June 8, 2005
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - For the first time since the 1933-34 season, Illinois Wesleyan will meet the University of Illinois in a men’s basketball game.
The exhibition game featuring two schools that each earned midseason No. 1 rankings in their respective NCAA divisions last year, will be on Thurs., Nov. 3 at Champaign’s Assembly Hall. The game time will be determined at a later date, and tickets will be handled by the University of Illinois Athletic Department.
According to NCAA Division III rules, IWU must count the Illinois game as one of the 25 allowable games on its schedule but it will not count toward the Titans’ won-loss record. Division I Illinois is allowed two such exhibition games on its schedule.
The game came about as a result of conversations between Illinois Wesleyan athletic director Dennie Bridges and Illinois director of athletics Ron Guenther, instigated by a phone call from IWU president Richard Wilson. Wilson was at Illinois for 26 years prior to becoming IWU’s president in July 2004.
“When I decided to pursue this as an exhibition game for IWU, I went to Scott Trost and he was eager to do it,” said Bridges. “Rather than calling Ron Guenther directly, I went to President Wilson and asked him if he would mind sounding out Ron about the possibility of the game.
“After President Wilson’s successful initial call, I got back to Ron and we worked out the game.”
“I want to give special credit to Ron Guenther and [Illinois head coach] Bruce Weber for giving us the opportunity to play a game like this,” said Trost. “It will be great exposure for our program and for our seniors.”
The Titans were 21-5 last season, won their third straight College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin championship and finished No. 10 in the final D3hoops.com poll. All five starters return for IWU, including the past two CCIW “Players of the Year” in senior guard Adam Dauksas (2005) and senior forward Keelan Amelianovich (2004).
Illinois Wesleyan played a number of Division I opponents during the Dennie Bridges-coached era (1965-2001), including a series against Big 10 Conference member Northwestern for four straight seasons (1988-91) and games against Iowa in 1978, 1983 and 1984.
The most recent Division I game was in the 1993-94 season when the Titans lost to Bradley, 81-63, at Robertson Memorial Fieldhouse in Peoria. At the time the Braves were coached by Jim Molinari, a 1977 IWU alum.
In a stunning upset, Illinois Wesleyan claimed a win at Arizona, 67-64, in the 1982-83 campaign.
Historically, the Titans are 0-6 against Illinois in varsity play (see chart below for scores of games).
| DATE |
SCORE |
LOCATION OF GAME |
| January 5, 1912 |
Illinois 44, Illinois Wesleyan 12 |
Champaign, Ill. |
| December 30, 1912 |
Illinois 18, Illinois Wesleyan 13 |
Champaign, Ill. |
| December 12, 1914 |
Illinois 50, Illinois Wesleyan 39 |
Champaign, Ill. |
| January 1, 1916 |
Illinois 25, Illinois Wesleyan 18 |
Bloomington, Ill. |
| December 16, 1921 |
Illinois 35, Illinois Wesleyan 19 |
Champaign, Ill. |
| December 16, 1933 |
Illinois 39, Illinois Wesleyan 19 |
Champaign, Ill. |
