Tim Beckman of Toledo is the new football coach at Illinois and he says he is a high-energy coach who will “will work tirelessly in building the football program to compete for Big Ten and national championships, and be a source of pride for Fighting Illini fans across the nation.” Read the full AP story here and read BTN.com senior writer Tom Dienhart’s history of Beckman here.

There was an iconic Hail Mary pass, a brand new championship game, a new school in the club, Legends and Leaders, a smashing debut by a coach, a touchdown machine named “Ball,” and a sordid off-field scandal the likes we never have seen in the history of college sports. Welcome to Big Ten football 2011.

A profile of Nebraska women’s basketball head coach Connie Yori and her recovery from knee surgery.

After being named one of the five finalist or the 2011 Heisman Trophy earlier this week, Wisconsin running back Montee Ball won the Chicago Tribune’s Silver Football Awards as the best player in the Big Ten. He finished ahead of teammate Russel Wilson and Michigan State’s Kirk Cousins.

Indiana’s Victor Oladipo visits with our crew from The Big Ten Pulse on tonight’s TV show at 7:30 p.m. ET. And what better reason than to roll out this instant classic video of his incredible shot from last season. Listen to Gus Johnson call Oladipo’s buzzer beater at halftime in the game against North Carolina Central last year. Here are Oladipo’s season’s stats so far. And look a little further down in this post to see a nifty spin move by Oladipo more recently against Gardner Webb.