1969 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

1969 Illinois Fighting Illini football
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record0–10 (0–7 Big Ten)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorEllis Rainsberger (3rd season)
MVPDoug Dieken
Captains
  • Doug Redmann
  • Bruce Erb
Home stadiumMemorial Stadium
1969 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 4 Ohio State + 6 1 0 8 1 0
No. 9 Michigan + 6 1 0 8 3 0
No. 18 Purdue 5 2 0 8 2 0
Minnesota 4 3 0 4 5 1
Iowa 3 4 0 5 5 0
Indiana 3 4 0 4 6 0
Northwestern 3 4 0 3 7 0
Wisconsin 3 4 0 3 7 0
Michigan State 2 5 0 4 6 0
0 7 0 0 10 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1969 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1969 Big Ten season. In their third year under head coach Jim Valek, the Fighting Illini compiled a 0–10 record (0–7 in conference games)< finished in last place in the Big Ten, and were outscored by a total of 397 to 106.[1]

The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Steve Livas (705 passing yards, 32.1% completion percentage), running back Dave Jackson (465 rushing yards, 3.9 yards per carry), and tight end Doug Dieken (29 receptions for 486 yards).[2] Dieken was selected as the team's most valuable player.[3] Guard Doug Redmann was selected by the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA) as a second-team player on the 1969 All-America team.[4]

The team played its home games at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois.

Schedule

DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 20Washington State*L 18–1940,345
September 27vs. No. 11 Missouri*L 6–3748,740
October 4Iowa State*
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL
L 20–4835,982–37,663
October 11Northwestern
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL (rivalry)
L 6–1043,928
October 18at IndianaL 20–4151,812
October 25at No. 1 Ohio StateL 0–4186,576
November 1No. 13 Purdue
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL (rivalry)
L 22–4951,299
November 8No. 18 Michigan
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL (rivalry)
L 0–5735,270[5]
November 15at WisconsinL 14–5542,624
November 22Iowa
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL
L 0–4030,257
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

References

  1. ^ "1969 Illinois Fighting Illini Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
  2. ^ "1969 Illinois Fighting Illini Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
  3. ^ "Fighting Illini Football Record Book" (PDF). University of Illinois. 2015. p. 155. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
  4. ^ "Steve Owens, Mike Phipps Pace NEA All-Americans". Clovis News-Journal. November 21, 1969. p. 12.
  5. ^ Curt Sylvester (November 9, 1969). "Wow! U-M 57, Illinois 0: Craw Bulls Over for 4 TDs". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1C, 5C – via Newspapers.com.