Illini AD Guenther addresses Zook, other issues

Ron Guenther could well make this his 20th and final year as Illinois' athletic director.

Depending on how things go on the football field and in the fundraising arena - and whether he chooses to stay beyond his current contract that runs out on June 30 - the 64-year-old Guenther's last go-round could have revenue-sport ramifications for decades to come.

Guenther sat down with the media Tuesday and provided enlightenment on several topics. He focused on Assembly Hall renovation, Big Ten football divisions and Ron Zook's work with his new staff.

Since Illinois opens the football season Saturday against Missouri, it's best to begin with Guenther's views about Zook.

As Illinois fans recall, some more painfully than others, Zook survived last season's 3-9 record when several of his staff members didn't.

The Illini hired offensive coordinator Paul Petrino from Arkansas and defensive coordinator Vic Koenning from Kansas State. They received rich two-year deals, while they each brought in familiar workmates who also received two-year contracts.

"I give Ron a lot of credit," Guenther said. "When we finished the season last year, we had to have some real heart-to-heart talks. I didn't like what happened. He didn't like what happened. I had a lot of people telling me, 'Let's make that (head-coaching) change.'

"What we did was dissect his program, but look at this own strengths - The first step was for Coach to get introspective. My challenge to him was, 'What do you do well? What do you think you do poorly? Where do you think it fell apart?' "

Guenther and Zook decided he needed to be more of a big-picture guy - that he couldn't try to micromanage every aspect of the program.

"I think he's re-energized," Guenther said. "I think he's sitting back. I think he's looking at the big picture. I think he's trying to help when he can help.

"I kidded him around. I sent him some Bobby Bowden stuff. Bobby Bowden says, 'I solve problems. That's what I do as head coach. And then I coach the heart of the football team'. You can't do that when you're into the issues all the time."

With Petrino and Koenning running their own systems with less direct input from Zook, Guenther believes the Illini have improved.

"I think the amount of progress that that program has made since the day the season ended," he said, "has been more progress than any other program that I've been affiliated with."

He declined to commit to a win number that would verify the progress. The Illini are regarded as 111/2-point underdogs Saturday in St. Louis.

"My expectations is that we'll be better," Guenther said. "I would like this team to be more competitive than it was last year."

Guenther, Illinois' team MVP in 1966 despite being an undersized guard, offered one criticism that cut at the heart of Zook's strength: recruiting.

"One of the things that I felt we made a mistake in is that we recruited some stars - I'm talking five-star and four-star (prospects) - where we missed some football players," he said. "It's still about getting football players. And people that have a passion to play at Illinois and play for Coach Zook."

If the Illini should post another 3- or 4-win season - or Guenther feels sufficient progress hasn't been made - he won't factor the assistants' two-year contracts into his evaluation of Zook.

"No," Guenther said. "You shouldn't read into anything more than that with the two-year deal. The NCAA Football Coaches Association asked for those guys to have some protection - it's basically giving them another year to find a job.

"And it may be a two-year project (for Zook and his staff). I don't know. I just know that, right now, I feel better about the football program. By the time Thanksgiving came last year, it was not good."

Assembly HallGuenther said the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics will push its fundraising efforts this year in search of the $150 million-$200 million necessary to modernize 47-year-old Assembly Hall.Guenther intends to raise one-third of the money from an Illinois-based company that would receive naming rights for a 30-year period."We've got several companies here in the state of Illinois that we've called on," Guenther said. "They've definitely said they would be interested. They're just waiting on a number. That's the first piece."Illinois will focus on private donations as well as suites and the season-ticket base for most of the rest of the money.Guenther also hopes to tap student fees, but doing so while offering a direct benefit to the student body. As part of the renovation plan, Assembly Hall's floor will be lowered and allow Illinois to increase the students' courtside seating from 750 to 1,400.Big Ten divisionsThe conference planned to unveil its two-division setup by Sept. 15, but Guenther thinks it could happen sooner as the league is down to two models."We all have a dog in the fight," he said. "Everybody was looking for an angle, possibly. But I really felt at the end we ended up with two models that work. It's a tweak one way or another."One of their first jobs was to protect one primary rivalry for each school. This means that Northwestern and Illinois, for example, can meet every year even if they're in opposite divisions.Guenther wasn't quite clear on whether these protected rivals will automatically show up in opposing divisions, as has been speculated with Michigan and Ohio State."The key was to come up with rival games and come up with one rival," Guenther said. "Whether you stayed in your division or not, you could divide them. And I saw ways where you could have them in the same division and still work out."But that would be the one extra game you're committing to besides everybody in your division."