Is Illinois ice hockey still in the works? Are athletes required to get vaccinated? 4 takeaways from AD Josh Whitman’s annual roundtable.

Illinois athletic director Josh Whitman hit on a range of topics — from financial implications of COVID-19 to athletic department vaccination rates to a possible restart on developing an ice hockey program — during his annual roundtable conversation with reporters Wednesday.

With ongoing athletic facility construction popping up on campus, Whitman shed light on the state of the department as it emerges from a year of COVID-19 restrictions and financial strategies to help cope with the pandemic.

Here are five takeaways from Whitman’s discussion.

1. No vaccine? Keep getting tested.

Illinois is not mandating a COVID-19 vaccine for athletes, Whitman said, calling it a “personal choice.” The university will, however, encourage vaccination.

Illinois has had a high rate of vaccinations among athletes and staff. Whitman said 68% of athletes are fully vaccinated and 75% are at least partially vaccinated. Staff members are 90% vaccinated, he said.

Athletes who choose not to receive the vaccine will be required to wear masks and continue to undergo frequent COVID-19 testing, perhaps daily. They also might be subject to quarantine periods because of contact tracing.

“We think there’s strong incentive for them to vaccinate,” Whitman said. “Those who are not vaccinated will continue to have an experience that looks and feels like last year.”

Whitman said Illinois conducted 105,000 tests during the 2020-21 school year on Tier 1 individuals, which includes athletes, coaches and support staff. There were 175 positive tests with 350 quarantine stints.

No hospitalizations were recorded, and no athletic events were canceled because of Illinois cases (Ohio State had to cancel its football game at Illinois because of high cases among the Buckeyes).

Illinois’ own testing system often detected the virus a few days before the Big Ten-mandated antigen test, helping contain spread, Whitman said.

“I think there are very few teams in the country who can say that,” he said. “I really tip my hat to the institution.”

2. Let’s do that hockey?

Illinois made a splash when it announced in 2017 it was pursuing the development of a varsity ice hockey team.

While Whitman considered the university “in the red zone” toward launching a team in the summer of 2019, the Illini hit some obstacles with fundraising and then paused the project because of the pandemic.

He said he is restarting conversations with donors and developers about beginning a hockey program. Whitman will need to see if previously committed donors are still on board.

“We had walked it so far down the road, we can’t just walk away from it without at least reopening the conversation to see if it continues to make sense,” he said.

Illinois had considered a project that included multiple sports in a downtown Champaign complex. Factors such as facilities and which sports can be included would determine the cost of a program.

Whitman said he doesn’t feel obligated to go beyond conversations, but he can foresee a hockey program becoming the third-highest revenue-producing sport.

“We know where we think the money was,” he said. “We just need to go back and see if it’s still there.”

3. Illinois took a financial hit — but not as large as it feared.

The athletic department expects to record a loss of between $12 million and $18 million this school year as it grappled with the pandemic, Whitman said. When the pandemic first hit, he projected a worst-case scenario could cost the department more than $40 million.

Illinois lost $14 million in gate receipts without paid attendance at games. Playing some games, despite no paying fans, helped make up projected losses because of television rights.

“Given what we’ve gone through and compared to our early projections, we actually feel really good about that number,” Whitman said “It compares favorably to many of our peer institutions across the country.”

The department is working with the university on developing a long-term financial recovery plan, he said.

“We’re in active conversations about what our recovery plan will look like,” Whitman said. “We’re pushing for a longer repayment period there, knowing that the less we have to pay each year will allow us to continue with more normal operations. … A lot of it depends on what the final number is.”

The fiscal year ends June 30.

The department’s loss of revenues was $22 million, including the gate sales, he said.

In 2018-19, Illinois hosted 145 home athletic events with 550,000 in attendance. In 2019-20, which was cut short in the spring by the pandemic, Illinois hosted 110 home events with 583,000 in attendance.

This year, 110 events were held with only 4,000 non-paying people in attendance.

Conference distributions are expected to be reduced by $10 million, and a reduction in premium seating revenue is expected to come in at $4 million, with another $2 million lost in sponsorship, licensing and annual fund revenues.

Illinois worked to stymie losses with hiring freezes, voluntary salary reductions, staff separation agreements and a lack of guaranteed-pay games.

Scholarships expanded this year with athletes receiving an extra year of eligibility. That amounted to an extra $400,000 in expenses this year and is expected to come in at $1 million to $1.5 million for fall and winter sports in 2021-22, with the costs covered entirely by donors.

Whitman pointed out fundraising has covered the athletic department’s facility expansions and renovations to baseball and softball stadiums, a practice complex and an indoor golf facility.

“By the time the pandemic hit, each of those projects was far down the tracks,” he said. “It was imperative in our minds that we kept those projects moving forward.”

4. Whitman is against in-state college sports gambling.

Whitman spoke most passionately about his desire for gambling on in-state college sports to remain banned, linking it to social media abuse against athletes.

Illinois legislators are considering lifting a “carve-out” prohibiting wagering on games involving in-state colleges and universities. Whitman said every Division I athletic director in the state is against the change.

“I struggle to see the ‘why,’ ” he said. “I don’t know why we’re trying to change this particular part of this law. We as administrators in college athletics are always looking out for what we believe are the best interests of our student-athletes. This situation clearly is not in the best interest of Illinois student-athletes or any student-athletes.”

He said a strong line needs to be drawn between gambling on professional and college sports. He mentioned athletes’ ages and the potential pressure they would face from gamblers, including those in their own communities and campuses.

“How strange is that, to be sitting in a classroom next to somebody who might be placing a bet on how you’re going to play that night?” he said. “Or to live in your apartment and know the guy next door is watching how you walk out of your room? Are you on crutches? Are you sick?

“I think it’s a little awkward in the state you have to be 21 years old or older to gamble on sports, yet we’re contemplating opening an opportunity to gamble on people who aren’t even old enough to gamble themselves.”

Online vitriol from people who lose money on games could increase, he said.

“The rancor that some of our fans feel, that people feel at our student-athletes when they struggle, it’s abusive,” Whitman said. “It’s vile. It’s something I think is a growing problem in college athletics. And if you open the door wide to gambling on them, you’re just inviting more of that commentary.”

Odds and ends

• Illinois will open its 2022 football season with a “Week Zero” home game against Wyoming. The game initially was scheduled for Sept. 17 of that season.

• Whitman is pushing for a home sellout — the first since 2016 — when Illinois football opens against Nebraska on Aug. 28. The Big Ten game will be the first since before the pandemic played at a stadium open at full capacity.

• To fans worried about the length of time in hiring a third assistant coach for the men’s basketball staff, Whitman has a message: “Just relax.” The delay is merely a matter of timing, he said, and he expects a hire to be made soon. Also, look for an upgrade to head coach Brad Underwood’s contract this summer.

• Whitman backed women’s basketball coach Nancy Fahey. The team has struggled, going 5-18 last season, and four players transferred in the offseason while Fahey made staff changes. “I continue to believe in Coach,” Whitman said. “I think the program is headed in the right direction.”