Ron Guenther

Ron Guenther

Biographical details
Born	(1945-10-03) October 3, 1945 (age 79)
Playing career
1965–1966	Illinois
Position(s)	Offensive lineman
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1971–1974	Boston College (OL)
1975–1978	North Central (IL)
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1988	Illinois (interim AD)
1992–2011	Illinois
Head coaching record
Overall	22–12–2
Accomplishments and honors
Awards
Second-team All-Big Ten (1966)

Ronald E. Guenther (born October 3, 1945) is a former American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at North Central College in Naperville, Illinois from 1975 to 1978, compiling a record of 22–12–2. Guenther was the athletic director at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign from 1992 until he retired on July 1, 2011.^[1]

Education and playing career

Guenther is a graduate of the University of Illinois, having earned a Bachelor of Science in physical education in 1967 and an M.S. in administration in 1968. Guenther also played football at Illinois, lettering in 1965 and 1966 as an offensive lineman as well as being named second-team All-Big Ten and the team MVP in 1966. While at Illinois, Guenther was a member of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity.

Administrative career

University of Illinois Chancellor Richard Herman was quoted in July, 2006 as saying: "If he's not the best AD in the country, I want to know who is." and "He does a wonderful job of bringing in great coaches and building a team that understands what athletics is and needs to be about."^[2] (Herman was later relieved of his duties after a scholarship scandal.)

Coaches hired

Football

• Ron Turner, 1997–2004
• Ron Zook, 2005–2011

Men's basketball

• Lon Kruger, 1996–2000
• Bill Self, 2000–2003
• Bruce Weber, 2004–2012

Women's basketball

• Theresa Grentz, 1995–2006
• Jolette Law, 2007–2012

Women's volleyball

• Don Hardin, 1996–2009
• Kevin Hambly, 2009–2017

Men's tennis

• Craig Tiley, 1993-2005
• Brad Dancer, 2006–current

Women's tennis

• Michelle Dasso, 2006–2015

Men's Track and Field

• Wayne Angel, 2003–2009

Wrestling

• Jim Heffernan, 2009–2021

Facility construction

• Atkins Tennis Center
• Reconstruction of Memorial Stadium
• Pending decision to renovate Assembly Hall or build a new basketball arena, expected in early 2009

Criticism

Guenther came under fire for an outburst during the 2007 NCAA Tournament, calling an Illini player an "idiot".^[3]

Guenther has also been widely criticized by Illinois fans for the poor performance of the Illinois football team during his tenure.^[4][5][6]

Head coaching record

Year	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Bowl/playoffs
North Central Cardinals (College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin) (1975–1978)
1975	North Central	5–3–1	5–2–1	2nd
1976	North Central	5–3–1	4–3–1	5th
1977	North Central	6–3	5–3	3rd
1978	North Central	6–3	5–3	T–3rd
North Central:		22–12–2	19–11–2
Total:		22–12–2

References

1. "Fighting Illini Icon Ron Guenther Retires After 19 Years as Athletics Director". FightingIllini.com. May 16, 2011. Retrieved November 27, 2011.
2. "BOT wants Guenther long-term". Daily Illini. July 12, 2006. Retrieved May 23, 2007.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
3. "Illinois AD yelled at coach, called player 'idiot'". March 21, 2007. Archived from the original on September 4, 2012. Retrieved May 24, 2007.
4. "Tate: I stand by my letter". IlliniHQ. November 9, 2009. Retrieved December 26, 2009.
5. "Illini's Zook on Hot Seat". Chicago Sun-Times. December 11, 2009. Archived from the original on December 14, 2009. Retrieved December 26, 2009.
6. "Illini Boosters: Zook Must Go". Peoria Journal-Star. December 11, 2009. Retrieved December 26, 2009.