CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Illinois has extended athletic director Josh Whitman's contract through 2036, committing more than $31 million over the next 10 years on the heels of a series of standout seasons for the department and its teams.
The university's board of trustees approved the new deal for Whitman at its regular meeting on Thursday. The fifth-longest tenured AD among the four power conferences will make $2.15 million during the 2026-27 school year, a salary increase of more than 40%.
Whitman is scheduled to receive $100,000 raises annually before a $200,000 bump to $3.15 million in the final year of the agreement and a $500,000 retention bonus each June 30 that he remains on the job at Illinois.
The contract also includes additional incentives of up to $500,000 annually related to performance goals set by the university chancellor and three automatic one-year extensions through 2039 if certain Illini football and men's basketball performance measures are met.
Whitman, a former Illinois football player, was hired in 2016. This was the fifth time his contract has been amended. The men's basketball team reached the NCAA Final Four in April for the first time in 21 years. The football team won 19 games over the last two seasons, a program record for that span. Illini athletics also set a revenue record for a fourth consecutive year and topped $200 million for the first time in 2025-26, according to the board of trustees meeting memo.
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FILE - Illinois athletic director Josh Whitman speaks to the media during the NCAA Convention on Jan. 15, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, File)
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The start time for the MLB game between the New York Mets and the Phillies on Thursday in Philadelphia was moved up an hour due to air quality concerns because of wildfire smoke from Canada and northern Minnesota, and an MLS game in Chicago was postponed.
Heavy, pungent wildfire smoke darkened skies in the U.S. from the Great Lakes to parts of the East Coast, reducing visibility and prompting warnings that breathing the air outside could be dangerous.
Officials in many cities urged residents to stay inside or wear masks outside as air quality reached unhealthy to hazardous levels, meaning it’s unhealthy for anyone, regardless of health conditions. The National Weather Service said a lingering high pressure system has trapped the smoke close to the ground.
The Philadelphia region is experiencing smoky and hazy skies. The game's start was moved to 6:10 p.m. EDT from 7:10 p.m. It is the only game on the big league schedule coming out of this week's All-Star break.
“It’s definitely different,” Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper said on ESPN, which is broadcasting the game. “Not the greatest idea, I guess, to come out here and play in this type of weather, but we’re doing it.”
This is the second time wildfire smoke has affected a game in Philadelphia. In June 2023, a game between Detroit and Philadelphia was postponed due to poor air quality related to smoke from Canadian wildfires.
Poor air quality due to wildfire smoke also forced the Major League Soccer game between the Vancouver Whitecaps and Fire at Chicago's Soldier Field, along with a scheduled postgame concert, to be postponed. The game, which was expected to draw 40,000, will be made up on Oct. 6.
Trinity Rodman, a member of the U.S. women's national team, said the smokey sky was difficult to deal with during Wednesday night's NWSL game between the Washington Spirit and Gotham FC at New York's Citi Field.
Rodman said she wasn't a fan of the hydration breaks every 15 minutes in the game as the temperature reached into the 90s.
“Air quality was rough,” Rodman was quoted as saying by The Athletic. “Not to make excuses at all, but I think on both sides we were all like, ‘another break, another break, another break.’”
A crowd of more than 42,000 attended the rematch of teams in last season's NWSL title game. The crowd was a record for a women’s sporting event in New York City.
“If we have to have a hydration break every 15 minutes, then we shouldn’t be playing the game, and that’s my opinion,” Rodman said. “But at the end of the day, there’s 40,000 people. It’s a whole event, so it’s really tough. It’s just a really hard situation for everyone to work around.”
AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports
People wear masks as they walk on the street during poor air quality due to dense smoke from Canadian wildfires in Evanston, Ill., Thursday, July 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
A general view of a street in Northbrook, Ill., during poor air quality due to dense smoke from Canadian wildfires in Northbrook, Ill., Thursday, July 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
A general view of street mall during poor air quality due to dense smoke from Canadian wildfires in Glenview, Ill., Thursday, July 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh) CORRECTION: Glenview, not Northbrook
