Tim Beckman will return to coach Illinois in 2015

After beating Northwestern and becoming bowl eligible on Saturday, Illinois announced Sunday that coach Tim Beckman would return for the 2015 season.

"It was important to see improvement in our football program this season," Illinois athletic director Mike Thomas said in a statement. "Over the last month, we have won three of our last five games, including a pair of Big Ten wins over teams (Minnesota & Penn State) who are headed to the postseason. Our student-athletes have played their best football of the season down the stretch of a tough schedule that included nine bowl-eligible opponents. It’s my expectation that with the upcoming bowl and another off-season of development, that Tim’s continued leadership will keep Fighting Illini Football moving forward and even more competitive in the conference and nationally.”

After beating Minnesota to become 4-4, Illinois lost to Ohio State and Iowa to drop to 4-6. However, wins over Penn State and the 47-33 win over the Wildcats on Saturday got the Illini back to .500 and a bottom-tier Big Ten Bowl.

The bowl appearance is Illinois' first since the 2011 season, when it beat UCLA in the Fight Hunger Bowl. But before that appearance, Ron Zook was fired because Illinois finished the season 6-6 after starting 6-0. Beckman was hired as Zook's replacement and in his first two years at Illinois he posted a 6-18 record.

For more Illinois news, visit OrangeandBlueNews.com

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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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