CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Former Kansas City Chiefs Coach John Mackovic was named head football coach by the University of Illinois today, ending speculation about who would replace Mike White.
The new Illini coach was announced by Athletic Director Neale Stoner at a news conference at Memorial Stadium.
'I'm excited and honored to be here,' Mackovic said at the news conference. 'I truly appreciate Chancellor (Morton) Weir and his confidence in me. I take this job with a great deal of satisfaction and would like this to be the best athletic program in the United States.'
Mackovic, 44, whose four-year stint with the Chiefs ended when he was fired after the 1986 season, met with the Illinois players this morning and said he would take 'a great interest in their academic development.
'We want to win, but we want success off the field too,' Mackovic said.
'Athletically, I would like for us to be the best there is. That means having a good season, playing in bowl games and in the Rose Bowl and one day for the national championship,' he said.
Stoner said when he selected White to take over the Illinois football program in 1979, Mackovic was the runner-up.
'Since then, his personal growth and integrity have strengthened,' Stoner said. 'We're confident he will provide leadership not only now but in the future.'
The naming of Mackovic comes just two days before Illinois is to appear before the NCAA's Board of Infractions for alleged recruiting violations by the football program dating back to the beginning of 1985.
White submitted his resignation Jan. 18 after a university investigation unearthed five recruiting violations at U of I, the new wave coming while Illinois was in a two-year probationary period after being sanctioned by the NCAA in the early 1980s.
In his eight years at Illinois, White put together a 47-41-3 overall mark and went 40-26-2 in the Big Ten.
Mackovic beat out Illinois defensive coordinator Howard Tippett for the job. Dennis Green, former Northwestern head coach and current San Francisco assistant coach, also was interviewed for the post. Boston College Coach Jack Bicknell, considered the front-runner, withdrew from the competition last week.
Tippett said Tuesday he would resign if Mackovic got the job.
'I would never stay with Mackovic,' Tippett said. 'Maybe someone else. But I've heard enough about him to know that I wouldn't work for him.' Tippett would not elaborate.
Mackovic began his coaching career as an assistant at Miami (Ohio) in 1965. He later served as an assistant at Barberton High for one year (1966) and was freshman coach at Army in '67 and '68. After Army, Mackovic was on the coaching staffs at San Jose State in '69 and '70, Army again in '71 and '72, Arizona from '73-'76 and Purdue in '77.
His first head coaching opportunity came in 1978, when he was appointed at Wake Forest, his alma mater. Mackovic left the university after the 1980 season to become quarterback coach with the Dallas Cowboys.