CHAMPAIGN, IL (Chambana Today) – Local middle school teacher Mike Carpenter has been an avid Illinois basketball fan for more than three decades. As he began his writing career at Urbana High School, then went on to major in news-editorial journalism at the University of Illinois, he was destined to combine his two passions – writing, and the Fighting Illini.
After almost a decade at ESPN 93.5 as a sports talk show host, and a stretch of mediocre Illinois sports seasons, Carpenter’s passion for his beloved Illini sports waned. Then, in March 2024, the Illinois basketball team started getting hot, and Mike started writing again.
He started thinking about the Flyin’ Illini electrifying teams, Lou Henson’s post-Flyin’ Illini 90s teams, trips to the Assembly Hall, and more. His excitement started building again with the arrival of Brad Underwood, Ayo Dosunmu, and Kofi Cockburn.
After the March 2024 run of the basketball team, Carpenter wanted to somehow capture everything this program has meant to him, his family, his friends, and the Fighting Illini fan base. He says true fans, like him, sometimes let their passion get out of control. “Sometimes, when I look back at takes I had during a game, or after a few losses, it makes me cringe. It’s also what makes me human – and a fan.”
When he started writing, the first thing he focused on was the 2000-01 team, Bill Self’s first season in Champaign. From there, he went back to the early 1990s, and his first memories as a fan while Henson struggled to regain momentum after the Bruce Pearl years. Carpenter wrote every day in the month of June.
When he finished, the book was 286 pages, 76,000 words, and an homage to three decades of Illini basketball. There have been so many ups and downs in the 30 years he’s been following the team, and Carpenter weighs in on what he thinks went wrong. “Sometimes we held onto coaches too long, and sometimes we had too much of a knee-jerk reaction and let good coaches go before they had a chance. As a fan, we are always critical of what coaching decisions are made.”
Another exhibition of Illini fandom is a hatred of other Big 10 teams. When asked, Carpenter started rattling off reasons he strongly dislikes Iowa. And Purdue. And especially Michigan. But it’s not the conference he loves – it’s HIS team. “I’m not a ‘Big 10’ fan – I am an Illini fan, and that was the whole goal in writing this book.” The 200 Level: An Illinois Fighting Illini Basketball Fan’s Journey can be purchased through Carpenter’s website, or via Amazon.