Ron Johnson-Imagn Images
It’s been more than 20 years since Illinois played in a Final Four game, and that drought will come to an end when the Fighting Illini face off against UConn in Indianapolis on Saturday. Plenty of students back in Champaign will be boozing during the game, but they’ll be facing some restrictions after the city rolled out an emergency order to try to keep them in check.
The men’s basketball team at the University of Illinois has a history stretching back to 1906, but it has not won a national championship since the NCAA Tournament was played for the first time in 1939.
Prior to this season, the Fighting Illini had made it to the Final Four on five occasions, and in 2005, they earned the right to play for a national championship for the first time before falling to North Carolina in the title game.
That was also the last time they were among the last four teams standing, and if you’re looking for some perspective on just how long it’s been, 50 Cent’s “Candy Shop” was the No. 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 and Sin City was the top-grossing movie at the box office they last time they made it that far in the NCAA Tournament.
Brad Underwood has been able to inject some new life into the program since taking over in 2018, and this season, the team improved upon its run to the Elite Eight in 2024 by advancing to the Final Four. They’ll be playing UConn on Saturday night with a trip to the national championship on the line, and the city the school calls home isn’t taking any chances when it comes to maintaining order.
The city of Champaign instituted a number of restrictions on alcohol sales ahead of Illinois’ showdown with UConn in the Final Four
It is certainly possible to be a college student and watch your team play in the Final Four without consuming a drop of alcohol, but I don’t think it’s a stretch to assume the Illinois students who go that route this year will be in the minority.
When you consider the university boasts more than 35,000 students, I also don’t think it would be a stretch to assume hundreds of thousands of drinks will be consumed in Champaign on Saturday both during the game and what will either be a period of celebration or mourning after it comes to an end.
According to The Daily Illini, the city has opted to take some precautionary measures in the name of safety and responsibility with an emergency order that will go into effect on Saturday afternoon. Establishments located in a designated area near campus will not be able to serve alcohol in glass containers from 3 P.M. to 2:30 on Sunday morning, and businesses are also banned from delivering booze or selling “packaged liquor” or to-go cocktails from 6:30 to 9:30.
City of Champaign
It’s hard to blame the city for wanting to be prepared, but it may have jinxed the team by preemptively announcing the same measures will be in place on Monday if Illinois is able to advance to the national championship.
They’re not the only ones taking some precautions, as UConn has already taken down the lamp posts that were used as battering rams after the Huskies won a title in 2023.