Based on the wording—and more importantly, the timing—of Tim Beckman's firing Friday, it was clear that Illinois could no longer continue with him as its head coach.
With a mere week remaining until the Fighting Illini's season opener against Kent State, Illinois announced it had relieved Beckman of his duties citing "preliminary results of an external review into allegations involving the program." That review was the byproduct of claims of mistreatment from former Illini offensive lineman Simon Cvijanovic.
Several ex-Illinois players backed up Cvijanovic's claims in a July report in the Chicago Tribune by Jared S.