Bruce Weber at the 2005 NCAA Final Four in St. Louis.

Bruce Weber (born October 19, 1956 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is the head coach of the University of Illinois men's basketball team. Through his first three seasons at Illinois, Weber has led the program to an 89-16 win-loss record, two outright Big Ten Conference championships, and three trips to the NCAA Tournament, including an appearance in the championship game of the 2005 NCAA Tournament. Weber's teams are known for motion offense and quick ball movement. Image File history File links Bruce_weber. ... October 19 is the 292nd day of the year (293rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Nickname: Cream City, Mil Town, Brew City, The City of Festivals Location of Milwaukee in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin Coordinates: County Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett Area    - City (97 sq. ... The head coach in sports coaching is the coach who is in charge of the other coaches. ... The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign [[UIUC]], known as the U of I, is the flagship campus in the University of Illinois system. ... Sara Giauro shoots a three-point shot, FIBA Europe Cup for Women Finals 2005. ... Big Ten redirects here. ... // The NCAA Mens Division I Basketball Championship is a single elimination tournament held each spring featuring 65 college basketball teams in the United States. ... 2005 Final Four, Edward Jones Dome The 2005 NCAA Mens Division I Basketball Tournament involved 65 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of mens NCAA Division I college basketball. ...

Coaching

Weber began his coaching career with a brief stint as an assistant coach at Western Kentucky University during the 1979-80 season under head coach Gene Keady. In 1980, Weber moved to Purdue University along with Keady. He would remain an assistant coach at Purdue for eighteen seasons before becoming the head coach at Southern Illinois University in 1998. In his five seasons at Southern Illinois, Weber led the Salukis to consecutive Missouri Valley Conference championships and NCAA tournament appearances, including an NCAA Sweet Sixteen finish in 2002. Western Kentucky University (WKU) is a public university in Bowling Green, Kentucky. ... Gene Keady (born May 21, 1936, in Larned, Kansas, United States) is an assistant coach of the Toronto Raptors of the NBA. He is most notable for being the head basketball coach at Purdue University for 25 years, from 1980-2005. ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... Purdue University (Purdue) is a land-grant, public university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States. ... Southern Illinois University is located in Carbondale in the U.S. state of Illinois. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... Former Missouri Valley Conference logo The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply The Valley) is a college athletic conference whose members are located in the midwestern United States. ... The term Sweet Sixteen refers to the final sixteen teams in the NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament, who play in the semi-final game of each of the tournaments four regional brackets. ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ...

In 2003, Bill Self, the former head coach at the University of Illinois, left Illinois to become the head coach at the University of Kansas. After a search that included nationally-known coaches Mark Few and Kelvin Sampson, Illinois Athletic Director Ron Guenther selected the regionally-known Weber to replace Self on April 30, 2003. 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Bill Self (born December 27, 1962 in Okmulgee, Oklahoma) is the current head mens basketball coach at the University of Kansas, one of the most storied progams in mens college basketball history. ... The University of Kansas (often referred to as KU or Kansas) is an institution of higher learning located in Lawrence, Kansas. ... Mark Few (born December 27, 1962 in Creswell, Oregon) is an American basketball coach, currently the head coach at Gonzaga University. ... Kelvin Sampson Kelvin Sampson (born October 5, 1955), a Lumbee Indian, is the mens basketball coach of the Indiana Hoosiers at Indiana University. ... Ron Guenther (born October 3, 1945) is the Director of Athletics for the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. ...

The Illini played a tough early season game against North Carolina on December 2nd in Greensboro, and was tied at 69 with just six minutes to go. Illinois eventually lost the game 88-81, but it proved to be a good test for the young team with no seniors in the starting lineup. Weber faced his toughest test after starting the conference schedule with an even 3-3 mark. Many fans doubted the coaching changes he introduced to the team, and some skeptics questioned his strategy since all of the starters had been recruited by coach Self. He changed many doubters minds by winning the remaining ten games on the conference schedule, winning the Big 10 title outright for the first time since 1952. In post-season play, the Illini finished second, losing to University of Wisconsin in the championship game. They received a bid for a fifth seed in the 2004 NCAA Tournament, defeating Murray State and Cincinnati in the first two rounds. A 72-62 loss to top seeded Duke University ended their tournament run, but capped a solid first season for coach Weber. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public, coeducational, research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. ... The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public university located in Madison, Wisconsin. ... The 2004 NCAA Mens Division I Basketball Tournament involved 65 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of mens NCAA Division I college basketball. ... Duke University is a private coeducational research university located in Durham, North Carolina, USA. The school, founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day town of Trinity in 1838, moved to Durham in 1892. ...

2004-05 Season

The 2005 season opened with high expectations. All of the starters were returning, and some magazines were picking Illinois as the preseason favorite. Weber himself had set going to the Final Four as the team's goal before the first game was played. On December 1st, the Illini crushed the number one ranked team Wake Forest University 91-73 at Assembly Hall. Weber sported a glowing orange blazer for the game, and Assembly Hall was painted orange by the 16,618 fans wearing school colors. The pressure grew for Weber as the victory vaulted the Illini to the top spot in the polls the following week, a spot they would carry for almost the entire season. Regular season perfection ended on the last game of the regular season. Illinois gave away a 12 point, second-half lead to The Ohio State University and lost 65-64. They maintained their top ranking in the polls, and set many school records with a 29-1 regular season record. 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Wake Forest University is a private, coeducational university located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. ... This article is about Ohio State; there is also an Ohio University. ...

In the post-season tournaments, they quickly regained form - winning the Big Ten Tournament in Chicago. It was to be a difficult tournament for Bruce as he lost his mother Dawn after undergoing surgery to repair a ruptured aorta. Final Statement on Dawn Weber

"Obviously, despite all the great things that have happened to our team this year, a day like today makes you realize the most important things in life, and that is your family. This has been a great loss to our family. My mother has been very influential in my life and career, and that is why I have decided to coach the team on Saturday, because that is what she would have wanted. I would like to thank everyone for keeping my family in their thoughts and prayers. I would like to also thank the staff at the United Center for their quick assistance and the fine medical staff, especially Dr. Higgins, at Rush University Medical Center for their outstanding care. My mother had a tremendous heart and she gave so much to so many people. I'll always love her for that."

In the 2005 NCAA Tournament, the team received the top seed in the Midwestern Regional, and defeated Farleigh Dickinson and Nevada in the first two rounds in Indianapolis. In the sweet sixteen, Weber led the Illini to victories over Milwaukee and Arizona. Weber fell just shy of delivering the Fighting Illini their first national championship, reaching the NCAA Final Four but falling 75-70 to North Carolina in the national championship game. 2005 Final Four, Edward Jones Dome The 2005 NCAA Mens Division I Basketball Tournament involved 65 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of mens NCAA Division I college basketball. ... Fairleigh Dickinson University is a private university founded in 1942, the largest private university in New Jersey. ... The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee is a public research university located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. ... The University of Arizona (UA or U of A) is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. ... The intercollegiate athletic teams of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are known as the Fighting Illini. ... The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public, coeducational, research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. ...

Weber coached the team to the best season in school history, finishing 37-2 and tying the NCAA record for most wins in a season. Weber won almost every coaching award after the record setting season, including the Naismith Award and Henry Iba Award. Naismith Collage Coach of the Year Award is an award given to one mens and one womens NCAA Division I collegiate coach each season since 1987. ...

2005 and Beyond

After the spectacular 2004-05 season, Weber lost three starters to the NBA. The Illini did not have a significant dropoff, as they compiled a 26-7 record including another trip to the 2006 NCAA Tournament. His team just missed making the sweet-sixteen, losing to Washington in the second round. The 2006 NCAA Mens Division I Basketball Tournament involved 65 schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of mens NCAA Division I college basketball. ...

The 2006-2007 season had a disappointing start, with losses to ranked opponents Arizona, Maryland, and Ohio State, the latter two adding blemishes to Illinois' superb 5-year home record. Consecutive losses to Xavier, Michigan, and Ohio State constituted the first 3-game losing streak in Weber's tenure.

Weber has won 89 games in his first three seasons as the Illini coach, a Big Ten record.[1]

Coaching record

The 2006 NCAA Mens Division I Basketball Tournament involved 65 schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of mens NCAA Division I college basketball. ... The Big Ten Conference mens basketball tournament is held annually at the end of the mens college basketball regular season. ... 2005 Final Four, Edward Jones Dome The 2005 NCAA Mens Division I Basketball Tournament involved 65 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of mens NCAA Division I college basketball. ... The 2004 NCAA Mens Division I Basketball Tournament involved 65 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of mens NCAA Division I college basketball. ... The 2003 NCAA Mens Division I Basketball Tournament involved 65 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of mens NCAA Division I college basketball. ... The 2002 NCAA Mens Division I Basketball Tournament involved 65 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of mens NCAA Division I college basketball. ...

Personal

Weber was born in Milwaukee to Louis and Dawn Weber, and had two sisters and two brothers. Weber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1978 with a bachelor's degree in education. He was the catcher for Milwaukee's varsity baseball team, and also attempted to walk-on to the Panther basketball team (he was subsequently cut). Weber added a master's degree in education administration and physical education from Western Kentucky University in 1981. He is married to Megan Weber, and has three daughters - Hannah, Christy and Emily. The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee is a public research university located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. ... A bachelors degree (Artium Baccalaureus, A.B. or B.A.) is usually an undergraduate academic degree awarded for a course or major that generally lasts for three, four, or in some cases and countries, five or six years. ... A masters degree is an academic degree usually awarded for completion of a postgraduate (or graduate) course of one to three years in duration. ... Western Kentucky University (WKU) is a public university in Bowling Green, Kentucky. ...

External links

• Bruce Weber Official Bio
• Illinois Fighting Illini: The Official Athletic Site

• Grilling Weber (The Chicago Sports Review - September 2005)