National Football Foundation

A four-year starter at tight end for Illinois, Josh Whitman caught 52 passes for 552 yards and seven touchdowns in his career. An Honorable-Mention All-Big Ten selection, he helped the Illini to an 8-4 record and a 63-21 victory over Virginia in the MicronPC Bowl. A two-time Academic All-American and three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection, Whitman compiled a 3.97 GPA in finance and received the MicronPC Bowl Academic Award. He appeared in four games for the San Diego Chargers in the 2001 NFL season.

After retiring from football, Whitman earned his J.D. from Illinois and began his career in athletics administration at his alma mater as an assistant to the athletic director. He spent four years as the Director of Athletics at Wisconsin-LaCrosse. He guided the Eagles to four national championships and 19 NCAA individual titles.  Under his leadership, the Eagles collected 21 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) crowns and finished in the top-five at NCAA championship events on 17 different occasions. In the 2013-14 Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup standings, UW-L finished 13th nationally. He then was named the Director of Athletics at Washington University in St. Louis (Mo.) and stayed with them for two years before being hired at his alma mater again as the AD in 2016, where he currently remains.