Former Illinois, Kansas State coach Bruce Weber joins Big Ten Network as analyst

In March, Bruce Weber resigned as the head coach at Kansas State. Now, he has a new job — and he’s going back to the Big Ten.

Weber is joining Big Ten Network as an analyst this season, the network announced Tuesday at Big Ten Basketball Media Days. He coached at Illinois from 2003-12 where he took the Fighting Illini to the national championship in 2005, where they fell to North Carolina.

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Illinois parted ways with Weber following the 2011-12 season, and he left Champaign as the third-winningest coach in program history with a 210-101 record. Shortly after, he headed to Kansas State, where he took the Wildcats to five NCAA Tournaments, including a 2018 Elite Eight appearance. He resigned after last year’s 14-17 record, one season removed from a 9-20 campaign in 2020-21.

During his time as a head coach at Southern Illinois, Illinois and Kansas State, Weber totaled 497 career wins and won six conference titles — two in the Missouri Valley, two in the Big Ten and two in the Big 12. He also won the Naismith Coach of the Year award in 2005 when he took Illinois to the national championship and a 37-2 record.

Kevin Warren touts future of Big Ten expansion, integrating USC, UCLA ahead of 2024 arrival

At Big Ten Football Media Days in July, the news of USC and UCLA’s additions to the league was still somewhat fresh. More than two months later, discussion is now about how the conference will look with the two new teams, and Kevin Warren spoke about that integration process Tuesday.

Warren, speaking during his opening press conference at Big Ten Basketball Media Days, said USC and UCLA’s integration is a top priority in the future. The two programs are preparing to join the Big Ten in 2024, but Warren said work is being done now to make sure they wind up fitting in well with the other 14 teams in the league, especially with the new media rights deal coming, as well.

“The biggest thing right now that we have come up with, what we’re calling some of our ‘can’t-miss priorities,’ and one of the can’t-miss priorities is to make sure that we flawlessly integrate our new media partners,” Warren said, in part. “But the other big one is to make sure that we flawlessly integrate USC and UCLA into the Big Ten Conference. In the climate that we’re in right now in college athletics, you also always have to be mindful of expansion.”