URBANA, Ill. – For the first time in program history, the University of Illinois men's golf team will host an NCAA postseason tournament. The Fighting Illini have been selected as hosts of one of six NCAA Regional sites this spring and will welcome some of the top teams in the country to Atkins Golf Club at the University of Illinois, May 12-14, in the first step on the road back to the NCAA Championship.
"We are thrilled to be selected to bring an NCAA Regional to the Urbana-Champaign community this spring," head coach
Mike Small said. "It is a tremendous honor to host, and we are grateful to be in a position to welcome peers from around the country to our home at Atkins Golf Club at the University of Illinois.
"This is an incredible opportunity to not only share our world-class facilities, but to showcase the unmatched passion and support of the Fighting Illini fanbase. Our program prides itself on our tradition of excellence in the postseason, and we can't wait for the opportunity to compete on that stage, in front of the best fans in college golf."
Illinois (Atkins Golf Club at the University of Illinois; Urbana, Illinois) and Auburn (Auburn University Club; Auburn, Alabama) were added to a list of regional hosts, replacing Arkansas and Oklahoma State. The remaining four previously announced regional hosts for 2025 are Florida State (Seminole Legacy Golf Club; Tallahassee, Florida), Liberty (Poplar Grove Golf Course; Amherst, Virginia), Nevada (Montreux Golf Club; Reno, Nevada), and Washington (Gold Mountain Golf Club; Bremerton, Washington).
Each regional will feature 13 or 14 teams and five or 10 individual qualifiers. The top five squads and the low individual not on an advancing team, will move on to compete at the NCAA Championship on the North Course at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California, May 23-28.
The Fighting Illini have made 22 NCAA Regional appearances since 1989, with 19 of those coming under Small's guidance, including each of the last 16 dating back to 2008. Small's teams have won six NCAA Regional Championships since 2013, including last spring at Stanford. Small's six regional championships rank tied for fourth among all head coaches in NCAA history and third among active head coaches.
In addition, Small's Illini squads have advanced past regionals to the NCAA Championship 17 times overall and in 15 of the last 16 years. The Illini have also made nine NCAA match play appearances, tied for the most in the nation since the current format was adopted in 2009.
Originally known as Stone Creek Golf Club, the course opened in 1999, and in 2020 ownership shifted as The Atkins Family made an incredible gift of over 300 acres of real estate to the University of Illinois and the University of Illinois Foundation, including the $15 million golf course which was renamed Atkins Golf Club at the University of Illinois.
Illinois Athletics partnered with architect Drew Rogers to enhance the already strong golf course by rebuilding all greens, relocating many and rebuilding all bunkers using the Better Billy Bunker system, and adding length to allow the teams to stretch the course over 7500 yards. The renovation has resulted in a championship venue that provides a challenging golf experience.
Since reopening the course in 2022, the Illini men's golf program hosted the Fighting Illini Spring Collegiate at the venue in both 2023 and 2024.
illinois.rivals.com
