U of Illinois slush fund scandal & Steve Kuberski circa 1966-67

[capecod]

found this old article interesting-for those old enough to remember the times.....much more information that I ever knew about the events....the Steve Kuberski stuff is the reason I posted this on this site...

https://ussporthistory.com/2014/10/2...al-of-1966-67/

This is a very detailed discussion on the U of Illinois slush fund scandal that took down Illini football HC =Pete Elliot & longtime BB coach Harry Combs. Both resigned. Also discusses the suspension of Illini BB player Steve Kuberski...who received 'periodic payments of $35 a month' and a total of $490 (over 16 months)'...for that, Kuberski was going to be suspended for 2 years by the Big Ten... he transferred to Bradley & played one season(the linked article says Kuberski played two years at Bradley-but Kuberski went pro with a season of eligibility still remaining with the Braves).

With the Celtics, Kuberski won two NBA titles...he was the last Celtic to wear #33 before Larry Bird.

Football coach Pete Elliott had taken the Illini football team to the 1963 Big Ten title & Rose Bowl victory over Washington...his star players wer Dick Butkus, who Elliott had recruited in 1961 & Fullback Jim Grabowski (1962 recruit). I'm not sure the Illini football team ever really recovered from the scandal.

New Illini BB coach Harv Schmidt brought the BB team backed...helped along by '67 recruits like Fred Miller from State Champs Pekin.

At the time I was a HS student & wasn't much of an Illinois fan-since they did not schedule games against Bradley...but then again, not many Big Ten teams did play the Braves back in the 1960s (or 50s for that matter)....back in the days when a Big Ten team would have had their hands full against the powerhouse Bradley teams

[Da Coach]

As a couple coaches from that era have told me, recruiting was like the Wild West back then. There were some loose NCAA rules governing recruiting, but they were rarely enforced. Illinois was not the only school that had a "slush fund" (off-the-books money donated by boosters to be funnelled to recruits and players). Most major schools did the same, but Illinois was one of the few that got sloppy, and got caught, and the NCAA decided to make an example of them.

I remember that era very well. Steve Kuberski was a great player, but unfortunately, he ended up playing only 1 season at Bradley after transferring from Illinois. The NCAA rules allowed college players to be NBA draft eligible after their initial class graduates. Kuberski sat out a year (1967-68 ) because of to the NCAA transfer rules, and played for Bradley in 1968-69. He was then eligible for the NBA draft in 1969, and left Bradley with one year of eligibility left. He was drafted by the Boston Celtics and went on to have a terrific NBA career, including NBA Championships in 1974 & 1976 with the Celtics. One bit of trivia: Steve was the last Boston player to wear #33 for the Celtics before Larry Bird arrived, and subsequently #33 was retired.

Here is a blogger with some information about Steve (note the credit to Bradleyfans.com at the bottom!)-
http://www.celticslife.com/2011/01/w...-kuberski.html

[The Old Guy]

Another interesting link between Illinois and Bradley. The captain of the Rose Bowl U of I Team was a lineman named Dick Deller. Deller stayed at U of I and finished a PhD in Mechanical Engineering. After completing the PhD, Deller joined the Bradley College of Engineering faculty, where he taught for 45 years. Deller was a great teacher, but never talked about his football career unless he was asked specifically about it. He and his wife Karen still live in the Bradley campus area.

[capecod]

Another interesting link between Illinois and Bradley. The captain of the Rose Bowl U of I Team was a lineman named Dick Deller. Deller stayed at U of I and finished a PhD in Mechanical Engineering. After completing the PhD, Deller joined the Bradley College of Engineering faculty, where he taught for 45 years. Deller was a great teacher, but never talked about his football career unless he was asked specifically about it. He and his wife Karen still live in the Bradley campus area.

Glad to hear Deller is still doing well & still lives in Peoria

Deller (Cincinnati Roger Bacon HS) picked the Illini over scholarship offers from Notre Dame & Ohio St.
Deller was the starting RG for Illinois. The starting LG was Bob Easter from Peoria Richwoods.....playing center in between those 2 guards was Dick Butkus.

The Illinois football Media Guide of 1963 noted that Deller had 'only' gotten a 4.8 Gpa (perfect was 5.0) the semester before-the first time after 4 straight semesters of a perfect 5.0 in the mechanical engineering curriculum.....

The Pete Elliott coached Rose Bowl champ Illini only lost one game that '63 season. A humiliating 14-8 loss to a mediocre Michigan team... it was humiliating for Pete Elliot in particular -because that Michigan team who upset the Illini was coached by his brother Bump Elliot.