Twitter Tips: Check out these Illini Accounts

Like it or not, Twitter is becoming a part of our everyday lives. Here at BTN.com, we're constantly monitoring the social media site for all the latest news, analysis and happenings from each of the Big Ten's 12 institutions. While we all have our collection of follows that we trust and rely on, we wanted to take this time to share our favorite school-specific accounts. Up first: Illinois.

The Illini have a bunch of worthy follows, from informative beat writers (@PKlee_IlliniHQ) to dedicated bloggers (@Hailtotheorange) to famous and passionate alumni (@williamfleitch). In other words, whatever you're looking for, Illinois has a presence on Twitter.

See our list of recommended Illinois follows below:

Name: Paul Klee
Twitter handle: @PKlee_IlliniHQ
Twitter profile: "University of Illinois and college basketball writer for The News-Gazette. Fly fisher. Dog owner. Pilot. Denver native. 2011 Jerome champ."
Followers: 5,353
Sample tweet:
https://twitter.com/#!/PKlee_IlliniHQ/status/187915687191248897

Name: Shannon Ryan
Twitter handle: @sryantribune
Twitter profile: "College football and basketball reporter for Chicago Tribune."
Followers: 3,165
Sample tweet:
https://twitter.com/#!/sryantribune/status/184771580495269889

Name: Jeremy Werner
Twitter handle: @WernerConnectFM
Twitter profile: "Co-host, Tay and J Show, 3-6, 93.5, 95.3 ConnectFM, myconnectfm.com. Call 217-359-2255. Text 70236. Illini columnist, OrangeandBlueNews.com."
Followers: 2,030
Sample tweet:
https://twitter.com/#!/WernerConnectFM/status/191261008029949953

Name: Mark Tupper
Twitter handle: @MarkTupper
Twitter profile: "Decatur (Ill.) Herald & Review executive sports editor; frustrated cook; walleye dreamer; Soft Machine/Hendrix fan; wine lover."
Followers: 2,288
Sample tweet:
https://twitter.com/#!/MarkTupper/status/186976175652995072

Name: Bob Asmussen
Twitter handle: @BobAsmussen
Twitter profile: "Bob Asmussen is the Illinois football beat writer for the Champaign News-Gazette and IlliniHQ.com."
Followers: 2,110
Sample tweet:
https://twitter.com/#!/BobAsmussen/status/191245708706332672

Name: Stu Durando
Twitter handle: @StuDurando
Twitter profile: "Beat writer covering University of Illinois sports, college sports in general and other assorted topics for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch."
Followers: 2,144
Sample tweet:
https://twitter.com/#!/studurando/status/189923943015120896

Name: Doug Bucshon
Twitter handle: @IllinoisRivals
Twitter profile: "The official Twitter account for Orange&BlueNews.com (Rivals.com). The inside scoop on Illinois Fighting Illini football, basketball, and recruiting."
Followers: 983
Sample tweet:
https://twitter.com/#!/IllinoisRivals/status/191258998400491521

Name: Frank the Tank
Twitter handle: @frankthetank111
Twitter profile: "Lawyer that blogs about the college sports business at Frank the Tank's Slant. Diehard fan of the Illini, Bears, Bulls, White Sox and Blackhawks."
Followers: 2,349
Sample tweet:
https://twitter.com/#!/frankthetank111/status/189858561382293504

Name: Joe Kutsunis
Twitter handle: @Hailtotheorange
Twitter profile: "The source for timely Illini news and pathetic attempts at humor."
Followers: 1,137
Sample tweet:
https://twitter.com/#!/Hailtotheorange/status/186982942483034112

Name: Herb Gould
Twitter handle: @HerbGould
Twitter profile: "sportswriter, brewer, hacker (swings right, putts left)."
Followers: 1,408
Sample tweet:
https://twitter.com/#!/HerbGould/status/191259649385836544

Name: Dan O'Brien
Twitter handle: @IllinoisLoyalty
Twitter profile: "The glory and heartbreak of Fighting Illini Athletics."
Followers: 4,007
Sample tweet:
https://twitter.com/#!/IllinoisLoyalty/status/180831601750577152

Name: Will Leitch
Twitter handle: @williamfleitch
Twitter profile: "Contributing Editor for New York Magazine, Deadspin founder, Mattoonian."
Followers: 30,452
Sample tweet:
https://twitter.com/#!/williamfleitch/status/186190490956341248

Name: A Lion Eye
Twitter handle: @ALionEye
Twitter profile: "One of the 17 Illini fans who cares more about football than basketball. Because of that, everyone thinks I hate basketball."
Followers: 1,753
Sample tweet:
https://twitter.com/#!/ALionEye/status/191243492893278209

Name: Nick Smith
Twitter handle: @thechainsaw45
Twitter profile: "Tallest Player in Illini basketball history. You can call me Nick if you want, but I much prefer Chainsaw."
Followers: 209
Sample tweet:
https://twitter.com/#!/thechainsaw45/status/185426310565335041

Name: Chief Illiniwek
Twitter handle: @cheifilliniwek
Twitter profile: "Official Twitter Account for the Chief. About all things #illini We're gone, but not forgotten."
Followers: 506
Sample tweet:
https://twitter.com/#!/chiefilliniwek/status/186219786731139073

Name: Dave Wischnowsky
Twitter handle: @wischlist
Twitter profile: "CBSChicago.com Sports blogger. WischList.com newspaper columnist. Cubs fan. Illini. Chicagoan. Yeah, that about covers it."
Followers: 806
Sample tweet:
https://twitter.com/#!/wischlist/status/188799549169606657

Name: Big Ten Network
Twitter handle: @BTN_Illinois
Twitter profile: "Illinois Fighting Illini video & headlines from @BigTenNetwork."
Followers: 2,485
Sample tweet:
https://twitter.com/#!/BTN_Illinois/status/191228078901559297

Have a worthy Illini Twitter account that we missed? Leave it as a comment in the box below.

Brent Yarina is a web editor and blogger for BTN.com. Find all of his work here and follow him on twitter at @BTNBrentYarina.