1997 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

American college football season February 2026 August 2023 1997 Illinois Fighting Illini football Fighting Illini logo.svg 125 Big Ten Conference Big Ten 0–11 0–8 Ron Turner 1st Buddy Teevens 1st Pro-style Tim Kish 1st 4–3 Robert Holcombe Ivan Benson Danny Clark Robert Holcombe Memorial Stadium The 1997 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 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their first year under head coach Ron Turner, the Fighting Illini compiled a 0–11 record (0–8 in conference games), finished last out of eleven teams in the Big Ten, and were outscored by a total of 368 to 119.1997 Illinois Fighting Illini Schedule and Results Sports Reference LLC SR/College Football July 24, 2025 https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/illinois/1997-schedule.html The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Mark Hokestra (1,029 passing yards), running back Robert Holcombe (1,253 rushing yards, 36 points scored) and wide receiver Lenny Willis (465 receiving yards).1997 Illinois Fighting Illini Stats Sports Reference LLC SR/College Football July 24, 2025 https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/illinois/1997.html As of 2025, the 1997 Illinois team was the last Big Ten football team that failed to register a single win. The team played its home games at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois. Schedule 1997 AP Central September 6 6:00 pm l y Southern Miss Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL ESPN2 7–24 44,519 September 13 2:30 pm l y y Louisville Cardinal Stadium Louisville, KY CBS 13–26 36,824 September 20 11:30 am l y Washington State 19 Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL ESPN2 22–35 47,131 September 27 11:30 am l y Iowa 11 Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA ESPN2 10–38 70,397 October 4 11:30 am l Penn State 2 Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL ESPN2 6–41 51,523 October 11 11:00 am l y Wisconsin Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI ESPN Plis 7–31 79,327 October 25 1:00 pm l Purdue 22 Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL rivalry 3–48 45,122 November 1 1:00 pm l y Indiana Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN rivalry 6–23 32,705 November 8 11:00 am l Northwestern Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL rivalry ESPN Plus 21–34 41,195 November 15 11:00 am l y Ohio State 4 Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH Illibuck ESPN Plus 6–41 92,008 November 22 1:00 pm l Michigan State Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL 17–27 30,087 http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-footbl/archive/AllTimeScores.html fightingillini.com 2012-11-20 https://web.archive.org/web/20120716221511/http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-footbl/archive/AllTimeScores.html 2012-07-16 dead References Illinois Category:Illinois Fighting Illini football seasons Category:College football winless seasons Illinois Fighting Illini football