Former Illinois football coach Mike White, who led the Illini to the Rose Bowl in the 1983 season, died Sunday at age 89, the school announced.
White coached Illinois from 1980-87, going 47-41-3 and leading the Illini to three bowl games.
That included the 1983 team that went 10-1 in the regular season and 9-0 in the Big Ten. That’s the only team in Big Ten history to defeat every other conference member in the same season, according to Illinois’ sports information department. UCLA beat Illinois 45-9 in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 2, 1984.
White was the Walter Camp and Big Ten coach of the year that season. His West Coast offense helped the Illinois passing game thrive under quarterbacks such as Tony Eason, Jack Trudeau and Dave Wilson.
White resigned from Illinois in 1988 after an NCAA investigation into recruiting violations. The team was placed on probation twice during his tenure for such violations, and the punishment included a postseason ban in the 1984 season and not being allowed to play on TV in 1985.
He began his head coaching career at California from 1972-77. He went on to coach in the NFL and was the Oakland Raiders head coach from 1995-96 and an offensive assistant for the St. Louis Rams from 1997-99, helping them win the Super Bowl in the 1999 season.
