Mike White, who led Illinois to 1983 Big Ten title, Rose Bowl, dies at 89

Former Illinois football coach Mike White, who led the Fighting Illini to the 1983 Big Ten title and a Rose Bowl berth, died Sunday at 89, the university announced.

White coached the Illini from 1980 to ’87, going 47-41-3 and leading them to three bowl games. The 1983 team was his best. It went 10-1 in the regular season, including 9-0 in Big Ten games. It’s the only team in Big Ten history to beat every other conference foe in the same season. Illinois hadn’t won the conference title since 1963.

A northern California native, White brought the West Coast offense to Illinois and some of the best quarterbacks to play for the school, such as Dave Wilson, Tony Eason and Jack Trudeau. White also brought in wide receiver David Williams, who became Illinois’ all-time leading receiver and a College Football Hall of Famer.

“He was a great coach, motivator, disciplinarian, and he could X and O with the best of them,” Williams, a Los Angeles native, told the Champaign News-Gazette. “He could sell a program. He could sell Champaign to a kid from Los Angeles.”

White’s three bowl games are tied for the most among Illini coaches in school history. His 1982 team lost to Alabama in the Liberty Bowl, the 1983 squad lost to UCLA in the Rose Bowl and his 1985 team lost to Army in the Peach Bowl. White resigned in January 1988 because of alleged recruiting violations, including paying for the lodging of a recruit.

He also was the coach at California from 1972 to ’77 and for the Oakland Raiders in 1995-96. He was on the offensive staff of the 1999 Rams team that won the Super Bowl.