A digital special section of | Subscribe


Tim Lavery

Tim Lavery

Illini QB/pitcher | Twice drafted by Cubs | Class of 2004

Two-sport star Tim Lavery's most memorable Illini moment didn't take place on the pitchers mound at Illinois Field or in the pocket at Memorial Stadium.

“I was sitting in class at the Foreign Language Building and had just been named the starting quarterback for the Big Ten opener against the Iowa Hawkeyes in Kinnick Stadium," Lavery says. "Many of my teammates were sitting with me and a few guys noticed several TV cameras and a forest of microphones waiting to speak with me in the hallway.

"I am I thankful that I made it to the 8 a.m. class”