Once an Illini, Always an Illini. Come back, reconnect and celebrate the people, memories and traditions that make Illinois feel like home.

Plan your Homecoming: https://homecoming.illinois.edu/

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Every object in Chancellor Charles L. Isbell, Jr.’s office has a story. ✨An academic family tree traces generations of s...
09/15/2026

Every object in Chancellor Charles L. Isbell, Jr.’s office has a story. ✨

An academic family tree traces generations of scholars. A research poster captures questions about human connection. Photos celebrate the students he has mentored. 🎓 Comics, science fiction, music, and a lightsaber reveal lifelong sources of curiosity and inspiration.

Together, they create what Chancellor Isbell calls a story of the past, present, and future.

Step inside his office in this Storied magazine feature 🔬: https://storied.illinois.edu/charles-l-isbell-jr/

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

As an Illinois student, Michael S. Hopkins, ’92 ENG, went from a walk-on with the Fighting Illini Football team to a sta...
09/15/2026

As an Illinois student, Michael S. Hopkins, ’92 ENG, went from a walk-on with the Fighting Illini Football team to a starter and, eventually, team captain. That same tenacity and determination would help carry him far beyond Memorial Stadium. 🚀

Hopkins went on to become a NASA astronaut and U.S. Space Force officer, completing two spaceflights, logging more than 330 days in space and conducting five spacewalks.

We’re proud to recognize Hopkins with the 2026 Alumni Achievement Award.

Meet Hopkins and the rest of this year’s Alumni Awards recipients: https://go.illinois.edu/AlumniAwards26

The Grainger College of Engineering

Homecoming Week starts here. 🧡💙👇🏼Join us Sunday, Sept. 27, at Hallene Gateway Plaza for the Homecoming Kickoff Celebrati...
09/15/2026

Homecoming Week starts here. 🧡💙👇🏼

Join us Sunday, Sept. 27, at Hallene Gateway Plaza for the Homecoming Kickoff Celebration!

🥞 Free pancake and sausage breakfast
🎺 Marching Illini performances
🎶 Music from DJ Silkee
🧡 The annual dyeing of the Jennifer Dillavou Fountain
🎉 Games, activities and plenty of Illinois spirit

Bring your family and friends, wear your orange and blue, and help us kick off a week of traditions together.

🎉: https://uiaa.org/events/hc-kickoff2026/

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