CHICAGO — Larry Lubin believes the University of Illinois' athletic department is a "rocket ship waiting to take off."
Lubin, who worked at the Chicago Board of Trade for 20 years and for the last three has been vice president of NFP Insurance Solutions Downtown, is one of a handful of names being floated to replace Mike Thomas as Illinois' athletic director.
Thomas was fired last week. Interviews have not begun, and there is no timetable to hire his replacement, but Interim Chancellor Barbara Wilson will be making the decision — possibly with the help of a search committee — according to Kent Brown, the school's Associate Athletics Director for Media Relations.
Lubin, 58, said he's been approached to seek the position since former athletic director Ron Guenther retired in 2011. He played basketball for the Illini, graduated from the school in 1979 and has been involved in fundraising and building connections since. He has close relationships with Guenther and current Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany.
Justin Breen discusses the difficult job ahead for the next Illini AD:
"With the background I have in the business world and athletic world, this is a chance to make a difference to get our athletic department getting in the right direction that all of our alumni and state would like to see it go," said Lubin, an Evanston Township High School graduate who now lives in Northbrook. "For an old jock to have a job like this would be a lot of fun."
Lubin said attracting Chicago's best players, especially in football and men's basketball, will be critical to the athletic department's success.
"Obviously over the past few years, we haven't been as successful as maybe we could have been, but I think that is cyclical," Lubin said. "The city is extraordinarily important, as are all parts of the state. The city's important to us because we live here and we want our kids to go to [Illinois], but if you're from Central or Southern Illinois, you want your kids to go there, too.
"There's a tremendous benefit and tremendous amount of pride playing for your home school."
Other names being mentioned for the position include Northwestern athletic director Jim Phillips, Texas Christian University associate athletics director/senior woman administrator Kim Johnson, and Colorado athletic director Rick George.
Lubin said regardless of who's hired, it's an exciting time for his alma mater.
"This is a really good chance for us to go to the next level and be really competitive throughout all our sports and make the entire Illini Nation proud to be an Illini," he said. "We know we can do better."
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