Illinois men's basketball and football players will return to campus for voluntary workouts on June 3. And when Illinois says voluntary—a word that has lot most meaning in college sports—they mean voluntary and will mean it through the fall.
"Participation in this plan is absolutely voluntary," Illinois athletics director Josh Whitman said on Friday. "That will be true not only for the summer months but as we go into the fall . . . Their financial support from the athletic program is not contingent on this decision."
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While dozens other schools have announced voluntary workouts for the summer, Illinois is the first to announce student-athletes can skip workouts and competition "into the fall" and still retain their scholarship. The Illini football program is scheduled to open the season against Illinois State on Sept. 5, while men's basketball hasn't announced their 2020-21 schedule yet.
Illinois also announced student-athletes from women's basketball, and soccer will likely return after July 4 and cross country in mid-August. All other teams would return to campus at the same time as the rest of the student body.
