Among the candidates being interviewed for the head football coaching position at Illinois is former Badger coach Bret Bielema.
The Illini fired Lovie Smith this week after five seasons.
Bielema was 68-and-24 while coaching Wisconsin, leading the Badgers to three Big Ten titles and he was named conference Coach of the Year in 2006.
He and Lance Leipold are among the first names being connected to the Illinois job.
Leipold won six Division Three football titles with the U-W-Whitewater Warhawks from 2007-to-2014. He compiled a 109-and-six record at the southern Wisconsin school before building the Buffalo Bulls into a Mid-American Conference title contender.
