Suddenly bigger Big Ten not adding up, Illinois State coach Brock Spack says

Brock Spack, now in his 15th at Illinois State, shared his thoughts on the Big Ten Conference’s recent expansion plans. (Photo by GoRedbirds.com)

By Dan Verdun

NORMAL – When asked about the Big Ten Conference’s recent expansion, Illinois State head coach Brock Spack channeled his mentor, Purdue’s Joe Tiller.

“I asked my wife (Aimee) a question the other night: What if Coach Tiller came back from the dead for one day; how would you explain this? If he saw USC, UCLA, Washington and Oregon in the Big Ten and Rutgers and Maryland. I don’t know if he could fathom that,” Spack told Prairie State Pigskin during Wednesday’s Illinois State football media day at Hancock Stadium.

Spack was the defensive coordinator on Tiller’s coaching staff at both Wyoming (1995-96) and Purdue (1997-2008).

Tiller led the Boilermakers to 10 bowl berths in 12 years, most notably the 2000 team that landed in the Rose Bowl and earned the school’s first Big Ten title in 33 years. It marked Purdue’s first major-bowl appearance since the Bob Greise-led Boilermakers went to the 1967 Rose Bowl.

Tiller became Purdue’s all-time coaching wins leader, going 87-62 with only two losing seasons.

He retired after the 2008 season and spent much of his time at his Wyoming home. Tiller passed away at age 74 in September 2017.

Spack, a three-year starter at linebacker for Purdue in the early 1980s, left his alma mater and was hired as Illinois State’s head coach in 2009. Spack became ISU’s all-time coaching wins leader in 2021.

Spack has strong views on what Tiller would think of not only the Big Ten but also college football in general in recent years.

“And you’re paying players? You’re paying players? That’s legal now?” Spack said in reference to Name, Image and Likeness policies, which were put into place two years ago. “There’s no way he’d (Tiller) do this. If he was 40, I think he’d say, ‘I’m going to do something else.’”

Echoing his inner Tiller, Spack added, “I think of all the coaches out there who are my age (61), or maybe even a little younger, are thinking if this is 20 years ago, I might step away from this. This is not what I got into coaching for.”

Follow the money

Yet, Spack is also a realist. He’s fully aware of the bottom line for the Big Ten and other conferences.

“I do get it, it’s about the money. No matter what you say, it’s about the money. If you want to know the reasons, you follow the money,” he said. “We don’t feel it that much here (at the FCS level), but in the Big Ten it’s a lot of money. You’re talking about $100 million a team now that comes from TV revenue. That’s phenomenal. I think when we were (at Purdue), it was $24 million. 

“Plus there’s fundraising on top of that. How do you spend all that money? It’s just unbelievable.”

Spack, a native of Rockford, sees a bigger picture. After all, his daughter, Alicia, played softball at Purdue.

“I feel bad for other sports,” he said. “I’ll be honest with you. This is great for football, but everything is driven by football. If my daughter played softball now, let’s just say at Rutgers and she’s got to go play at UCLA, how do they get there? They don’t charter planes like football. They fly commercial.

“Then what do they do if it’s rained out, and they have to play to the next day? You think about the nightmare to get your team home. And you’re out there playing a series of games on the West Coast and you’re taking classes. So, you’re taking your academic personnel with you. You may need to have people to proctor tests. I don’t know if they thought it all through,” he said. “It’s all about money. Don’t tell me it’s what’s best for the student-athlete. It’s not. You’re putting them under more stress.”

QB view

Illinois State quarterback Zack Annexstad grew up in Norseland, Minn., located just under 80 miles southwest of Minneapolis.

The 6-foot-3, 220-pounder spent four seasons at the University of Minnesota, a member of the Big Ten. He played in 11 games – making eight starts as a true freshman walk-on in 2018 – for the Golden Gophers.

Annexstad transferred to Illinois State last season. He returns for his final year this fall after making eight starts a season ago.

Annexstad’s family has a history with the Big Ten. His father, Scott, played football at Minnesota (1982-83). His cousin, Sam Dekker, played basketball at Wisconsin (2012-15).

Annexstad’s brother, Brock, first played receiver at Minnesota before transferring to ISU a year ago for his final season.

“It’s crazy,” Zack Annexstad said of Big Ten expansion. “I don’t know if I have a strong opinion on it one way or another, but times are changing in a lot of ways in college football. I think they will continue to, and we’ll probably continue to see some of these teams moving around. I know a lot of it is for TV contracts and things like that. It’s interesting to see.”

Like Spack, Annexstad has some consternation.

“It is weird to see teams like USC and UCLA joining. My biggest concern would be are you leaving by mid-week to adjust to the time change and other things like that. Teams are going to have to spend a lot more time planning it out,” he said.

Dan Verdun is a co-founder of Prairie State Pigskin. He has written four books: NIU Huskies Football, EIU Panthers Football, ISU Redbirds Football and SIU Salukis Football.

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